Always happy to eat Italian and Bella Napoli is supposed to bring an authentic touch. Cute Italian bistro initially lost some points until I got a lesson in authenticity. But my surprise and disappointment at eating perfectly prepared fresh grilled eggplant cold, quickly dissipated when world traveler Sara clued me in that in Italy, cold veggies rule. The taste was beautiful--I just wasn't used to that temperature. I scooped some onto my Pizza Margarita and it really jazzed it up. My favorite plate of the evening, however was Mr. Refs calzone. Not the kind of thing I would usually waste calories on--too big, too much bread from the looks of it, but I didn't count on the big taste! Gotta go back and get me one of those! And it sure didn't hurt that the house red (Chianti) was inexpensive but luxurious tasting, and perfect with the Italian bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic.
Mrs. Refs final score 4/5.
Welcome to our blog! We are a Kansas City family who devotes the first Thursday of each month to trying a new restaurant. Follow along as we travel the Kansas City area in search of delicious new ethnic fare, trendy eats and comfort food. We will share our interesting finds and good laughs along the way.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Monday, September 23, 2013
When the moon hits your eyes like a big Pizza Pie thats Bella Napoli
Bella Napoli! What a little gem in beautiful Brookside! Brookside iws a fantastic place to eat for several reasons, 1. It has a really cool feel to it when you walk around there. 2. It is super close to my house which makes it easy to get to and easy to come home from! 3. It is were Foo's is located! But enough about the Location lets talk about the dinner.
Bella Napoli, is an Italian restaurant and it doesn't disappoint. As I walked in after coming home from a Royals come from behind win, I truly thought the day could not get any better, but I was wrong it did! As we sat there talking about the game and what was new with everyone, I asked the waiter to recommend a wine for me and all I told him is I prefer a semi dry red wine. He suggested one and at first sip I was in love it was one of the best wines I have had. Now Let me tell you something about service. I know it is tough to always make suggestions and most times they just try to up-sale you something that is okay, but this was a medium priced wine at $7 and it was exactly what I wanted! Props to him. Speaking of service this was by far the best service I have been given and with our group going that extra mile really says something! He was quick, helpful, friendly, fast just everything you wanted in your wait staff. Props to him!
On to the food! I ordered a Spaghetti Allo Scoglio, which was mussels, clams, shrimp, octopus, tomato sauce and hot peppers. Now I am not one to normally order seafood pasta and put red sauce on it, I usually want white, but they pulled it off. It was pretty good, but by far not the best thing at the table or even the best thing on my plate. The best thing on my plate was the asparagus, it was crunchy with a sauce on it which was just terrific! I tried a little bit of everything and it was all excellent, but the best thing I tried was my mothers Pizza, it was great! the crust amazing, the toppings amazing, the pizza AMAZING! Next time i go to this gem i know its lame but I am getting the pizza.
Overall this was my 2nd favorite Italian Restaurant in Kansas City, behind you guessed it Anna's Oven. I will give them a 3.95 cannot wait to go back!
Bella Napoli, is an Italian restaurant and it doesn't disappoint. As I walked in after coming home from a Royals come from behind win, I truly thought the day could not get any better, but I was wrong it did! As we sat there talking about the game and what was new with everyone, I asked the waiter to recommend a wine for me and all I told him is I prefer a semi dry red wine. He suggested one and at first sip I was in love it was one of the best wines I have had. Now Let me tell you something about service. I know it is tough to always make suggestions and most times they just try to up-sale you something that is okay, but this was a medium priced wine at $7 and it was exactly what I wanted! Props to him. Speaking of service this was by far the best service I have been given and with our group going that extra mile really says something! He was quick, helpful, friendly, fast just everything you wanted in your wait staff. Props to him!
On to the food! I ordered a Spaghetti Allo Scoglio, which was mussels, clams, shrimp, octopus, tomato sauce and hot peppers. Now I am not one to normally order seafood pasta and put red sauce on it, I usually want white, but they pulled it off. It was pretty good, but by far not the best thing at the table or even the best thing on my plate. The best thing on my plate was the asparagus, it was crunchy with a sauce on it which was just terrific! I tried a little bit of everything and it was all excellent, but the best thing I tried was my mothers Pizza, it was great! the crust amazing, the toppings amazing, the pizza AMAZING! Next time i go to this gem i know its lame but I am getting the pizza.
Overall this was my 2nd favorite Italian Restaurant in Kansas City, behind you guessed it Anna's Oven. I will give them a 3.95 cannot wait to go back!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Another Bite of Heaven
Mr. Ref here, this month we went to Bella Napoli, and as I have stated before Italian is my favorite. Bella Napoli was no exception, I ordered the Calzone and it was very good. I choose the sausage calzone and the crust was outstanding, as well as all of the fillings. I cut up some pieces to pass around and everyone seemed to agree that the calzone was very good. The service was one of the best we have had, and the fact that Bella Napoli is not only a restaurant, but it is also a market store, adds to its unique flavor. I thought it was very nice and the food was very good, I gave it a 4 out of 5.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Italian tonight
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Taqueria Mexico
A few weeks ago, for Grandpa's pick, the All-Stars went to Taqueria Mexico on Southwest Boulevard. It is a nice restaurant, with good lighting, an open dining area, a jukebox with a lot of music I didn't recognize (Mexican music, I expect), and a friendly staff.
The menu was extensive, which is always a little dubious. There can't be a chef in the back that has the ingredients for, and can cook from a selection of 50 different dishes for a table of 8 in 20 minutes - it's got to be frozen. But that doesn't mean it isn't decent.
I ordered the ceviche, which was very flavorful, and received well by the other All-Stars. But they only had few bites. It was never bad, but the flavor became overwhelming halfway through the dish, and I couldn't finish it. It's like that experiment where they have people try Pepsi and Coke, and people choose Pepsi when they just get one sip, because it is sweeter, but choose Coke when they drink the whole thing. The ceviche was good, but only for a few sips.
Not a big chips and salsa fan, so I will defer to the other authorities in our group for that. I am a big margarita fan, and these were good margarita's. They were tangy, and not too sweet. And Sara drove home.
I tasted Josh's infamous tongue. Well, not his tongue, he's my brother. What's the matter with you? I tried the cow tongue that he ordered. First I inspected it, and, in case you have never seen a bovine mouth organ up close, cows have huge taste buds (oh God, I hope those were taste buds). I pressed the cow tongue firmly against my tongue, feeling the taste buds rub roughly against my own. He was firm, yet gentle. I was basically French kissing a cow. A dead cow with his tongue cut out and sautéed. And I liked it. I don't know if I was tasting him, or he was tasting me, but we were delicious and tender, and I will never order it for myself. Let's leave it at that. We had one wonderful night, but it isn't meant to be. If you love something, set it free, right?
To finish the night a mariachi band stopped in a played for a bit. That was fun. I danced with Luke some, and it was great. Nice finish to the night.
I give Taqueria Mexico a 3.3/5.
The menu was extensive, which is always a little dubious. There can't be a chef in the back that has the ingredients for, and can cook from a selection of 50 different dishes for a table of 8 in 20 minutes - it's got to be frozen. But that doesn't mean it isn't decent.
I ordered the ceviche, which was very flavorful, and received well by the other All-Stars. But they only had few bites. It was never bad, but the flavor became overwhelming halfway through the dish, and I couldn't finish it. It's like that experiment where they have people try Pepsi and Coke, and people choose Pepsi when they just get one sip, because it is sweeter, but choose Coke when they drink the whole thing. The ceviche was good, but only for a few sips.
Not a big chips and salsa fan, so I will defer to the other authorities in our group for that. I am a big margarita fan, and these were good margarita's. They were tangy, and not too sweet. And Sara drove home.
I tasted Josh's infamous tongue. Well, not his tongue, he's my brother. What's the matter with you? I tried the cow tongue that he ordered. First I inspected it, and, in case you have never seen a bovine mouth organ up close, cows have huge taste buds (oh God, I hope those were taste buds). I pressed the cow tongue firmly against my tongue, feeling the taste buds rub roughly against my own. He was firm, yet gentle. I was basically French kissing a cow. A dead cow with his tongue cut out and sautéed. And I liked it. I don't know if I was tasting him, or he was tasting me, but we were delicious and tender, and I will never order it for myself. Let's leave it at that. We had one wonderful night, but it isn't meant to be. If you love something, set it free, right?
To finish the night a mariachi band stopped in a played for a bit. That was fun. I danced with Luke some, and it was great. Nice finish to the night.
I give Taqueria Mexico a 3.3/5.
Can I get a Margarita with my Cow tongue?
So what is better than some Mexican food? How about some cow tongue with a delicious margarita to wash it down? Yum yum yum! Now if you can get past what it is you know a cow tongue it is quite delicious! I tried several meals all were very tasty in the grand scheme of things for a Mexican restaurant I can think of only one better in kc... Oh and the music was so much fun as well. I'm looking forward to another visit here to get cheap tacos and margarita I believe on a Tuesday! 3.25 for me
You Want Some Tongue with That?!?
I had just worked an 11 hour day and the perfect solution to my long day was the large margarita sitting in my empty chair!
I had a nice big sip of the margarita accompanied with some delicious chips and salsa. I decided to order what I always order at a Mexican restraunt, enchiladas. They came out just smothered in cheese, yummmm! They were spinach enchiladas.
They were good, however i wish they would have had some chicken in them... They were a little bland. I then tried Josh's tongue. Call me weird, but I really enjoyed it!
I thought it had a lot of flavoring to it :) I give it a 3.2/5
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