Friday, November 2, 2012

A Relaxed Biagio’s Bistro in Clifton with Large Portions of Italian Comfort Food and Smart Service

     A couple of weeks ago, Neil and I joined Chris, Mark, and some friends at Biagio’s Bistro in Clifton before going to a screening of Vertigo at The Esquire.  I wasn’t really thinking much about dinner, but looking forward to the movie.  I had that the wrong way around.  The movie was a muddy DVD and nowhere near as clear as seeing it on TCM HD.  While a great movie, how did it rank top on the most recent Sight and Sound poll over Citizen Kane, The Godfather, The Rules of the Game, Chinatown, Cabaret or Hitchcock’s own Rear Window or Notorious?  Anyway, enough of that – 


     Biagio’s Bistro is really an Italian trattoria with a simple interior, larger than it looks at first, low lighting (the reason our pictures look a little dreary), and a relaxed attitude.  Patrons can see the beautiful, freshly made desserts in the bakery display cases upon entering.  Biagio lives in Clifton and that, coupled with his continual presence and drive in managing the cooking, is what has engendered the loyalty of the neighborhood and patrons visiting Ludlow Avenue either to shop or go to a movie.

Biagio's Lasagna
Seafood Chowder
     The night we were there, a couple of us ordered the Lasagna, which was the special.  It was an extremely (practically gargantuan) generous portion with well-proportioned amounts of meat, tomato sauce, cheese, and noodles.  Neil and I both had the special Seafood Chowder that was a puréed version.  Neil then ordered the Waldorf 
Waldorf Salad
Salad, which he found to be much like what he makes at home and I had the Pesto Pasta, which was also a huge portion simply prepared.  

Banana Cream Pie
     Chris had called ahead for dessert and the smooth server brought out large slices of the Banana Cream Pie.  Since ZiZi’s is now closed, this is the best banana cream pie in the region, served on a cookie crust and covered in a chocolate ganache.  It’s a cross between banana and Boston cream pie and it’s a winner.

Biagio's Bistro on Urbanspoon

You know cats can get vertigo too!

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