It has been some time since I've visited this shopping center pizzeria. Of late several friends have mentioned it fondly so I thought that it must be time for a reevaluation. As it turns out, it is time for a reevaluation but the reevaluation should be of which friend's culinary advise I seriously consider. It's not that Bianelli's is a bad place, because it is not. It is just a very average place.
The ambiance is family dining, shopping center ambiance. The restaurant is loud and hectic. The service is attentive and very friendly although not necessarily well informed (I had a pasta and the wait person did not know what kind of pasta it would be). The selections are what you would expect from a similar type restaurant anywhere is America. They have a nice selection of salads which are fresh but do not appear to have local ingredients. They have three pasta dishes (spaghetti, a shell pasta(which the wait person did not know) and a fettuccine with three sauce selections. There is a nice selection of sandwiches (the calzones looked good) and a typical range of pizza options. Their pizza is a medium to thick crust pizza. They have a small wine selection and a fair selection of beers.
I selected the shell pasta with their signature sauce (a combination of their marinara and their white wine mushroom sauces). Also, I had a glass of '08 Piancornello Sant'Antimo Rosso. The dinner salad served with the pasta was crisp and fresh with a nice bottle dressing. The pasta was nicely done. The sauce was a bit sweet but otherwise lacked a distinctive taste. A large portion of store-bought Parmesan cheese and a generous portion of red pepper flakes saved the meal. The wine was a full bodied, very dry wine with strong black currant flavors which didn't really match the sweet pasta sauce but that was my selection problem.
Overall, it is a nice restaurant with good service and a wide range of dining choices. Everyone appeared happy (their were many diners) and their selections appeared to be typical pizzeria fare. It's not a place I'll need to revisit soon (except possibly for the calzone) but it was not an unhappy experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment