A^2 Restaurant Week Review: Bella Ciao

Restaurant week in Ann Arbor kicked off tonight. Since it's the first annual event, I suppose I should not expect the food to be spectacular, nor should I expect the service at any given restaurant to be exceptional. I mean, the first year of anything is bound to cause some chaos. I am however, expecting to have some pretty good meals at a pretty fantastic price (at most restaurants, $12 for a two course lunch, and $25 for a three course dinner), and I'm willing to accept any slight shortcomings that follow. :-)
My first reservation of the week was tonight at Bella Ciao on West Liberty. Bella Ciao holds somewhat of a special significance for Brad and I, as it was the first "nice" restaurant we went to after we started dating. Back in January 1999, our residence hall sponsored a Monte Carlo night at the Michigan League, and before attending that, we went with some friends to a nice dinner. I should probably mention up front, that I don't have much recollection of the food, atmosphere or ambiance at Bella Ciao that night. This means my current review of Bella will be unblemished, as I've got nothing to compare it to. I was slightly disheartened to learn last week though, that Bella Ciao is going out of business at the end of restaurant week on Saturday June 20th. It's being purchased and renovated by chef Brandon John's from Vinology into a new organic/local/seasonal restaurant called the Grange Kitchen. While the alarms in my head are going off for many reasons (does that mean the food will be terrible at Bella Ciao this week? A close-out special of sorts? What about Vinology? Will their food be terrible because their former executive chef is out doing business of his own on his new restaurant? What about this new place!? When does it open, and will I like it??), I tried to put that all aside and have a nice meal. I think it's somewhat fitting however, that Brad and I got one last visit to Bella Ciao, just as we're about to celebrate our 5th anniversary next week.

Bella Ciao as it stands for it's last week

We arrived to Bella at just before our 7pm reservation. The evening was a beautiful summery mix of sunshine, light wind, and minor humidity. While there were several diners on the outside patio tables, we opted for an inside table near the kitchen. It was a bit warmer than I would have liked (especially after I had a few glasses of wine), but I enjoyed the view of the kitchen and it's happenings none-the-less. We planned on ordering items off of the set three-course menu (which we did), but Brad and I were also starving, so we started off the evening by ordering an additional appetizer from the antipasti menu. We went with a platter of mixed prosciutto, Italian salami, and some seasoned kalamata-style olives. I forgot to take a picture, but it was well presented, and was the perfect start with some house bread dipped in olive oil and our glasses of prosecco.
For the first course, I went with the carrot ginger soup, and Brad chose an arugula asparagus salad with champagne vinaigrette. The soup was sprinkled with a liberal amount of chopped basil and topped with what I think was some kind of buttery beurre blanc sauce. While not quite as good as the pumpkin truffle oil soup I had in Paris, it was still a well balanced soup that I liked a lot. I also got a quick taste of Brad's salad, and my mouth was pleased with the small slices of asparagus that paired so well with the spicy arugula. While there isn't a picture of the salad (There's only so many pictures Brad can handle me taking of his food before he eats it!), it is something I definitely think I could make on my own pretty easily.

First course: Carrot ginger soup

While waiting for our second course to arrive, Brad and I enjoyed some nice conversation (mostly about the ridiculous comments the staunchly Republican four-top behind us were making) and another glass of wine. Brad went with the menu paired red, while I went with a white (a vognier if I remember correctly). While Brad's red was spicy, angry, and delicious, we decided that my white was rather bland and mediocre, and actually had a pretty sickly amount of sweet when you looked for it. I'm not a wine connoisseur though, so I finished it either way, because vino is vino!

Wine and conversation

Thankfully, our entrees arrived before my wine was gone. I chose the zucchini blossom ravioli with basil oil, and Brad had the flank steak (highlighted with a brown gravy-like sauce we dubbed "brown blanc") with grilled seasonal vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes. While both meals were really good, I was slightly disappointed with the consistency of my pasta. You could tell it was homemade, but you could also tell it had been made a few days prior, as it was fairly gummy in texture. The filling was divine, as was the liberal amount of sprinkled fresh mozzarella combined with basil oil though, so I forgave Bella for this grave pasta sin. Brad's steak was a perfectly cooked medium and his potatoes paired with a bite of steak were the perfect comfort food. Other than the small amount of salt I needed to add to my dish, we had no complaints, and finished everything on our plates.

Flank steak ala brown blancZucchini blossom ravioli

Finally, we closed out our meal with what else, but dessert! My choice was easy, as I picked the seasonal rhubarb & strawberry compote with puff pastry. Brad didn't really have a choice, as I demanded he get the tiramisu (my favorite) so I could eat some of his. The puff pastry was beautifully presented (extra points here Bella!), and quite delicious on top of it. I genuinely enjoyed every bite. Brad's tiramisu was also good, but he declared it a bit "too strong" and I later agreed as I snuck a bite, that it did have a bit too much espresso. It also was not exactly a traditional tiramisu, looking instead a bit like a tiramisu slice of pie. Once again our plates were clean though, so no major complaints.

Rhubarb Strawberry puff pastryTiramisu

At the end of the evening, we were stuffed and ready for bed. As we drove home reminiscing about "when we were young" and our first time out at Bella Ciao, I can't help but be a little sad that soon it will be gone. Even though our meal wasn't what I would consider "5 star," our service did have perfect timing, the food was good, and the ambiance had some of that old world Italian charm. Brad claimed it was just plain "old," but I was secretly taken by the ceilings draped in cloth. Sort of like the big four poster bed draped in white I always dream about. Either way, I would suggest one last night out at Bella for anyone looking to say a proper "arrivederdci."