Even if not everyone in your family is into Italian, I would be willing to bet all tastes can be satisfied at Primo’s.  They have all sorts of seafood, steaks, pastas and pizzas; they also serve a great brunch on Sundays; and they even have a good selection of vegetarian items. They have also recently started a lunch-time buffet for $7.95/person, which is a delicous value. It includes two varieties of soup, several different kinds of salads, and about five entrees.

I made sure I tried this place several different times so I could sample lots of different things and share my thoughts with you.

On my first visit, we had a couple of problems, but nothing terrible. Mom had the 8″ Margherita Pizza ($9.99).  She requested a different sauce, which didn’t happen, but she still enjoyed it.  I ordered the special of the night, which was Pavarotti Shrimp:  tortellini, Gulf shrimp, shiitake and portobello mushrooms, fresh tomato, onion, garlic, olive oil and cilantro ($12.99). Now, the last time I checked, tortellini was a circular-shaped, cheese-stuffed pasta.  And instead of the tortellini, mine was served with linguini, which I usually don’t care for.  To use the words of QE2 (Queen Elizabeth II), “I don’t care for the long, stringy noodles.”  The dish could have used a little something more as far as flavor and spices go. I found it lacking in taste, though the presentation was nice.  My husband’s parmesan-crusted halibut was very nice ($14.25).  He had no complaints.

The next time we went was for brunch, which is served 10am to 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. My husband’s parents tried the Strawberry Crespelle ($4.99), which are thin, Italian pancakes layered with vanilla custard then folded and covered with fresh strawberries.  They are still raving about it, and, as a matter of fact, we have been back three times with them for this dish.  My husband always gets the stromboli benedict ($5.99) for brunch, which is stromboli stuffed with portobello mushrooms, Canadian bacon, poached eggs, asiago cheese, and a dollop of Hollandaise.  He loves it.  I tried the southwest breakfast pizza ($5.59), which I found to be a little dry.

On our next visit, Mom and I split a New York style veggie pizza, which was pretty darn good.  Not as good as Papa Angelo’s, but a close second.  If you go with the 8″ specialty pizza ($9.99), I would definitely recommend each person get their own house or Caesar salad.  These side salads are small, and I find the Caesar to be a little better.  Now, if you’re a salad-only type person, the chopped salad ($9.49) is very tasty and more than you can eat in one sitting.  It contains chopped Romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, crumbled gorgonzola, green onion, sundried tomatoes, all tossed in a house dressing.  It can be found under the vegetarian section of the menu, along with a lot of other entree-sized salads and dishes.

Our next visit was with friends and I tried the Baked Roman Pasta ($12.79) which is a blend of Italian sausage, grilled chicken, bell peppers and onions tossed with penne pasta in meat sauce, then topped with mozzarella cheese.  This was as good as it sounds, and it was served in a bowl the size of a basketball, leaving me lots to take-home.  My friend tried the Signature Peach Bellini, which pretty much tasted like a peach icee, but was made with Peach Schnapps, champagne, peach royale, vodka, and fresh peaches served frozen ($4.99).  My other friend always gets the ribeye steak ($15.99), which looks delicious from across the table.  Like I said, there’s something for everyone.

So, the last time I went was with eight other friends, and I split the Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken Breast ($11.79) which was covered with honey balsamic glaze and served with asparagus and broccoli. Kudos to Primo’s for serving an entree with less than six fat grams and 500 calories!  It was very tasty and the portion is perfect.  It’s rare these days to find something like that, especially in an Italian restaurant.

I think Primo’s offers a great value at lunch with two specials offered every day. First, there’s the “Endless Pastabilities” which gives you any pasta, with any homemade sauce, as much as you want, served with their fresh-baked bread for $6.99. They also offer bottomless soup, salad and bread for $4.99.

Also adding value is the fact that as you exit the restaurant, there is a basket of their homemade, day-old bread, free for the taking as long as it lasts.

The service has almost been too good when I’ve been with a small party.  I believe there is such a thing, although rare, as too much attention from your server, and this has happened to me at Primo’s more than once.  On the other hand, with large parties, the service starts out great, but by the end of the meal it is severely lagging.  Surely there is a place to find a happy medium here. That said, these minor inefficiencies will definitely not keep me from returning.

At each visit, I seem to find something new on the extensive menu that I had not found before, and only one time have I been even slightly disappointed. Another good thing is that they take reservations, which is especially nice for your larger parties and out-of-town guests, as they get quite busy at dinner time on the weekends.

I think Primo’s is a great, local find in the metro, and I urge you to explore their menu as I have to see what surprises you discover.  Let me know if you find something I haven’t found. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

It often seems that restaurants employing slick marketing and clever concepts fall short on the quality of food. This was the issue I raised in my review of Red Pin, for example, where I even titled the article “concept over cuisine.” It’s not necessarily that the food is terrible, it’s just that the concept can easily overtake the food in importance, which doesn’t sit well with me.

I also lamented this issue in my review of Lotsa Noodles. One person even commented on that review that slick marketing means lower quality food. I’m not sure I would follow that logic to the extreme, but I do think there is potential for a correlation. A restaurant can go too far toward a concept or a marketing direction to the detriment of the food.

When I stepped into Cafe 7, I instantly knew this was an obstacle they would have to overcome. Their concept is clever and it’s polished to the hilt. Can the food shine through in such an environment? That was the question I eagerly sought to answer.

First, here’s the concept. Seven items in each category (sandwiches, salads, pizzas, and pastas), in seven minutes or less, seven days a week, and everything is priced $7 or under (tax included). Now, right off the bat, I love the $7 including tax. That’s a value if the meal is decent. The idea of making every single thing on the menu fit that model is pretty intriguing.

But then, not everything really does fit the model. Side items (chips, soups, salads, fruit, baked potato … etc.) cost extra. And, of course, drinks are extra as well. This, plus some fine print in the “build your own” sections of the menu made what could have been a very simple selection a bit complex.  I had to spend a good amount of time figuring out how to put together the order I wanted without pushing the price up.

Then, there’s the fact that you’re supposed to write down your order on a paper order form and take it up to the counter. I’m not sure why this step is necessary. It made things more confusing. For example, on the paper form it looked like adding different meats to the pasta would increase the price, but the lady at the counter said it really didn’t and I could do whatever I wanted for $7. I love the fact that it’s a pasta free-for-all for seven bucks, but why didn’t the paper form make that clear? Maybe it’s still new and they’re working out the kinks. I’ll cut them some slack here, but I’d recommend taking another pass at this process and cleaning up some of the confusing areas.

I wound up building my own pasta — spaghetti with tomato marinara, meatballs, Italian sausage, mushrooms and green peppers — all for $7. I also added a cup of fruit for $1 and had water for an $8 total. Not bad, and there’s no tipping since it’s limited service.

The pasta was very tasty with a nice, fresh, tangy marinara sauce. It was well presented and served at the perfect temperature. The amount of meat included was very generous (in fact, I would probably go with less meat next time), though the meatballs did have an almost crusty exterior that was strange. They weren’t bad. I haven’t figured out if I liked it or whether it was even supposed to be that way. At the very least, they weren’t the most tender meatballs I’ve had.

The fresh fruit was nice as well. Nothing fancy, but for $1 it was certainly tasty enough. My friend had a sandwich, which looked decent. Nothing really special, but it was presented well and I think (not 100% sure) it may have come with the side of chips for $7.

So, the verdict? I felt that the food here exhibited a bit of extra care and attention that I wouldn’t expect at a concept-driven place. So, I think they’ve got a shot at overcoming the polished, concept stigma and really providing something special. I doubt it’s going to be anyone’s all-time favorite restaurant, but with a solid $7 inclusive price point, they don’t have to be. If they can just provide some options that are a cut above the norm, I think they’ll have a winner. And, from what I’ve seen, it looks like they’re on the right track.

Have you been to Cafe 7? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Trattoria il Centro is not the kind of place to sell T-shirts, though I’m sure they’d be OK if you wore one in for dinner. If they ever do make T-shirts, I hope they consider the catch phrase I came up with on my way out the door.

Trattoria il Centro — you’ll eat until you explode.

I’m not saying the portion sizes are too big. Trattoria il Centro gives a good plate for the money, but it’s not ridiculous. The fact is, the food is so good, I couldn’t stop eating.

Trattoria is owned and operated by chef Christine Dowd, a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America who trained and practiced her art for years in New York City. The influence of such a high-caliber chef is evident at Trattoria, in the creativity of what you taste and also in the artistry of presentation. It offers Oklahoma City an experience that is truly a cut above at a price point that is very affordable. This makes Trattoria, in my opinion, one of the better values this city has to offer.

The location and atmosphere is another plus. On the ground floor of the Montgomery building at Main and Walker, the large and open dining area is modern and energetic. Their downtown location puts them just a block from the Civic Center and the Arts District. They also offer free shuttle service to and from all of the OKC Thunder home games, giving you the chance to park (for free) a little bit away from the action, have a fabulous meal, and be chauffeured to the Ford center in style.

Now, onto the food. The menu at Trattoria is seasonal and rotated regularly. They print in-house which gives them the flexibility to change easily. Just keep in mind that you may not find everything discussed here on their menu year round.

Tim and I both enjoyed the Beef Carpaccio ($10.95), which is ultra-thinly sliced rare sirloin with capers, mushrooms, tomatoes, salad and parmesan. As we went back for bite after bite, each of us expressed a wish to leave room for the rest of the food, but neither of us could hold back. There’s a lot of flavor and freshness in that dish and all of it balanced to perfection.

I also have a fondness for the Portobello Frites ($7.95). These fingers of portobello mushrooms are breaded with panko, fried and served with garlic aioli and truffle oil. If I was a billionaire with a top hat and a monocle, I would have these made for my super-fancy Superbowl party.

We were also treated to a special, which Trattoria dreams up daily. In our case, it was a fritatta with penne pasta, mushrooms, artichokes (I think) and a little pesto on top. Any of these starter dishes would have been a fine meal, in my estimation, though I might have needed two or three orders of the mushrooms.

Trattoria serves a selection of salads most always with a unique, stacked-cylinder presentation. We tried the panzanella, or bread salad. At $5.95, it looked like a piece of edible art. Mozzarella (made in-house) and focaccia croutons really brought the flavors home. It was super fresh and delicious.

Next up was a Tuscan Chicken Sandwich ($6.95) which is only available at lunch. This was the dish that really impressed me, oddly enough. Not because it’s some kind of unstoppable juggernaut of a sandwich, but because at $7 and served with a small green salad, it’s a pretty good deal. This is one of many entrees in the $7-$10 range on the lunch menu, which offers many selections from the dinner menu served in smaller portions and at very reasonable prices.

At this point in the meal, my stomach was no longer sending hungry signals to my brain, which as any dieter knows is a sign to stop eating. But for you, I pressed on. Also, because they brought out the dish I was hoping they would bring — the Ciopino.

This is a fish stew, of sorts. For $14.95, you get mussels, shrimp and chunks of fresh fish in the most amazing tomato broth and saffron rouille sauce. Amazingly fresh. Incredibly flavorful. Even when the seafood was all gone, it took all my willpower not to pick up the bowl and slurp down the remaining liquid. I don’t know where else you can get it around these parts, but it was love at first bite for me.

The Rigatoni Buttera ($12.95 regular/$9.95 lite) is a popular dish, according to manager David Hucks, and it’s easy to see why. If you love Italian food and you want to branch out a little, this is for you. I mean, there’s spaghetti and meatballs on the menu and chicken alfredo and a pasta bolognese — classic Italian dishes we’ve all had and enjoyed. But if you’re a little adventurous, but not Ciopino-adventurous, this is perfect. Al dente rigatoni in a creamy tomato sauce with green peas (tender, not mushy) and spicy Italian sausage. The kicker for me were the red pepper flakes, which brought a touch of heat and elevated the dish to another level.

A little different and maybe not for everybody is the Butternut Squash Gnocchi and Bay Scallops ($17.95). Gnocchi isn’t like the pasta many people are used to, as it’s made with potatoes, and pairing it with the butternut squash brings on an interesting taste. It’s a little doughy, a little acidic and slightly sweet. Not bad, certainly, but not something I would expect everybody to love.

The same cannot be said for Torta Crema e Gelato al Cioccolato ($6.95), because I don’t just expect everybody to love it, I demand that you adore it. The base for this dish is a creamy reduced slice of fudge, topped with a small pile of whipped cream and gelato, all on top of a espresso sauce. This is the dessert you say you’ll split with a friend before it turns into a battle of spoons, each desperate to preserve one more bite. I was full — beyond full — when this came out, and I still found myself attacking it.

The only problem I have with Trattoria il Centro is that there’s so much more to try. Chef Dowd has an amazing restaurant that uses fresh and local ingredients to craft unique, neo-Italian dishes.

If you’re looking to add an experience to the food, Trattoria il Centro also holds wine-tasting dinners on the first and third Mondays each month. For $25, you get three courses and three wines — another great value. But make a reservation or you’re out of luck.

Trattoria il Centro is truly a treasure of Oklahoma City. If you haven’t tried it, you should. There’s really no reason not to. Go at lunch and you won’t be paying more than you would at any other mid-range restaurant, yet you’ll be experiencing quality and creativity you just can’t get many places. Trattoria is high-end but accessible, with reasonable prices and an amazing array of dishes. I cannot wait to go back again. And again. And again…

I don’t know about everybody else, but to me it seems like the Italian boom hit Oklahoma City in the mid-’90s when Olive Garden came to town. We can all take our potshots at the Garden — it’s not real Italian food, the prices are outrageous, etc. — but let’s give credit where credit is due. If it weren’t for those breadsticks, there are quite a few Oklahomans who wouldn’t know manicotti from terra cotta.

Plus, if it weren’t for mass market Italian food, would there have been such a backlash from people who wanted authentic Italian?

I’m not going to call Vivo! Italian Restaurant authentic, but I will call it pretty good. They serve the staple dishes and a few that seem a little weird, but overall, I liked it.

Unfortunately, I gave it one demerit right out of the gate. The bread, baked fresh daily, was bland and kind of doughy. I might have gotten an off loaf, but I wasn’t that impressed. It is served with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, which adds flavor, but I was kind of hoping for a crustier loaf with a little taste.

That said, our appetizer, the Potato Pancetta con Pesto soup, was delightful. At $2.99, it’s a great starter. My wife said she loved the creamy soup and the tender potato pieces. I was impressed by the pesto, which added an entirely new dimension. It might not have worked for me without the pesto, honestly, but that addition made the soup for me.

The salads were a little less exciting. If you get one, I recommend the homemade Italian dressing. It really pops with tangy spices and is thick enough to hold to the lettuce. The Caesar dressing didn’t do as much for me, even though it’s also homemade. I guess I wanted it to be a bit less watery.

The main course is where it’s at for most people and I was not disappointed. The Classico Lasagna ($10.49) is a tower of meat and pasta. Lasagna can be bland, but this had great flavor and came together perfectly. If the test of a good restaurant lasagna is one that’s better than you make at home, then this passed the test with flying colors.

My wife loved the Cannelloni ($9.99) which is stuffed with chicken, spinach and white onions and smothered in alfredo sauce. It was definitely heavier than the lasagna, but in a good way. This is the kind of meal you want to eat if you don’t mind heading home afterward and taking a short nap. It was creamy and delicious.

If I had tried the Cannelloni or the Lasagna first, I might not have enjoyed the Artichoke Chicken Pasta ($9.99) as much. That’s because, compared to the other two, it’s a lot lighter on taste. Basically, it’s penne pasta, chicken and spinach artichoke dip with diced tomatoes on top. It has a fresh taste to it and a crunch added by water chestnuts. By itself, it’s a pretty nice dish. In comparison, it pales a bit.

But there was nothing pale about the Creme Brule ($4.99). My wife and I, already full from our dinner, could not resist the lure of this dessert. It might be too good, because we couldn’t stop eating it. The garnish of raspberry sauce and whipped cream on the side were unnecessary, though it looked nice. The dessert by itself was excellent.

Vivo! is not a revelation of authentic cuisine, nor is it a bold step in a new direction. What they do best, however, is provide excellent service, tasty Italian staples and a few off-the-wall variations. I’ll be going back again, no doubt, with an eye toward trying some of their other dishes. I do not think I’ll be disappointed.

Please let us know what you think in the comments.

Being an Italian food freak, I find that I am often drawn to Italian eateries when I decide to dine out for the evening. It used to be that I enjoyed the Italian chain restaurants, but all of that changed when my date to the senior prom suggested we eat at Caffe Pranzo for the big night. What I did not know is that I would be recommending this place on a regular basis for years to come.

Caffe Pranzo is tucked into a strip mall and it stays fairly well hidden from the bustle of May Avenue. In fact, the first few times I attempted to dine there, I drove past it because of its hidden location. From the outside, it doesn’t look like anything special, but when you enter the doors you are greeted by elegance and class. Dimly lit and very well-themed, Caffe Pranzo makes you feel as if you are dining in a small restaurant in Italy. I was very impressed by the atmosphere, but would my tongue be as impressed as my eyes?

Absolutely.

For starters, there are a variety of choices. If you’re in a soup mood, there are options. If you’re in a cheese and wine mood, there are options. You will not be left wishing something else were on the menu. My personal favorite appetizer is the Caprese. The fresh Italian favorite is served with mozzarella cheese, diced tomatoes, and just a hint of olive oil and spices. The fried calamari is also an excellent choice, and Caffe Pranzo boasts that it is the “best in Oklahoma City.” I would have to agree.

The house salad, while tasty, comes off as a bit “plain Jane” in my humble opinion. I think Caffe Pranzo could do better by creating some sort of signature salad to accompany their meals.

For an entrée, I highly recommend the Chicken Cannelloni. Some would argue standard Italian dishes taste the same no matter where you go, but Caffe Pranzo finds a way to top every other place I’ve tried with this offering. The Cannelloni is delicious and it is baked with an amazing tomato-cream sauce that makes my mouth water even as I type this review. The chicken is very tender — not at all dry — and it has a fantastic flavor.

Speaking of chicken, Caffe Pranzo offers an oven roasted chicken which is marinated a full 24 hours before it is cooked. If you’re not in a pasta mood, try this dish which is served with stir-fried vegetables.

Lastly, dessert. You absolutely MUST try the Tiramisu. I can’t quite put into words my feelings about this dish so let me simply post the description that is written on their menu:

“This dessert is truly an international effort. Imported Belgium chocolate, mascarpone cheese from Italy, crispy lady fingers from France and dairy fresh eggs from Albertson’s are combined with espresso and brandy to make this a light ‘pick me up’ end to a perfect meal.”

There’s also much more to explore at Caffe Pranzo. It is, in my opinion, and incredible experience from start to finish. I’ve been recommending it to people for many years and so far, I have not heard any negative feedback from those who have tried it. So, I invite you to try it as well and let me know what you think (positive or negative) in the comments.

I’ve been itching to post this review of Meiki’s Italian American for quite some time now, but I have struggled with how to describe the place even though I’m in there about every other week or so. The best categorization I can come up with is “diner-style Italian.” Diner-style describes the atmosphere more than the food, and here’s what I mean by it.

Every other Italian restaurant I’ve been in is decorated like the stereotypical American view of what we think a restaurant in Italy would look like. I hope to find out for myself one day if this is correct, as my next travel goal is to take an eating tour of Italy. Italian restaurants here always seem to have the perfunctory bright and annoying accordion music, bottles of olive oil sitting around, cans of fancy tomatoes, Italian words painted on the wall, some sort of bread served with balsamic vinegar … you get the picture.

Well, not so at Meiki’s. Mr. Meiki has dispensed with all of the aforementioned paraphernalia and has gone bare-bones with his decorating. No fancy anything here to distract you from the food. Tan-colored booths line the walls, and basic “diner-style” tables and chairs fill the center. The plain, undecorated atmosphere used to bother me, but not anymore. In fact, I’ve really grown to like it and I hope they never change things. Just because it’s plain doesn’t mean the food isn’t good. I will happily frequent a reasonable, un-fancy place with good food any time!

Though the environment may be bland, the food is really quite good. The owner, Kamal Meiki, says everything is homemade from scratch. He also flags his prices as “the best in town” (although he said he is having to raise them here shortly because of grocery costs). Between his stints in the kitchen, he can usually be found standing in his apron in front of the TV in the dining area checking the latest scores to whatever sport happens to be airing at the time. So, it’s easy to flag him over to your table and start a delightful conversation. Last week, I noted his accent and asked him where he was from. I loved his response! He said, “I am a Christian from Galilee!” Most of the time when I ask restaurant owners from other countries where they are from, they are almost hesitant to reply. So, I loved Kamal’s enthusiasm about his origins. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was 19 years old.

Anyway, back to the food.

I’ve tried a variety of things on the menu. The pizza is really good and you can get a two-piece special with salad and drink at lunchtime. They usually also run a spaghetti and meatball special at lunch. These lunch specials run between $6-$7 which is not bad for the complete meal. I’ve never seen any dinner specials. Last week I had the Rigatoni off the dinner menu for $9.99. It was a mixture of green peppers, onion, mushrooms, sausage and pepperoni baked in marinara with pasta tubes. The whole dish was topped with mozzarella. I split this with my friend, Beth, from work, which made it very affordable and the portion was more than enough for the two of us.

I’ve also had the spaghetti, which is good. I always ask for my bread with no butter, but sometimes Mr. Meiki has already buttered all of the bread for the day, so all you get is buttered bread. Mom had the veggie calzone last week and said it was good, but keep in mind she can’t taste (she lost her sense of smell years ago). So, I don’t ever really weigh her opinion heavily when I do food reviews. She mainly judges on texture and presentation of the food and the friendliness of the owner (she LOVED Mr. Meiki).

By the way, for the vegetarians out there, Mr. Meiki told me that every dish on the menu can be made “veggie-style.”

If there’s one thing I’m not particularly impressed with at Meiki’s, it’s the salads. When Beth and I went, she had a side Caesar and I had the side dinner salad. Beth said the Caesar dressing was fantastic and I trust her because she’s kind of a Caesar dressing connoisseur. However, the side dinner salad consisted of just lettuce, croutons and a pepper … pretty plain. I would like to see some other veggies added to this. I’ve also had the chicken club salad as a main course. There’s a lot more to it including bacon bits, black olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, croutons, hard boiled egg, and chicken. It was ok, but I don’t know … maybe if the greens were a little better, it would help.

One thing I had never noticed until recently is that they serve hamburgers. Last week, we noticed that everyone was ordering the hamburger and fries, and boy did it look mighty tasty. Mr. Meiki says they hand peel and cut the potatoes for their fries. Next time I go in, I’m having the burger and fries.

Bottom line, Meiki’s is a simple place — more like a diner than a restaurant. The atmosphere isn’t anything special, but it is a nice, quiet, very informal place with some good food. I recommend it. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

This one’s a “must try.” In fact, you may want to stop reading right now and make your way to Bella Vista. Alright, I’m getting a little carried away, but I just get so excited whenever I find a new “hidden gem” to share with you. I have to thank a friend at my workplace for recommending Bella Vista. I had never heard of it before, but I know I’ll be going back soon.

Bella Vista is a small, family-owned, family-run Italian restaurant in Southwest Oklahoma City. It is humble, casual, and the food is incredibly fresh. They claim that everything is hand-made daily, and I believe it. They have a special olive oil bottled for them from Vasiliko Di Kalamata (I don’t know where that is, but it sounds impressive). They bake their own bread. Every sauce is cooked fresh each day. This is Italian comfort-food and I have not experienced anything else like it in Oklahoma City.

The place is very casual. Come in jeans, shorts, or whatever you like. From the outside, the building doesn’t look much like a restaurant. Inside, they have made an effort to add some Mediterranean ambiance, but it’s definitely nothing to write home about. Yet, it’s comfortable and warm.

The food is what I would imagine home-cooking is like in Italy. It’s nothing fancy, but it is so extremely fresh and flavorful. I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs ($8.95 at dinner). It’s common, I know, but I really like to judge any Italian place by this staple because you can tell so much from the way they handle their marinara sauce. I also ordered a dinner salad ($1.25 extra with a dinner) with homemade Italian dressing.

The salad dressing was absolutely perfect. Whatever special olive oil they claim to use was extremely effective. The dressing was so light, yet with a great mix of spices and some Parmesan cheese mixed throughout. Though the salad itself could have used a little more interest (it was mostly iceberg and a couple of tomato / cucumber slices), it pretty much just serves as a canvas for the dressing, so perhaps plain is better to really let the dressing stand out.

After that, my pasta came out. A very plain-looking plate with a heap of noodles covered edge to edge with sauce and two meatballs sitting on the side. When they placed it in front of me, I was overwhelmed with the aroma of fresh vegetables from the sauce. Now, the sauce was completely smooth, but you could still smell every bit of produce that went into it. It was unbelievable. Not sweet and overly heavy like a lot of commercial sauces. This is so light and so fresh. I can hardly describe it.

They say the meatballs are made fresh each day and slow-cooked for four hours. They were so tender and smooth. Again, nothing fancy, just basic Italian food done extremely well. I could eat it at least once a week, I think. Too bad it’s not closer to my office.

At lunch, they offer a special. For $6.95, you can choose from any of their basic pastas such as spaghetti alla marinara, arrabiata, bolognese … etc., or other favorites like baked ziti, manicotti, lasagna, eggplant parmigiano, or chicken alla parmigiano. The price of lunch includes a salad and their homemade bread. I consider this a tremendous value and I wish I had the time to get down there for lunch more often.

I have heard that if they get crowded at lunch, the food can take a while to come out. I didn’t experience this at dinner, but thought I’d pass it along. One thing my friend recommended is to call ahead at lunch time and they will start preparing your order in advance. I may have to try that some time as the drive, for me, would take up a good chunk of my lunch hour.

The menu has even more to offer than I’ve mentioned here. There is a large selection of appetizers, salads, soups, pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, and specialty dishes like chicken picata, marsala, scaloppini and a host of other specialty sauces. With so much to try and food that is so fresh and fabulous, I look forward to becoming a regular here.

I hope you’ll give Bella Vista a try soon. It’s local, unique, and very, very good. Let me know what you think in the comments.

I’m surprised, taken aback, shocked … I’m really quite confused by my experience at Lotsa Noodles the other day. You see, I had several people recently tell me how good the place is and so I was really looking forward to trying it. When I got there, the sweet-looking decor and high-end marketing impressed me so much I had to ask the people to make sure it wasn’t a chain (and it isn’t, though they are looking at opening a location in Woodward soon). But then my food came out and, man oh man, I was disappointed.

First of all, if you asked my wife she would tell you that there is very rarely any food that I don’t like. I mean, I just like food and I will give any food the benefit of the doubt. So, you have to understand that it is not to be taken lightly when I say that I did not like the food here. Let me say it again — I did not like it.

Of course, I was open to the possibility that maybe I just went on a bad day or chose the wrong thing from the menu. I wouldn’t want to offer such a negative impression based on one isolated experience. So, I checked with my trusty co-writers here and found that they have had equally lackluster experiences with this place (I should have checked with them before I went).

Andrew says, “I have had an alfredo dish (tastes like it came out of a jar), the Stroganoff (much better than the alfredo), and a pesto noodle dish that was very underwhelming. I’ll never go back.”

Sarah says, “The last time we ate there, he (my husband) thought the pasta was too soggy, and he agrees it is way too expensive for what you get. Nothing I’ve had has ever been horrible, but it’s nothing special either.”

With these two impressions giving credence to my own, I feel completely justified in presenting my opinion here. So, here’s a some more detail about my experience.

I’ve mentioned the sleek, high-end marketing, and it really is top-notch. Just go visit their website and you’ll see what I mean. Beautiful photographs of the food, high-end design, simplicity — they’ve got it going on with marketing. The interior of the restaurant is equally polished. You really will find it hard to believe that it’s not a chain. I’ve heard that it used to be a chain called “Nothing but Noodles,” but at some point, the owners took it independent. They must have learned a lot about marketing from their chain experience because everything looks outstanding.

But then comes the food. Again, it looks great in the photos. And the menu is really interesting and widely varied. I was getting really excited about it as I waited to order. I chose Pad Thai. I love Pad Thai. It’s one of my favorite dishes so I really wanted to see how theirs stacked up. The cost was $6.49 for a bowl. Seemed pretty good to me, so I ordered it.

But then I noticed on the take-out menu I was perusing that the Pad Thai doesn’t come with meat. In fact, most of the noodle dishes don’t come with meat. Meats are listed as “toppings” and to add chicken to your Pad Thai will cost you $2.49 extra. So, now I’m realizing that to get a bowl of chicken Pad Thai, you’re looking at $9. “Yikes,” I thought. “This had better be some really good Pad Thai.” I kept an open mind.

Then it came. It smelled funny. I stirred it around in the bowl and noticed that the scrambled egg was not crumbled up and distributed throughout the Pad Thai. Nope. It was about a 3×3 inch block of scrambled egg that I had to try and crumble and stir around myself. Then, I tasted it and what I found was an almost watery-tasting sauce with very little punch to it and an overpowering amount of garlic (which I am still tasting now). Nothing bold. Nothing to set it apart. Just a bowl of slightly Asian-influenced noodles and a big brick of scrambled egg.

The other funny thing is that they served it with an Italian breadstick. Now, I understand they have Italian noodles too, but shouldn’t you pair up your offerings in the same family?

And this leads me to my conclusion. When you have a restaurant that serves such a variety of types of foods including American noodle dishes (like stroganoff), Asian dishes, Italian pastas … etc., it’s an interesting concept but near impossible to pull off. How can you expect to create Italian dishes that rival Italian restaurants or Thai dishes that compete with the Asian district? And, even moreso, how can you expect to charge 50% more for them?

To my mind, it’s just a doomed concept. But, I will say, they appear to be doing ok. Maybe the high-end branding is enough to distract people from the food and justify the higher price tag. The free wifi is nice as well. But, I cannot in good conscience support this place or return here because they are cranking out mediocre dishes. I wish them continued success, but I’ll be getting my noodles elsewhere.

I have found everything I like in a restaurant at Sophabella’s – comfortable atmosphere, consistent and classy service, robust, flavorful food and great Tony Bennett-esque music. It’s the kind of place you can go to on a dressy date, but feel just as comfortable popping in after a day at the mall in jeans and a sweatshirt. Plus, the menu offers just as wide a variety of food as the people you’ll find dining there.

Our family’s favorite appetizer has to be the toasted ravioli, probably because of the slightly spicy and thick marinara sauce with which it is served. This is the kind of marinara you can sink you teeth into. I get really disappointed by some of the other thin, runny marinara sauces served by other Italian restaurants, but you don’t have to worry about thin and runny at Sophabella’s. This could easily be a meal in itself, especially if paired with one of their signature salads. I usually just go with the house salad and dressing, which is a really nice Italian viniagrette. My husband won’t leave without a bowl of their homemade lobster and crab bisque – the best in town, he says. And no wonder, after interviewing the owners Bill Brazil and Sandy Ochoa-Brazil, I found out everything in the restaurant is homemade from scratch. And you can tell – it’s delicious.

Sandy says the fish is brought in daily, and one of the daily specials is usually a fish dish. She says the steaks are the same prime filet as what the high end steak houses in town serve, except at a fraction of the cost. And the pasta menu is pretty incredible – one whole page to itself, which contains a really great variety of almost anything one could want.

One of the specialties is their Chicago-style pizza, which you can order with a thin or thick crust, and it’s fabulous. In fact, they have a customer here in town who flies customers in from Chicago just for the pizza at Sophabella’s. The natives from Chicago compare the pizza here favorably to Geno’s in Chicago. The dough is homemade and the sauce is homemade.

Sandy says another specialty during Sunday brunch is their Bloody Mary bar, which has turned into a big hit with customers. For $4, they set up all of the fixings for you to make your own Bloody Mary just the way you like it. The rest of the brunch menu features a Cajun and French flair.

The catering business has recently been expanded by bringing on Peter Seay, who helped get the local Skirvin Hotel started. They are now ready to service wedding rehearsal dinners, as well as large-party catering. For catering information, please call 659-1809.

There has never been anything we have been disappointed in at Sophabella’s. I would just describe it as an extremely relaxing, comfortable, great place to eat. I never feel hurried – it’s someplace I like to go for the total dining experience. My foodie family members from Dallas really like it too, and I enjoy taking them there.

If anyone besides me is still missing Seinfeld, I have just the answer for you. Head down to Papa Angelo’s in the heart of downtown Bethany, and you’ll think you’ve walked right into a new Seinfeld episode. Papa Angelo can usually be found holding court in the middle of his small and cozy restaurant, while sons Joe and “Red” hand toss the crust for whatever you have just ordered.

The whole DiGiAntomasso family hails from New York City, and they come complete with the accent. Joe says he arrived first 12 years ago. Well, actually, this is where he was when he ran out of gas, and he just stayed. Except when he had to go back and get Mom and Pop. Papa Angelo, 78, says he is so old that he was a waiter at the Last Supper.

The day that Mom, my friend Beth, and I went for lunch, Papa was out because he had just returned from a drive back to New York for a wedding. But any of the five family members are more than happy to supply the entertainment while your pizza bakes. When Joe found out we were reviewing them for this site, he called Papa and said to get down there – someone wanted to interview him. He said Papa had left on vacation and hadn’t come back. When Papa arrived, I asked him if that was true, and he said Joe was crazy and that what he didn’t know is that he had been up until 4am that morning cooking two pots of homemade tomato sauce. He said all this as he was chewing on a piece of pizza while sitting at our table. A little while later, Red yells over to us from behind the pizza assembly area that Papa is so old he was a busboy at the Last Supper. Papa yells back that he was a waiter, not a busboy. And a big argument (in New York accents) ensued from there over which job it really was. Mama is tired and is sitting with her back to us in another booth while she chews on her pizza that she took out of Papa’s hands. Beth asks her if she works here full-time also, and she says no because she can’t see the TV here as well as she can see the big screen at home. Beth then tells Joe she needs a refill, and he tells her the soda fountain is behind the counter.

All of Papa’s recipes are from the family. And, if you’re not family and you work at Papa’s, you must sign a waiver to never give out any of the recipes. Papa is serious about this. Take the garlic knots, for instance, which I highly, highly recommend. One time a customer pestered Papa so much for the recipe, that Papa gave it to him and said that he added a bunch of red cayenne pepper. Well, the customer ran right home and made his own and about choked to death on them. There’s really not any red pepper in them, but Papa thought he would teach him a lesson. Papa has also won over many fans of his eggplant parmesan. People who have sworn they would never eat eggplant eat Papa’s. Papa says they make their own dough, grind their own cheese, and make their own homemade sauce.

We go at lunchtime, and I recommend getting there early ahead of Bethany High School. We like the lunch special, which is two gigantic pieces of cheese pizza and a drink for $4. Extra toppings are $.25 a slice. The pizza is served on a really flimsy white paper plate (I would suggest they at least invest in some good Chinet paper plates), and if you want a fork, they’re in the corner.

If you’re really hungry, every Saturday night from 8pm – 9pm, the “Empire Challenge” is issued. If you can eat the 20-inch Empire pizza in 45 minutes, it’s yours free. You have to choose two meats and one veggie. No one has ever accomplished this feat. There are eight pictures on the Wall of Shame, and none on the Wall of Fame.

Papa Angelo’s will soon become a chain. Red is headed to Jones, OK, to open a second location at 119 W. Main Street. And, another branch is planned for Choctaw.

So, if you’re ever looking for some entertainment at lunchtime, and some good Italian food (they’ve also got five pasta dishes), head to downtown Bethany and give Papa Angelo’s a try. Usually, you end up making friends with everyone in there because Papa is such a character. Well, actually, the whole family is.

I’ve been searching for a great Italian restaurant in Oklahoma City, and I’m still searching. I’m not saying Bellini’s is bad, it’s actually quite good, but its not great.

Maybe it was the 20 kids having a “Sweet Sixteen” celebration in what should be a quiet and reserved upper-scale Italian atmosphere, or maybe it was the fact that they brought me chicken rather than veal, or perhaps the very lofty expectations for said veal, but I’m still searching for that “great” Italian experience in Oklahoma.

Bellini’s has a reasonably diverse menu and can range from quite pricey to quite reasonable in price. Wood-fired pizzas topped with everything from shrimp to barbecued chicken, apparently inspired by the California pizza movement, can feed 2 people for under 15 bucks. There are also steaks that can set you back upwards of $30. I chose to try something from their specialty menu. These are dishes that are typically highlighted by the chef as the best they have to offer. Veal Marsala is a favorite of mine so I thought I would see how their marsala sauce stacks up against the other marsala sauces I’ve had in my day. To me, great Italian food is defined by its sauces. In fact, I’ve become quite the saucier myself and find myself being tempted often to cook up a big pot of cream-based sauce to eat alone with an artisan loaf of some sort. Thankfully, for the sake of my arteries, I have managed to resist this temptation.

The Caesar salad was very good, the bread was fantastic, and the Marsala sauce was….eh…not bad. I like my marsala sauces a little thicker, and I also like a more rustic and bold mushroom like a porcini or morel (my favorite). Bellini’s used your average button mushrooms. The Veal cutlets were served on top of a bed of noodles that were well past “al dente,” and the cutlets were a bit thicker than I’m used to in a marsala dish, which caused them to seem a bit tougher than I had hoped. I kind of wish I had kept the chicken dish that they brought by mistake the first time because it looked fantastic. I may have also set Bellini’s up for disappointment because I have had some fabulous veal dishes that would be very hard to top.

Ambiance is quite nice, or would be were it not for the 20 sixteen-year-old kids next to us. The patio is particularly nice overlooking a pond, and would be a nice way to enjoy a cool evening. I’ll be sure to give Bellini’s another shot and try a different sauce on another occasion. For the price, Bellini’s provides a great atmosphere and food selection. In fact, you would have to visit one of the city’s nicer, and much pricier, steakhouses to get a better all around dining experience and you would spend twice the money.