Palate-pleasing

MAMMA MIA! That is all I could say after biting into the crunchy Bruchetta (Rs. 30), the golden toasted bread slice with olive oil and garlic smeared on it. But that is only because my knowledge of the Italian language is limited only to these words. Had I known more, I would have done a Roberto Benigni ("Life is Beautiful") at the Oscars.

There is hardly anything to talk, regarding the ambience at Bella Ciao, the pokey little restaurant on Second Avenue, Besant Nagar. Yet, the food eloquently makes up for the shortfall. Run by an Italian couple, the food can't get more authentic at these prices. To me, olive oil and garlic has the same magic, charm and romance as that of strawberry and cream. A single taste of good golden green oil is supposed to take you straight to the olive groves of Tuscany. Aficionados mull over the fruity, nutty or even grassy flavour of the olio'd oliva. And where could Bruchetta come from but Tuscany, famed for its olive oil. The second starter, bread topped with cheese and ham (Rs. 55) was also good.

The menu is classified into first and second courses, both in veg and non-veg list. For the first course, it was Spaghetti'o riso, all pescatora or pasta with shrimps, calamari and fish with tomato sauce. The Rs.110 dish was tasty and ample enough. Lamb cooked in red wine (Rs.130) was the second course. The attractively presented plate with tender mutton, potato mash, beans and carrot fingers and cucumber slices drizzled with herbed extra virgin olive oil was pleasing to the palate too. The aromatic vegetables complemented the bland potato very well indeed.

The Ballerina salad (Rs. 85) with lettuce, mushrooms, walnuts in yoghurt dressing and honey drizzle was scrumptious enough to make me want to go back to try the rest of the salads at least. The walnut and honey add such a sparkle to the ordinary yoghurt dressing that the leafy fare becomes as glamorous as its namesake.

Though bursting at the seams, we couldn't go without trying a pizza. The name, Al Capone (Rs. 150), leapt out of the list for obvious reasons. The topping with cheese, mushrooms, bacon and onions (this was an extra, you have a selection of veg, each at Rs. 20, and non veg, each at Rs. 30, ingredients to add to the pizza of your choice) and thin, I mean really thin, crust without the all powerful tomato sauce, was a new experience. And it was a nice one too. Instead of the tomato ketchup bottle came olive oil infused with rosemary as condiment to go with the pizza.

Besides all these Italiana, there are fast food items like burgers, hotdogs, fish n chips, fried chicken and sandwiches. Moving to the sweet finish, Tiramisu (Rs. 50) is as much an Italian classic as Sophia Loren is. The elegant chocolate and coffee dessert is a must try item. Crhme caramel (also Rs. 50) the other one on the menu, is also good. As a rule, I welcome only crhme brulee of the custard family. But the Bella Ciao custard pudding didn't have that all too common predominant eggy flavour. Its creamy and light and the banana slices definitely add to the taste.

What is urgently needed at Bella Ciao is space. With such a value-for-money fare it is a miracle that the restaurant stayed on at its current premises for so long.

MARIEN MATHEW

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