Went to dinner at Del's in Bloomfield: it's right next to the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern on Liberty Ave near the bridge. Del's has a nice bar in front and a restaurant to the side, which goes by "Del Pizzos" or something close to that. Anyways, the bottom line here is good, homestyle Italian food. We went there at 7.15 and were amazed to learn that the early bird specials still applied. These are stellar values: for $6-$7, you get a choice of soup/fruit cocktail, a small salad, an entree and a small scoop of your choice of italian ice-creams (just enough at the end of a big meal). The ambience is simple but not plain. Nice red carpeting, some wood.. very family-style dining. In fact, most of the diners were fairly large families, but the place was quiet. Some warm bread and butter was placed before us almost as soon as we were seated. A couple of us started with the onion soup: a solid starter, based on what seemed like a fairly strong beef broth. The other two chose (a small bowl of) the fruit cocktail. The salads were nothing to write about: plenty of iceberg lettuce (atleast it was fresh), some tomatoes and onions. For entrees, I had the eggplant parmigiana, which was excellent: tender, lot of flavor with a nice helping of their hearty marinara on it. Two others had a gigantic helping of pasta (you get your choice of several types of pasta), with your choice of meat/marinara/butter-garlic sauce or a meatball. The last person got a big portion of the lasagna, also doused with a liberal helping of the marinara sauce. This might not be to everyone's liking, but the sauce was excellent. As mentioned earlier, you also get a small desert to finish things off. We didn't try any of the wines, but the wine-list had some decent selections at moderate prices. (Half-carafes were about $7). The a-la carte menu had some interesting options, but all of us opted for the early-bird specials. Anyways, the total tab for the 4 of us was $28. All said and done, this is a nice place for some simple, solid dining. Unpretentious, but nice, and a great value. One more thing: on the menu, they spelt the much-maligned mushroom that has dominated this b-board lately as "portAbellA". If an Italian restaurant in the heart of Bloomfield spells it this way, all other self-styled experts can, well, take a hike... -Maha ---- "I always strive, when I can, to spread sweetness and light. There have been several complaints about it." - P. G. Wodehouse
Pittsburgh, PA