Summers at the Dolce Vita

The first time I saw Dolce Vita was a couple years ago, when we gathered for the annual employee dinner. It was a nice-ish restaurant that could only be reached by taking a side road across a one-lane bridge and following it as the pavement disappeared and it snaked up a hill. When I started keeping this blog I knew I’d have to write about it again, because there is absolutely no good explanation for why the owner decided to put it there.

Granted, this isn’t the first time I’ve come across a restaurant in an odd place. If you take the right road from Rochester to Decorah, you’ll see a combination gas station/convenience store/restaurant that also happens to be part of a farming co-op, with a barn, silos and more tractors than you thought could exist in the same area. Not to mention in northeastern Michigan there was at least one restaurant located on a road that was definitely not well-traveled, and in an area where the nearest business was a gas station at least two miles away. However, both these restaurants were your typical “stop ‘n’ eat” places that didn’t really serve anything extravagant. Dolce Vita, on the other hand, is meant to be a fine dining destination, and most fine dining destinations are not quite so out-of-the-way.

Despite the restaurant’s location, it does serve really good food. Mostly it’s Italian, although the Dolce Vita has its share of sandwiches and the Kid’s Menu reportedly serves up a mean PB&J. However, during the summer, the big draw to the restaurant is its concert series. If you go to http://www.mcdolcevita.com/decorah-entertainment/decorah-entertainment.html, you can see all the bands that will be playing this summer. You may also see that, from the names of such bands as Buckhollow Band, Beet Root Stew and Big Daddy Cade, that the type of music tends toward blues, folk, and rock that is heavy on its blues and folk influences. Still, this was a wonderful opportunity. A fine dining restaurant in the middle of nowhere putting out a summer concert series? I’m in!

I ended up getting to the restaurant a bit late, owing to a visit to Cedar Falls to visit the comic book store in the early afternoon. I thought parking might be tight, but I was sure I could get a good parking place there, because how many people could this event draw, really? Longtime readers of my blog should already know the answer, and will not be surprised when I say that the parking lot was full, the sides of the road were filled up from sharp curve the sharp curve, and the owners of neighboring properties had posted barricades across their drive warning concert-goers not to park there.

I managed to find a tight spot next to a dumpster, and in no time whatsoever I was walking to the small concert stage, surrounded by all of Decorah’s Patrons Of The Arts. The band was playing some jazz-tinged blues song, and the crowd was busy sipping beer and socializing under the canvas tents. Some people were even inside eating!

To be honest, this felt less like a concert and more like a wedding reception. Sure, the band was the main focus, and while I’m not an expert on jazz and blues they definitely kept the crowd entertained. A good four or five people were in the courtesy space that usually separates a band from the audience, dancing as the spirit moved them. Off to the side, a spate of very cool twentysomethings sat, chatting and smoking, obviously digging the scene.

As far as the food, I settled for a Cajun dish, and despite the fact that I was in Iowa it was quite good. I wish I had more to report, but I have to be honest, it was a nice restaurant, nice food, decent music and a surprising turnout. You could definitely do worse on a Saturday night.