I realize Bellacino's isn't new. I remember when the one in Lexington opened, gosh, probably 10 years ago, one of my Realtor (r) friends used them all the time to cater Agents' Open Houses. But, even after all these years, I had not ever actually gone into the restaurant. Just had their catering on numerous occasions.
Yesterday, my mom and I found ourselves in the area and decided to pop in and give it a try. If you don't know anything about Bellacino's, here's what I know. It is a chain, but the Lexington & Irmo locations are owned by the same person. Their menu is pizza, sandwiches (they call theirs 'grinders'), pasta and salads. Neil tells me that any place that calls their sandwiches 'grinders' is a good thing in his book. Apparently, years ago while working in Connecticut, he fell in love with grinders.
As we walked in, the first thing I noticed was how clean the place smelled. Restaurant cleanliness should go without saying, but as we all know, some restaurants get this and sadly, some do not. So, after being greeted with a clean smell, I looked around and saw that the place is very neat, clean and tidy. Good vibes so far.
We looked over the menu and decided to give the pizza a try. We ordered a 12" with pepperoni, sausage & black olives. A classic combo, in this wanna-be's opinion! You order at the counter and then the staff delivers your food to your table. The dining room is large but has some dividers so it doesn't have the wide, open, banquet hall feeling to it. I also noticed they have covered patio seating.
Our pizza arrived and certainly passed my visual test. Looks good and makes me wanna eat it. Bellacino's cuts a round pie not into traditional slices, but slices it into a grid. I like this idea actually because those of us who don't care for crust (kids) can get a nice gooey piece of pizza without the crust wastage. For those of us who do like our crust, Bellacino's was nice and crusty, crispy and a medium thickness. The sauce was nice, a little on the sweet side. The toppings were also generous, especially the olives, which is a huge plus for me. As a kid, we always went to our friends Dupre's pizza joint in Irmo called McIntosh's. We ordered double black olives every time. And every time, Dupre saw that double black olive ticket come in the kitchen and he knew it was us.
As most of you know, I am a life-long pizza devotee and a principal pizza proponent. I've met very few pizzas that I didn't like. Bellacino's is good and I'll gladly eat their pizza pie again. However, on my next visit, I'll have to exercise some pizza lovin' self control and try out a 'grinder' or a salad.
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| Bellacino's in Lexington, SC |
Yesterday, my mom and I found ourselves in the area and decided to pop in and give it a try. If you don't know anything about Bellacino's, here's what I know. It is a chain, but the Lexington & Irmo locations are owned by the same person. Their menu is pizza, sandwiches (they call theirs 'grinders'), pasta and salads. Neil tells me that any place that calls their sandwiches 'grinders' is a good thing in his book. Apparently, years ago while working in Connecticut, he fell in love with grinders.
As we walked in, the first thing I noticed was how clean the place smelled. Restaurant cleanliness should go without saying, but as we all know, some restaurants get this and sadly, some do not. So, after being greeted with a clean smell, I looked around and saw that the place is very neat, clean and tidy. Good vibes so far.
We looked over the menu and decided to give the pizza a try. We ordered a 12" with pepperoni, sausage & black olives. A classic combo, in this wanna-be's opinion! You order at the counter and then the staff delivers your food to your table. The dining room is large but has some dividers so it doesn't have the wide, open, banquet hall feeling to it. I also noticed they have covered patio seating.
Our pizza arrived and certainly passed my visual test. Looks good and makes me wanna eat it. Bellacino's cuts a round pie not into traditional slices, but slices it into a grid. I like this idea actually because those of us who don't care for crust (kids) can get a nice gooey piece of pizza without the crust wastage. For those of us who do like our crust, Bellacino's was nice and crusty, crispy and a medium thickness. The sauce was nice, a little on the sweet side. The toppings were also generous, especially the olives, which is a huge plus for me. As a kid, we always went to our friends Dupre's pizza joint in Irmo called McIntosh's. We ordered double black olives every time. And every time, Dupre saw that double black olive ticket come in the kitchen and he knew it was us.
 |
| Ummmmm |
As most of you know, I am a life-long pizza devotee and a principal pizza proponent. I've met very few pizzas that I didn't like. Bellacino's is good and I'll gladly eat their pizza pie again. However, on my next visit, I'll have to exercise some pizza lovin' self control and try out a 'grinder' or a salad.
la vita è più dolce con un po 'di peperoni in esso
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