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The Dish with Jess Harter ~ Pursuing food and fun across the East Valley

Archive for the 'Bella Vino' Tag

Dirty dining: Amando’s cited for 8 major violations

October 19th, 2009, 9:23 pm by Jess Harter

Week-old cooked food, food not protected from contamination and poor handwashing procedures were among the eight major violations at Amando’s, the worst offender in this week’s Maricopa County restaurant inspections.

The Tempe restaurant, 2602 W. Southern Ave., was cited for having week-old diced potatoes in the walk-in cooler. The inspector also noted cooked shrimp, salsa and other foods were stored uncovered, and buckets of horchata dry mix were stored on the floor.

Other East Valley restaurants that had unfavorable inspections included 5 & Diner at Arizona Mills in Tempe, Bella Vino in Chandler (which closed this weekend) and the restaurant at the Safeway at Val Vista Drive and Southern Avenue in Mesa. Each had six major violations.

Cibo, the acclaimed wine café and pizzeria in downtown Phoenix, had five major violations.

For more details on these restaurants’ inspections, or to check any other restaurant, go to maricopa.gov and click on “Restaurant Ratings.”

‘Temporarily’ closed: Bella Vino, Digestif?

October 19th, 2009, 2:32 pm by Jess Harter

My Monday morning ritual of the past few months has included figuring out which East Valley restaurants closed over the previous weekend. Maybe this is a sign the economy is turning around: Today, there are a couple weekend closures of note, but both restaurants — Bella Vino in Chandler and Digestif in Scottsdale — are promising to reopen by the end of the year.

Bella VinoWorkers were removing fixtures and equipment Monday from Bella Vino, the upscale Italian restaurant on the southeast corner of Alma School and Chandler Heights roads. But a sign on the door indicated Bella Vino (pictured) plans to reopen in November at Gilbert Road and the Santan Freeway. No word on whether it would offer an Italian menu (its original concept), a Mexican menu (which it recently added) or keep both.

(If memory serves, there are a couple of Italian options, Olive Garden and Streets of New York, already at Gilbert and the Loop 202, but I can’t think of a Mexican restaurant there. Plus, owner-chef Anthony Serrano’s family operates several Mexican eateries in western Arizona.)

Meanwhile, Digestif continues to experience a whirlwind of change since opening last year. The Cal-Ital restaurant left its indie-cool, beatnik-basement digs in July and moved across Stetson Drive to a much smaller, stripped-down space vacated by one of owner Peter Kasperski’s other eateries, Sea Saw. Then, chef Payton Curry announced earlier this month he was leaving to take over the kitchen at Tempe’s Caffe Boa.

Marianne Markogianis, marketing guru for Kasperski’s restaurant group (which also includes Cowboy Ciao and Kazimierz World Wine Bar), says Kasperski hopes to reopen Digestif by December. Although the restaurant will get a new name, a new look and a new chef, Markogianis says it likely will retain its recently converted gastropub menu, albeit shortened, of globally inspired dishes.

Italian restaurant Bella Vino adds … Mexican dishes?

February 25th, 2009, 4:51 pm by Jess Harter

Spaghetti and meatballs with a side of tacos, anyone?

In one of the more unusual moves I’ve seen from a Valley eatery, Italian fine-dining restaurant Bella Vino has added seven pages of Mexican dishes (see menu pdf) to its already extensive menu of Old World pastas and entrees.

The restaurant’s exterior boasts temporary banners with the name “El Palacio of Chandler” on the southeast corner of Alma School and Chandler Heights roads. Inside, however, banners proclaim “Casa Serrano of Chandler” next to the original Bella Vino signage.

Confused?

Bella Vino owner-chef Anthony Serrano grew up in the Mexican restaurant business; his family operates several such eateries in western Arizona. (The family is not related to the longtime Chandler family that owns several Serrano’s restaurants in the East Valley.)

The new menu additions include seafood and egg dishes, as well as such specialities as chile verde, steak ranchero and mole poblano.

The new highlight, however, has to be the 28-inch El Bandito burrito ($22) stuffed with a tamale, chile relleno, rice and beans. Half is covered with red sauce, the other half green sauce.

Read my recent review of Bella Vino.

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