Plano’s Sixty Vines is now in Crescent Court, offering 40 wines on tap and a full menu of California-meets-Italian fare.
Oversized paper menus listing detailed wine options dominate a two-top table almost as a tablecloth. A multipage menu offers appetizers, pastas, pizzas and the like. You can get wine by the glass in 2.5, 5 or 8 ounces. If you really like it, you can go for the 750 milliliter.
The staff members at the Dallas location aren't amateurs, either — the restaurant paid for everyone to go through level one sommelier training. They may guide you to Sixty Vines' wines, under the name Vine Huggers, but they will help you find an option whether you’re well versed in what you like or your friends coerced you into going.
As for food, a safe place to start is with the selection of boards such as the salumi and cheese plate ($21). Opening night included a lavender-infused goat cheese and a homemade ricotta. The staff gladly brings you more flatbread for the cheese you’ll find yourself fighting over with your date.
The fregola ($13), a risotto-style pasta topped with pecorino Romano, is a surprisingly simple dish you’ll want to keep eating. A pile of crispy wild mushrooms crowns it all. It’s the type of pasta that may become monotonous after a while, but don’t let that stop you from ordering it. Split this perfectly seasoned pasta with someone while trying something else on the menu to complement.
The staff raves about the oven used to cook Sixty Vines' thin-crust pizza. While the toppings of the butcher pizza ($15) — soppressata, capicola and Calabrese — were fine, the crust is where the magic lies. No perfectly crisp crust should be taken for granted, and you’ll definitely get that here.
The butcher pizza ($15) was packed with cured meats, but the crust is what really shines.
Taylor Adams
Sixty Vines, 500 Crescent Court
