One day you might find yourself in the Witness Protection Program, and then relocated to a small…read morevillage in Rhode Island called Glendale RI. It's just the kind of place that you might suspect as a place no one would ever think to look for you. The Witness Protection Program notwithstanding you would be lucky to be located in Glendale because in this village basically in the middle of nowhere, there is a restaurant called Bella. At first, you might drive right by this place discounting it as something less than it is. But when you drive around front, you'll see a very nice patio, a main entrance and an entrance to their banquet facility. That's right! I said banquet facility in Glendale RI.
So luckily for me I have avoided the witness protection program but in doing so I have also avoided any knowledge of this place until just recently. I can tell you that's a point of great sadness for me because on my first visit there I realized that this little hidden gem is something that I could have been taking advantage of for a fairly long time
In terms of ambiance the place is well appointed both inside and out. It's comfortable and boldly says Italian restaurant. The front of the house is staffed with what appears to be experienced and knowledgeable people, from the bussers, to the food runners, to the servers and the floor managers. You can tell that the owners of this establishment have spent some time training this staff in the excellence of customer service. I don't want to name names because I'll leave someone out. I want to say that everyone that we encountered on the entire front-of-house staff work together to make sure that every diner got what they needed or wanted at the exact time they needed or wanted it. The dining room was a ballet of people rushing in and out of the kitchen and regardless of whether they were designated as your server or not, as they passed by you they unhurriedly asked do you have everything you need, how is everything, etcetera
It seemed to me that Bella's kitchen is as close to scratch kitchen as you can get. They have a small host of salad dressings all which are made in house. More than half of the desserts are made in house, even the butter for the bread is concocted in house. If you're going to an Italian restaurant, the measurement, in my opinion, of whether they understand their mission is the red sauce that they serve. It should be RED, not maroon. It should be light and a little chunky. Most of all it should complement the pasta, not smother it. I am going to say that the pomodoro sauce (aka Marinara) that was on my dinner ranks amongst the three best red sauces I've ever eaten in a restaurant.
I was impressed by the answers when I asked the same 2 questions, I always ask when I'm considering ordering eggplant. First question, I always ask is the skin on the eggplant and the second question is, is the eggplant breaded. I am of the opinion that there should be no skin on an eggplant when it's served and there is no reason to add bread crumbs on eggplant. The server's answer was: there is no skin and yes there is bread crumbs on it. But that doesn't matter, how do you want it. I said well I would like it to be peeled and then dipped in some flour some seasoned egg and pan fried and then stacked into eggplant parm. That's exactly what I got, The most delicious thinly sliced eggplant so lightly battered and fried, it wasn't oily it wasn't heavy, it wasn't a greasy pyramid and unlike many places in Rhode Island you could actually taste the eggplant which was undoubtedly fresh and delicious. It came with enough pasta. I'm sure you're asking what that means. This is my new measurement of serving size. It is enough if I eat half the eggplant and half the pasta was left, then it's enough. If I eat all the eggplant and none of the pasta is left then it wasn't enough if I eat all the eggplant and a ton of pasta was left then it was too much.
As far as the bar is concerned, I drink a very simple drink it's vodka, lime and ice in a shaker. Shake the ever-loving daylights out of it pour it in a rocks glass. I'm telling you only one or two out of 10 restaurants get it right and Bella's is one.
Here's the rundown. The food is well above average, exceptional even. The bar is right on point. The service is fast, friendly and inviting. The surroundings are nice, clean and exactly what you want in an Italian restaurant. The prices are well below the "downtown" prices in Providence.
Bella does not have a web-based reservation ability, just call them any time, leave a message, and someone will get right back to you. I know what you're thinking but it worked really well!
Oh, one last thing. When you see him, tell Giuseppi the owner and dining room ambassador, that it's okay that he's Sicilian, we can just pretend that he's Italian. (If you know, you know.)
Long story short...you really need to go to Bella tonight (Thur,Fri,Sat,Sun)!
Have I ever lied to you!?
