Peachy Picks La Bella Vita Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Owner Eddie Hamsho
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In an old neighborhood, La Bella Vita is the newest best kept secret! Little Italy has some stellar Italian restaurants we all know and we're currently determining our favorites, but you probably know the names that have been around for years. A new name you need to know that has emerged as a recent winner is La Bella Vita, open since September 2012. La Bella Vita was first featured in Tasty Tidbits:
and we are pleased to announce it's earned a spot in Peachy's Picks.
As one walks down Mulberry Street, there can be an overwhelming wonder of what restaurants really are fantastic...how can they all stay in business? We think this one's here to stay. We were absolutely delighted to meet Owner Eddie Hamsho, who in tandem with his partner Owner Giovanni Ruzy have got a place that is going to give you exactly what you want for dinner. Many recipes are from Giovanni's grandmother. Eddie is a total peach and we can tell he makes great business decisions on the spot.
Peachy Deegan had her eye on the Bella Vita Salad, above. Mixed greens, balsamic vinaigrette, salami, prosciutto and sopressata were fresh, quality and the perfect start to a terrific meal. Another starter that is standout is the Hot Antipasto:
This symphony mainly from the sea is a delicious combination of mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, eggplant rollatini and mushroom. If you see the list of appetizers and like Peachy feel as though one of everything sounds good, this is the ideal antipasti for you. Every item hit the spot and the shrimp in particular were superbly succulent.
It was also impressed upon us that this is a venue that pays attention to detail. Uptown Peachy does not feel that going downtown is always a pristine, clean experience like she wants it to be (partly to do with the subway). La Bella Vita is absolutely immaculate from the tables to the floors to the bathrooms. It has a clean, new look about it that is modern and fresh. But it's not too modern because they have great taste in music as well and play Sinatra (we love Frank!) in the background. Our waiter Edgar did not miss a trick and was perfectly pleasant.
Penne Vodka was perfectly al dente and was not drowning in sauce like lesser pastas can. Every bite delivered an ideal amount of flavor and this dish was just as it should be.
Eddie suggested a glass of his favorite Chianti which was the perfect accompaniment to our entree. It was robust and deep without being overpowering.
We commend La Bella Vita for making vegetables a priority-with your entree you have a choice of vegetables or pasta-as you can see we did cover the pasta with the divine penne vodka. So naturally, we opted for the vegetables with our entree. Carrots, broccoli and asparagus were all fantastic and nutritious. How many other restaurants give you not one but three vegetables? Mayor Bloomberg, take note we bet you'll like this too. Peachy Deegan chose the Veal with lemon sauce topped with spinach (another vegetable!) and mozzarella. The veal was tender and cooked just as it should be. Every bite was tremendously satisfying and La Bella Vita reminded us that excellent basics may be the best choice of all.
Our esteemed panelist adds:
Forget what you think you know about little Italy and try grandma's recipes at La Bella Vita. Nestled in the heart of Little Italy on Mulberry street you will find fantastic go-to Italian at La Bella Vita. The clean and cozy atmosphere allows the cuisine to take the front stage. After being warmly greeted, our server, Edgar explained the many offerings of La Bella Vita including the always fresh weekly specials. We started our meal with the Bella Vita Salad and Hot Antipasto. The salad was a nice blend of fresh mixed greens toped with heaps of succulent salami, prosciutto and sopressata. The salad was finished with balsamic vinaigrette. We love a nice salad to start off a good meal and the Bella Vita Salad was just right. Next we sampled the many offerings of the Hot Antipasto. This included fresh mussels, clams, shrimps,calamari and eggplant rollatini with mushrooms. The seafood was beautiful, fresh, light and seasoned perfectly, nothing frozen here. The mushrooms were sautéed nicely and were bursting with flavor. With so many wonderful things to try it's hard to choose the best but I will say the eggplant rollatini was some of the best I have ever had. The eggplant was cooked perfectly, stuffed with ricotta cheese and topped with marinara and melted mozzarella. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Next we sampled one of La Bella Vita's many pasta offerings, there really is something for everyone on the menu including risotto, ravioli and linguini frutti di mare. We tried the classic Penne Vodka, and we are sure our Nonna would be proud.
The penne was cooked perfectly al dente and the vodka sauce was great with just the right about of cream, seasoning and sun dried tomatoes. This is a great dish for any ones taste buds. Last but not least I tried the Bella Vita Chicken, wow. This beautiful dish consisted of three large pieces of chicken stuffed with mozzarella, prosciutto, parmigiano and topped with gorgonzola creamy sauce. This chicken is amazing, bursting with creamy, salty and sweet flavors, I can see why this is the house speciality. As with all secondi courses at La Bella Vita you have your choice of pasta or vegetables, I opted for the veggies and those too were great. A nice arrangement of asparagus, broccoli and carrots which complemented the chicken. The thing that really stood out to me about all the food at La Bella Vita was that it was classic and simple, no gimmicks here, just quality fresh food the way it should be. Next time you are strolling down to Little Italy with your out of town friend, take them to a real Italian treat, take them to La Bella Vita.
Peachy Picks La Bella Vita!
La Bella Vita is Recommended by Whom You Know.
