We go through the same routine almost every single Sunday night when we get together with Josh’s family for dinner. We can never decide on a place, and more often than not, we crave Italian food. After exhausting most of the options downtown and in Little Italy, we still hadn’t found a go-to place that everyone agrees on. Now that Josh and I have moved uptown, this opens up a whole new neighborhood with countless Italian restaurant options.
On this particular Sunday, after going through the “where should we eat” routine, I suggested Bello, a restaurant on 9th Ave. that I’ve passed many times and looked nice from the outside. The menu was classic northern Italian and reasonably priced. Reviews on menupages and in the Zagat guide were also pretty favorable. We called for a reservation but due to unforeseen circumstances, we wound up being half an hour late. Not a problem though, as the restaurant was mostly empty. That’s not usually a good sign, but it was pretty late for dinner on a Sunday night so it was understandable.
The dining room is a little lower than ground floor level but it’s pretty spacious. The décor is not overly fussy, and they had a nice big round table waiting for us when we arrived. Josh and his dad dropped us off while they went around the corner to park (the restaurant offers free garage parking after 5 pm). As we were waiting for them, they brought us baskets of white and wheat Italian bread. They were standard loaves but were warmed up in the oven so they were chewy on the inside and had nice crispy crusts. The restaurant definitely earned bonus points for heating up the bread. It’s such an easy thing to do yet it astonishes me how many restaurants don’t.
Crispy Italian bread
Next, we were brought a gift from the kitchen, which were plates of their “specialty”, potato chips. I thought that was an odd offering from an Italian restaurant, but one chip convinced me that it really was a specialty. These homemade chips were sliced super thin and perfectly fried. They were delicately crispy, and without a trace of grease. All they needed was a sprinkling of salt from the shaker on the table, and we devoured them. Seriously, they were the best chips I’ve ever had at a restaurant.
Freshly fried thin and crispy potato chips
I was really happy after eating those chips and hoped that the rest of the meal wouldn’t let me down. Luckily, it didn’t. For appetizers, I went “halfsies” with Josh on beef carpaccio and Caesar salad, two items that we use to judge an Italian restaurant. I started with the Caesar salad and we swapped plates halfway through. The salad was a pretty large portion and covered in grated parmesan cheese, which I liked. The dressing could have packed a bit more punch, but it wasn’t overly mayo-y or fishy. The croutons really looked like gross stale pieces of plain white bread, untoasted, but when I finally popped a piece into my mouth I was shocked by the delicious garlic flavor and its light crispiness. I don’t know how they prepared those croutons but I was a huge fan. It just goes to show that looks can be deceiving! While this wasn’t the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had, it was pretty good.
Caesar salad
The beef carpaccio was served over a pile of arugula, topped with grated parmesan cheese and could have been a meal on its own. The thinly sliced raw beef tasted fresh and was just the right temperature – not warm but not ice cold. The dish arrives unadorned and unseasoned, but all it needs is a squeeze of lemon, a splash of olive, and a bit of salt and pepper to brighten it up. That really lets the fresh flavor of the ingredients to shine through.
Beef carpaccio served over arugula
For my main course, I chose my other test of an Italian restaurant – chicken parmesan. When my plate arrived, I almost laughed at the size of the chicken. It was huge! It was a neat presentation, with most of it boneless and pounded down except for a tiny little wing protruding from the end. It came with spaghetti that was cooked al dente. And the dish was hot, which earned the restaurant even more bonus points. Too often we get food that’s just lukewarm and cheese that is unmelted. This chicken parmesan was the best that I’ve had recently and absolutely satisfying. The portion that I ended up taking home made two filling lunches at work the next week.
Chicken parmesan with spaghetti
Josh ordered his Italian restaurant standby, linguini with white clam sauce. We both raved about his dish, which was garlicky and briney and served with perfectly cooked linguini. You definitely have to be a garlic lover to enjoy this dish, and we absolutely adore garlic – the more the better. Josh ate the entire bowl of pasta, and then I used the bread to sop up the remaining juices. It really was an outstanding version of white clam sauce.
Linguini with white clam sauce
We almost passed on dessert until the waiter mentioned homemade tiramisu. I like tiramisu, but usually it’s just a big pile of mush. Tasty mush, but still mush. Everything ends up getting mixed together and the ladyfingers end up being too soggy to make any sort of impact. I was curious to see if something specifically touted as “homemade” would be any different. I’m so glad that we got it, because it was really freakin’ delicious. I might even say it was the best tiramisu I’ve ever had. The slice itself was a work of art, with each individual ladyfinger visible and intact. The textures were perfect, and it wasn’t just a pile of mush. I really, really enjoyed this dessert, and I’m not usually a dessert kind of person.
Homemade tiramisu
I thought that both the food and the service at Bello were excellent. Our waiter was attentive, and our food was brought out at appropriate intervals and served at the right temperatures. The house special potato chips in the beginning were seriously awesome. The food was classic red sauce Italian – tangy tomato sauce and lots of garlic. It has all the usual standards, and everything we had was really tasty. I can only hope that it’s consistently good the next time we go, so that it will become a permanent part of our Sunday night dinner rotation. And the free parking is just another bonus!
Bello
863 9th Ave. at 56th St.
New York, NY
