Seasons Change

Last night I went to Bella Pasta for the first time since they moved locations . . . several years ago. When I first moved to Fresno, Bella Pasta quickly became one of my favorite restaurants. I especially loved their pumpkin ravioli with cream sauce and walnuts which allowed me to eat pumpkin pie for dinner without any guilt. I decided that it was time to break my long hiatus from dining at BP.

We were seated on the patio on a cool spring evening. Both Kristie and I had put in a long day at work and we had more work to do over dinner. Still, it was so pleasant outdoors that we chatted about life and summer (only tackling our work at the end of the meal). Kristie's good company--she's smart, funny, and always interesting. And when we got to the work part of the meal, it was great collaborating with her about teaching.

But first the food. When I perused the menu, I misread the description of one dish--so I almost ordered a pasta, chicken, mushroom, and pea dish. I thought it would be served with cream sauce, but when I read more closely, I realized it was a tomato based dish. Somehow, that combination didn't fill my need for comfort food, so I ordered my fall back of lasagna (the pumpkin ravioli is seasonal and this is not the season).

The meal began with Bella Pasta's signature focaccia with a new twist: oil, vinegar, and chopped garlic to dip it in. Neither Kristie nor I cared much about our breath last night, so we were both quite pleased with the addition of garlic.

Although I still love my own focaccia more, Bella Pasta's version is soft and chewy. I'd never tried adding garlic to the dipping oil--but I really savored the small chunks of garlic that left what at first was a pleasing aftertaste. This morning when I woke up with garlic breath, the aftertaste wasn't nearly as appealing!

Next, our waiter brought us the house salad. I always get the wet and dry dressing (oil, vinegar, and blue cheese), but last night they substituted gorgonzola, a trade up as far as I'm concerned.

This was a simple but quite flavorful salad.

I blogged a few months ago about the unearthly portions served at chain restaurants. When the waiter brought my lasagna, I found that Bella Pasta's servings are likewise gargantuan. I ate some last night, some for lunch, and I still have some left.

Although I enjoyed the taste last night, the more I think about this dish, the more I realize it was a cheesy, gooey mess. Sure, I love cheese, tomato, and pasta . . . but there wasn't much subtlety in this dish--no layers, no complexity, just goo.

Sometimes goo is good, but most of the time I'd prefer eating food with a little more sophistication. It may be a long, long time before I return to Bella Pasta, but I hope it's not a long time before Kristie and I go out for dinner again.