sole mio

A new Italian restaurant, Sole Mio, opened up in our town earlier this summer and, after giving it a couple of months to work the kinks out, we gave it a try.  When we first moved out here, almost five years ago, everything we tried was new to us; now, we don't branch out and try new stuff quite so much.  We need to be better about that.  It may not always work out but you're never going to know until you try.  Sole Mio didn't quite work out but at least we broke out of our rut for a bit.

Owned and run by a recently-arrived Italian family, Sole Mio (8657 S. Highland Drive, Sandy, where the Foxhole II used to be) was pretty busy when we got there a little after 7 on a Friday night, and people kept pouring in.  Although we hadn't made reservations, we were seated right away.  The large space was pretty noisy and even though we had a small table, there was a lot of "What?" going on in our dinner conversation.  Because it's Sandy, Utah, most people were not imbibing; the restaurant does have a small, serviceable wine list and a lame beer list: Bud, Bud Light, Stella Artois and one other pale, large brewery lager.  Horrified, H stuck with water and I ordered a glass of wine.  They were out of the pinot noir and I don't recall what I ended up with.  It was fine but I did have to ask for it twice.

The service is the weakest part of Sole Mio.  There were only three waiters for the whole space (plus a busboy and a water/bread girl) and they were running pretty ragged, so service was slow.  After we'd placed our order with one waiter (who seemed distracted the whole time), another one came up and introduced himself as our waiter.  When we told him we were already taken care of, he seemed surprised.  Our salad plates were never cleared when our entrees showed up.  We ended up paying cash for the bill after we watched the table next to us wait for at least ten minutes before their credit cards were picked up.

The food was fine, just okay.  We each had mixed green salads which were huge and mediocre.  H had the lasagne - again a huge portion, again nothing to write home about.  I had the spinach ravioli, which I do think was house-made, in a tomato cream sauce.  It was pretty good but wasn't served with any sort of panache: just plopped on a square plate with no garnish.

Everyone around us seemed to be enjoying themselves, however, and several tables had been back enough times that the host and waiter recognized them.  I wish Sole Mio luck but don't think we'll be back.  If we're looking for Italian food in Sandy, we'll go back to Fratelli's where the service is good, the food is better and they have Utah microbrews on tap (and serve sparkling rose by the glass!).  You know, back in our rut where we belong.