This week Melanie and Chad, your friendly campus food lovers, headed down to Gold Star Boulevard to try out a restaurant we’d recently heard some friends rave about - Ciao Bella.  Meeting up on location, we grabbed our gear and prepared for another couple hours of pretending to be mere note-taking, picture-snapping patrons…even though we aren’t very discreet.
We head in to the endearing eatery a bit unsure of what we are supposed to do.  There are tables and chairs around us but no sign instructing us whether to wait to be seated or to seat ourselves. Thankfully, one of the kind women working came to our rescue and promptly encouraged us to sit wherever we would like. Picking a table for two by the window, we began the real adventure.
Opening the menus that had been centered in our place settings, we were impressed with the expansive selection of food. Not only does Ciao Bella have a sizeable assortment of Roll-Ups, or wraps, for just $4.99, but they also have pizzas, grinders, and entrees galore. Even more exciting for Chad was the selection of appetizers, and we were both thrilled to learn that all items are available for take-out and delivery!  
But we digress…let’s get back to the food. As we sat there trying to temper our incredible indecision, our original hostess floated over to the table with a basket of fresh-baked foccacia and marinara sauce for dipping.  We both immediately understood that we were not going to escape without the tell-tale “food baby” stomachs of a substantial meal, and, accepting our fates, we finally ordered the Bruschetta appetizer, the Grilled Mellanzane Roll-Up, and the Carciofi Pizza with added grilled chicken. Here’s what we thought:

Fresh-Baked Focaccia with Marinara Dipping Sauce
Complimentary!

All we have to say about this is it was absolutely delicious and noticeably fresh, with both compliments considerably amplified by its being free.  We are college students after all.

    Rating: ✭✭✭✭✰ 5/5
Bruschetta    $5.99

Grilled foccacia bread with fresh plum tomatoes, red onion, garlic, fresh basil & extra virgin olive oil.
Be warned – this is no victual for vampires! When they said garlic, they really meant it, but that’s no problem for us because we both absolutely adore it.  That being said, the dish was delectable but dense for an item that’s usually quite light.  The ingredients were visibly fresh and in ample quantity.  Our only complaint was the amount of oil.  We could have gone without the weight and grease it added to the bread and the pool left in the serving plate.

          Rating: ✭✭✭✰✰ 3/5
Great ingredients and good flavor with a week’s worth of olive oil.

Grilled Mellanzane    $4.99
Spinach, humus, sun dried tomatoes, imported feta & eggplant.

According to Chad, if you think about attempting this Roll-Up one day without the absolute assurance that you fancy these flavors, stop!  First off, the sandwich wasn’t very successful in evenly distributing its ingredients.  The fresh spinach leaves were in a big dense hunk, as were the feta and eggplant. On top of that it had an atypical tang to it.  Melanie was a bit less critical.  She said that normally she’d love the sandwich—simple and healthy—but on the same table as our next food choice, it didn’t stand a chance. Two bites each and we both said goodbye to the Grilled Mellanzane.

          Rating: ✭✭✰✰✰ 2/5
Two stars for the two bites before this plain package hits the plate.
Small Carciofi Pizza with Grilled Chicken Added    $12.48
Artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, goat cheese, & grilled chicken

Our favorite dish by far! For starters, if we saw someone else with this pizza we’d ask if they wanted some crust with their toppings. The pizza was piled high!  Furthermore, it was huge. Chad commented that he’s never ordered a small pizza and got what could have passed as a large at any other restaurant.
The caramelized onions had a faint but fabulous flavor, the artichokes were ample and appetizing, and the savory sun dried tomatoes blended impeccably with the sweetness of the goat cheese—a personal preference of Melanie’s.
As if these things weren’t enough, the grilled chicken was shaved, not cubed, so that a bite from this pizza presented you with a balanced blend of ingredients rather than protruding hunks of poultry. To add the final touch to this treat, the dough was cooked to a perfect balance of crisp crust and soft center.
   Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭ 5/5
Hands-down winner this week. One of the best dishes we’ve devoured yet.

Having related our regards for the food, we’d like to comment on a few other aspects of our experience.  Customer service comes quickly to mind. Chad orders an ice water with lemon at every establishment, and believes that there is nothing worse than having to beckon your waitress for something as simple as a full glass of water. Our waitress at Ciao Bella, he is happy to report, refilled our waters religiously. Another thing we noticed during our visit was the large frame of awards recently won by the restaurant.  We may have had a hit-and-miss with Ciao Bella, but enough people rant about its rations that it is certainly a worthwhile place to suggest.

   

Overall Experience Rating: ✭✭✭✭✰ 4/5