by Dorothy Cascerceri
I love Italian food.
Don’t get me wrong.
I love the Italian language, Italian shoes, and especially Italian men.
But I’ve been getting a little tired of Italian restaurants lately. I’ve especially been getting tired of writing about them. How many different ways can you describe delicious spaghetti?
So when my family decided to visit and decided on an Italian restaurant for our Sunday night dinner, I acted like the good daughter and sister I was and made a reservation at Bella Blu on Lexington Avenue and 70th St., which is the sister restaurant of Baraonda on Second Avenue and 76th St.
When I walked in I realized it wasn’t your run-of-the-mill Italian restaurant with wooden tables and chairs and red and white checkered tablecloths.
The small restaurant, which has seating for 85, was beautiful shades of blue blended in waves with pinks, oranges and yellows. The aquamarine décor gave it an under-the-sea feel.
No, this place was different. Much different. The host situated us at a comfy little booth in the rear of the restaurant and started us out with a few glasses of wine, a basket of standard white bread (which I splurged on) and a delicious spicy and savory red pepper and olive oil pesto for dipping.
And then a strange thing happened: we all agreed on something for once….which appetizers to order. We tried the traditional buffalo mozzarella salad with tomatoes (“the best tomato I’ve ever eaten,” according to my little sis Julia) and roasted peppers. We also sampled a variation of standard fried calamari. This one came with fried shrimp, zucchini and artichokes. And my other little sis, Danielle, tried the Caesar salad, which had a fabulous homemade dressing.
Growing up my older sister and I went through a fettucine alfredo phase where we would only order the creamy dish at any restaurant we went to. So it was only natural for Julia to carry on the tradition. Except Bella Blu didn’t have it on the menu.
“No problem,” the charming and attentive waiter told her. “We can do it for you.”
Danielle took one look at the beautiful mosaic brick oven and decided on a standard cheese pizza, which lived up to her expectations.
My stepmom took the prize for best selection in my opinion with a dish of orechiette pasta with sweet sausage and broccoli rabe, while my dad went with the spaghetti and Bolognese sauce special.
I tried to be “good” by ordering the grilled tuna steak with string beans, artichokes and tomatoes, thinking I would take home whatever I didn’t finish. That didn’t happen!
It was cooked perfectly and simply with no fancy sauces or seasonings. The natural flavor of the tuna steak spoke for itself.
As we decided whether or not to stick around for dessert, a plate of figs, blueberries, raspberries and beautiful Italian sugar cookies dusted lightly with powdered sugar came out.
And shortly after three glasses (none for the little ones) of a deliciously light after dinner wine…on the house.
We sipped our wines, paid our check and walked out all very satisfied but not overly full, which was another reason why we loved Bella Blu…portion control!
Bella Blu
967 Lexington Avenue (between 70th and 71st)
New York, NY 10021
212-988-4624 |
Read the next Uppereast.com review:Brasserie 360
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