Bellaaaaaaaaa!!!! Hey Bellaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Last month we got GAS-sy at Bella Napoli in Brookside.  Josh and I had gone to a Royal's day game, and saw Mike Moustakas hit a walk-off homerun in the 13th.  Nice.  Hard to follow that act. 

Josh and I discussed that if the Royals didn't win it that inning, we'd have to leave to make dinner club on time.  I had a pleasant evening at Bella Napoli, but in hindsight, I would have stayed for the 14th inning.

I like Bella Napoli a lot.  I have gone there for coffee before, and they have a nice little market inside.  It has a cool feel.  We sat in a room by ourselves, because Josh farted and the waiter wouldn't let us sit with the other people... just making sure your still with me - it was actually because we were a party of 8.  The private room was fine, but eating by ourselves, I think we missed the atmosphere that comes with dining in the main area.  Plus, it wasn't a huge room, and Josh farts when he eats pasta.

While Luke flirted with the barista, I examined the exhaustive menu. Tons of stuff to choose from.  Tons. I had the braised short ribs.  It was OK.  Actually, I am being kind because I wanted to like the short ribs - it was too salty.  And I like salty food. 

I also had some gnocchi from someone's plate, and it was good.  And I had some tastes of the other things people ordered, and recall they were all good.  Everyone seemed to enjoy their food - but mine was not great. 

The wine was good and reasonably priced (I had the house chianti); in fact, I thought all of the menu items were reasonably priced.  The service was very good.

I give Bella Napoli a 3.0. I think I gave it higher at the restaurant, but on reflection, the reasonable prices, excellent service and tasteful, relaxed atmosphere could not fully compensate for the salty short ribs.

Oh, and one more thing: Nick Swisher eats boogers.

Bella Napoli

For the month of September we met in brookside for a meal at Bella Napoli. I always love going to the area and have been wanting to eat at a restraunt in the area. We approached Bella Napoli and it had a very cute outdoor area with seating. We were taking back to a private area with a coffee bar and large table.
After looking at the menu I decided on a white sauce dish with thick noodles, peas, shrimp and clams.        For an appetizer we got asparagus. As we waited we had delicious bread with oil and balsamic. It was devine!  The bread and dipping sauce was phenominal! I could have ate the entire bread bowl! When my meal got delivered i was excited to dive in. I must admit I was a little disappointed.. I thought it was a little bland. There was not much flavor and kind of an everyday easy to make dish. Even though I didn't love my main meal, I really enjoyed other things. I LOVED out asparagus! It was delicious! It was so flavorful and good! I really enjoyed the gnocchi dish Justin ordered, Becky's pizza and Richard's calzone! I really enjoyed all three of those dishes and would love to go back and have one of those dishes! 
I would give Bella Napoli a 3.8/5

Bella Napoli KC's Italian Cafe

It was finally my turn to pick a restaurant, I can a long list of restaurants on my calendar and then try to decide what type of food I want before I make my pick.  My list is about 15 restaurants long and Bella Napoli was near the top and has been on the list for a long time.

Off to Brookside, one of my favorite areas in Kansas City, we went.  Bella Napoli is a restaurant, café/coffee shop and deli/grocery.  It is everything Italian and what I imagine a side walk café in Italy would resemble.

I ordered a spicy prosciutto pizza.  It was excellent.  We have had pizza several times with GAS club, but I believe this was the best yet.  Everything about it was delicious and surprisingly was almost as good heated up in the microwave for my lunch the next day.  Now that is the mark of a good pizza, when it is almost as good left over.

I also tried Richard's Calzone and it too, was delicious. 

I gave Bella Napoli 3.9/5 and would definitely go back.

Charming, Neighborly and Italian

"You talkin' to me?"

Becky's turn finally came around again in September, and she made the group an offer we couldn't refuse: dinner at Bella Napoli in Brookside. It was delightful, and earned a 4/5 stars from me.

This place does it all: it's a nice dinner place, a coffee shop, an Italian deli and lunch joint. We ate inside, in our own little secluded side room--perfect for discussing the family business, if you know what I mean.

I enjoyed the house red wine, a chianti, which was very good. They brought us a little tribute of bread with oil and vinegar, also very good.

I ordered the Tagliatella alla Bolognese, thick pasta with meat sauce and a touch of cream. Simple, meaty, delicious. Worthy of the Don, on the day of his daughters wedding.


Since I was sharing with a very hungry and squirmy Luke, I sprung for a side of sauteed spinach, which was the. best. ever. It had generous amounts of oil and butter, topped with salty parmesan. My Nonni always told me to eat my veggies, but I've never had 'em like this before. (Being green and all, Luke still wouldn't touch the spinach. But if he had, he would have loved it.)

Next time, I'll try a cannoli for dessert, but we were all too stuffed.

The restaurant was lively and bustling but not too loud. Decor was simple and authentic feeling for me, and our waiter was great. Go for a nice dinner--I personally vouch for it.