Bellavitae

Swimster took me out last Tuesday for a special birthday dinner. And the best part was it was a surprise and it stayed a surprise. I hate surprises (well, not really) but every time I'm told I'm getting one, I try my hardest to guess what it is. Is this weird? So I took a couple guesses: Il Mulino, Babbo, Balthazar, and Gramercy Park Tavern.
It turned out to be none of the above.

I met him on Minetta Lane in the West Village and low and behold the restaurant he chose was Bellavitae. Now I had never heard of it, but the fun thing about it was he said he found it on the "If you like ...., then you'll like....for less" article on NYMetro. We walked right in and though we were a few minutes early for our reservation, the host was very friendly and sat us right away.

I was immediately impressed by the distressed exposed brick in contrast to the very dark tables and bar counter. It was a bright but romantic setting, perfect for that first date or a dinner for you and yours. The server was very friendly and brought us water and the wine list immediately. We chose a California white because it was a little warm out that evening and we tend to be partial to the weather when choosing between white or red varietals.

Menu memorables: Swimster and I decided to get a "schmorgasboard" of appetizers and one entree each, to get a better feeling for the food. What was interesting about Bellavitae is apparently their "pantry" is well-renowned among other Italian restaurants in the city and a lot of them purchase their ingredients and products from Bellavitae. If the pros like it, we were bound to like it too. Fried risotto with saffron, which looked like freezer-friendly tater tots, were our first bite. They were warm and crispy on the outside and smooth and chewy on the inside. I bit mine in half to see the risotto inside because I had never seen these before. Only complaint was the fried layer was a little thick and outweighed the flavor of the risotto. I didn't notice the saffron at all. Keeping with the fried theme,
















we chose fried meatballs as well, pictured here. My dad's jaw dropped when I told him we tried fried meatballs (he prides himself on his homemade meatballs and I think the modern take on a classic Italian staple was kind of a shocker). They were bite size and a little on the salty and drier side, a result I'm sure of the frying process. I think I'll stick to regular meatballs drowning in marinara next time. The third appetizer we tried was the
















crostini of black and green olive pate with egg and anchovy. This was my favorite creation, and surprisingly I even enjoyed the anchovy on top. This dish was rather high in sodium but the minced hard-boiled egg evened out the bitterness and saltiness of the olive and the anchovy. Last but not least (appetizer-wise) we had prosciutto and figs. I have recently been turned on to figs by my Dad who now buys them in the little re-zip fruit bags at the grocery store. The halved figs brought a richness to the prosciutto I had never had before. They highlighted its chewy texture and cured saltiness.
For our entrees we went for simple pasta dishes. Mine simple, Swimster's not so simple. I ordered the orrecchiete, which was lightly doused in olive oil and mixed with small sausage crumbles (not sliced sausage but bits of sausage) and spinach. The pasta had a very soft and homemade flavor to it that was warm and very pleasing. I enjoyed the simple olive oil base with the sausage and spinach. Swimster's dish was black squid ink pasta with calamari in a marinara sauce. This dish made mine look extremely boring. And what was so fascinating about it, as you'll see here, is the pasta was actually in the form of squid! It totally blew our socks off. And the taste was slightly squid-like too. A truly distinctive dish. The marinara was a little bit on the oily side but didn't take away from the chewy calamari and pasta. The portions at Bellavitae are on the lighter side so you can actually enjoy an entire 3-course meal. We decided, however, to grab an after-dinner drink somewhere else.

Bellavitae was close in proximity to Mario Batali's famous Babbo (his other restaurants include Lupa, Esca, Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, and soon to come Del Posto). We have not had the fortune to eat dinner at Babbo but an after-dinner drink was still a treat. We were glancing over the menu outside whilst being heckled

by a drunken patron hounding us to go in, and even swearing to buy us drinks if we did. I was a tipsy fool and thought this guy was being serious. Little did we know when we went inside the entire wait and managerial staff was plotting to try and smoothly oust this dirtbag from the bar. He quickly ditched us to harass two pretty Japanese girls whose night had been already partially ruined by the pompous drunk ass. We chose a couple glasses of port and bore witness to the maitre d' finally having words with said buffoon. He did not leave willingly or without a barrage of threatening words to the bartender, who was calmly going about his business. An entertaining end to a fabulous night.

24 Minetta Lane, off 6th Ave between 3rd St and Bleecker
212.473.5121