There’s definitely a line between being romantic and being cheap.
While some of the most romantic thoughts are the ones that cost nothing, it is usually much more safe to find a good mix of thoughtfulness and money to impress a date. “Date Night at Bellizzi’s” offers a perfect balance that will impress your date but won’t leave you eating out of cans for the rest of the term.
Every Wednesday night is Date Night at Bellizzi’s Pizza and Pasta, located at 339 E. 11th Ave. For just $19.95, couples receive a bottle of wine — a pitcher of soda is substituted for couples younger than 21 — an appetizer, salad, bread, choice of entrèe and dessert. While not the cheapest date in town (Date Night at Bellizzi’s will likely be the most expensive of our weekly cheap date feature) dollar for dollar, it is one of the best deals.
The best thing about Date Night is the amount of food and entertainment you get for less than $20. The service is great, the atmosphere is fun, the waiters, sing and there’s always enough food for leftovers. Even if it were $30, it would still be a good deal. But on the other hand, you always get what you pay for.
The appetizer is nothing more than several pieces of garlic bread covered with melted mozzarella and oregano. It isn’t the most extravagant appetizer you’ll ever have, but it is very tasty. The salad is sub-par too. (“Salad-in-a-bag” was how my date so eloquently described it.) Again, it isn’t the kind of quality you’ll find in many restaurants, but it tastes fine.
But then again, Bellizzi’s isn’t an Italian restaurant as much as it is a pizza joint, which is why it is difficult to compare it to the likes of Beppe & Gianni’s.
Bellizzi’s specializes in “mafia-style” pizza, which is one of the best pizzas in town. It even looks like a typical pizza joint — which detracts from the romantic atmosphere that one would hope to experience at Date Night. From the glowing red, eight-foot-long neon “Bellizzi’s” sign to the dozens of Coca-Cola products — the clock, drinking glasses and dry erase boards to name a few — Bellizzi’s definitely has the feel of a high school hangout. This, along with the noise and the close proximity of the tables, does detract from the romance factor.
But at the same time, the singing waiters, the Frank Sinatra background music and the fact that you were thoughtful enough to take your date to Date Night”makes the place break even.
Don’t get me wrong; there are some great things about Date Night at Bellizzi’s. I didn’t give it a four-star restaurant rating with a three-heart romance factor just to be a nice guy.
Although Bellizzi’s excels in its pizza-making, its entrées are also quite good. Couples are offered three choices on Date Night, with several more choices available at an extra cost. Each person gets his or her choice of ravioli Florentine, baked ziti or spaghetti with a meatball. Covered with spicy marinara and perched atop a serving of spaghetti noodles, the ravioli Florentine is an excellent choice that is sure to fill the hungriest belly. The spaghetti, adorned with a fist-sized meatball, is also a fine choice. But the best bet is the baked ziti: a bed of penne noodles in a tomato cheese sauce smothered with baked mozzarella.
Couples also have a choice of two wines on Date Night, with upgrades available. We passed on the Chardonnay in favor of the house red, without regrets. For a bargain-wine, it was reasonably flavorful with a pleasant but subtle aftertaste.
For dessert, we were each served a slice of chocolate-iced Boston cream pie (where’s the tiramisu?). It was actually quite good — just not the authentic, eye-pleasing Italian dessert you expect from an Italian restaurant.
But just to be fair, it’s only the details (the salad, appetizers, etc.) that need improvement. Date Night at Bellizzi’s is no Beppe & Gianni’s or Ambrosia, but then again, it never said it was.