Bellissimo in Bel Air

Last night Mark and I ventured out (on a Friday night, gasp!) to Bellissimo in Bel Air.  We were shocked that at 8:00 on a Friday night in the ever busy suburb of Bel Air that we were able to get a table right away.  Take a short trip to Bonefish and I would bet you that you would not be able to do that.  Sidenote, apparently the Bonefish Grill in Bel Air is the busiest one in the country (ahem, I think that's because Bel Air needs some more restaurants). 

Anyway, Bellissimo resides where the horribly named Crackpot once was...in an awkward location near Target.  Mark and I both ordered wine...our server brought it in a little carafe but never poured it = odd.  The bread that was included with our meals was very tasty.  The salad was okay.  No ranch dressing I learned. 

I ordered one of the specials that night, Cheese Ravioli (in an alfredo sauce with crab meat on top), since it was Good Friday.  Mark decided not to abide by the religious rulings of Good Friday and ordered the carbonara.  My meal was okay...I would give it a 6/10.  The alfredo sauce tasted like it was from a jar...not so great.  It was just too overpowering.  The crab meat tasted like imitation crab meat.  Hey, I know we're in MD and it's not crab season, but some of the other restaurants manage to get some good crab meat from the Gulf of Mexico that is decent for the off-season.   

Mark said his dish was good.  Not too many details from him, ha!  Unfortunately, we have Basta Pasta, one of our favorite restaurants in the area, that we compare every other Italian place to.  Oh and La Scala too, but they're downtown.  This meal did not even come close to Basta Pasta or La Scala.  Maybe I was just being picky last night...other people have raved about Bellissimo. 

To conclude, it's also worth noting that the interior of the restaurant is still odd, with lots of bare wood.  They have tried to dress up the place and make it more formal but it's not working.  They added some booths which are nice, but still, it doesn't have that ambiance that the other restaurants have.