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Foothill Flavors
Bistro Bella Cucina
Ooooh! What was the matter with me? I felt positively dizzy. Looking across the table at my lunch partner, Kathy Fellure, I saw that she too was overwhelmed. The menu at Bistro Bella Cucina is fantastic. So many yummy sounding sandwiches and salads from which to choose. Panic! I wanted everything. Bella Cucina, the new kid on the block, in Jackson is the creation of Christine French, an extension of her thriving catering business. Starting at age two, Chef Christine was aware and inspired by her mother’s “glorious cooking.” It seems that she had inherited not only a passion for creating delicious entrees but a love of entertaining and an attention for detail. “My mother perched me on a step stool and demonstrated how to cook eggs,” she recalls. “Soon I was making them on my own. From then on there was no looking back. It’s fun to take simple ingredients and create something unique and delicious to eat.” Perhaps it was inevitable that Christine would put herself through cooking school and obtain a culinary arts degree. From then on it has been non-stop for her. Since becoming a chef caterer n 2008, Christine has been known through three counties for providing catering and event planning at all levels from simple to over the top. “We travel to remote locations—mountains, lakes, ocean— to bring our kitchen to an event,” she says. “We’re able to cook in areas that have no water or electricity and still |
provide exceptional food and service.” No water, no electricity? Wow! Happily, Bistro Bella Cucina has no such constraints. It’s a charming eatery with all the amenities. The cheery yellow walls, the riotous flower paintings and the fanciful elfin masks are instant moo enhancers. One corner of the room, painted lime green, is dedicated to a wine and beer bar where individual glasses range from $5 to $5.75. There are seven micro brews and seven varieties of Italian wine as well as six kinds of American wine. It appears that Bella Cucina has all the bases covered. The noise level is high, so many people in a relatively small room. Personally, I look forward to warm weather and el fresco dining. Kathy and I had come to talk and plan. She has a new TV show, “Authors, Writers, Books and Beyond,” which can be viewed on TSPN-TV (Next show at 6 p.m. March 27, Comcast Channel 7 and Volcano Vision 5). I’m gearing up for the eighth annual Gold Rush Writers Conference (May 3, 4 & 5, Hotel Leger, Mokelumne Hill). We had plenty to discuss, but had to outlast the crowd in order to chit chat. That was no hardship; the food at Bella Cucina is divine. We were only too happy to linger. The menu is a fusion of many cuisines and features the freshest local ingredients. Kathy loved her Franazire chicken salad sandwich. ($9.25) No one could tell us what Franazire meant but the sandwich was so thick with goodies that it could have |
been eaten without the bread. (Though that would have been a shame. Bella Cucina is also a bakery and their bread is marvelous.) My choice own was the BLT ($9.75) and I have to say it was the all-time best BLT of my life. I really mean it. Perhaps the credit goes to the inclusion of a tasty smoked gouda. This Ultimate BLT came with pasta salad that was also quite nice. You’d think we might have stopped there. If so, you’d have thought wrong. Our sandwiches were so good and the Bella Cucina being a bakery as well . . . We couldn’t resist. Not only that but we didn’t even want to share. Kathy and I each ordered a slice of apricot struedal bar. ($8.50) It was a very good thing that we each had our own slices. Otherwise we would have fought over it for sure. Even pulled hair, kicked shins. Yes, it was that good. Lisa Haarman was our server. She’s pretty, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, the right person at the right time doing the right thing. The food’s fab at Bella Cucina. It’s a happening place. Check it out. VITALS: Bistro Bella Cucina, 250 French Bar Road, Jackson. Phone: 223-3222. Serving lunch from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday though Friday. Credit cards accepted.
Pictures Photos by Kathy Boyd Fellure Lisa Haarman, a wait person and Denise McGee, the baker, are assets to Bistro Bella Cucina in Jackson. The Franazire chicken sandwich is a surefire winner at Bistro Bella Cucina in Jackson. |