Sky High

bella balducci ' s mediterranean cuisine

19565 US-2 • www.bellabalduccis.com

Stepping into Bella Balducci’s feels like entering a Greek café. Warm colors, bright flowers, and faux grape vines create an inviting, relaxing vibe.

Bella’s is a family operation started by three brothers. Their father, spouses, and other relatives all help with the business, inspiring its motto “You will enter as guests…and leave as friends.”

The menu spotlights Italian, Greek, and Mediterranean dishes. There are no frozen ingredients, and soups are made daily from scratch. Besides traditional gyros and kabobs, diners can choose exotic entrees such as salmon piccata and shrimp scampi.

Kevin, one of the trio of Bella’s owners, cites customer care, employee care, and food quality as the restaurant’s calling cards. “First, it’s all about the customers... we do everything to make sure everyone leaves happy. Second, taking extra special care of our employees, who deliver on our vision. Third, food quality,” he says.

Benjarong Thai Restaurant

19480 US-2, Ste. D-1 • www.benjarongmonroe.com

Benjarong is a style of hand-painted Thai porcelain featuring multicolored enamels laid over a white porcelain base. Benjarong literally means “five colors” (black, white, red, yellow, green) but its artworks can have three to eight colors, occasionally more.

At Benjarong Thai, its namesake art adorns walls and fills empty corners. There are huge portraits and murals, and even decorated ceiling panels above the bar. Porcelain statutes greet visitors as they walk in the door.

“The detail and beauty of Benjarong is reflective of the incredible workmanship, artistry and detail in the hand-crafted design,” the restaurant’s website states. “We at Benjarong Thai Restaurant pay the same kind of attention to the delicate balance and fine flavor of our traditional Thai cuisine.”

Phad Thai is a specialty, says manager Panu Pathomporn, and is offered with non-traditional ingredients such as calamari and duck. There is also a kids’ menu including corn dogs and chicken nuggets.

Feel like Asian food? For tasty Chinese, Vietnamese, and seafood fare, Saigon Kitchen has been a Monroe staple for years.

Its extensive menu offers more than 100 choices, ranging from pho to Saigon seafood (prawns and scallops stir-fried with vegetables) to chicken nuggets and fries. No entrée costs more than $13, and there is a wide array of affordable lunch and dinner combination plates.

The Yelp website is best to use, as the restaurant doesn’t have its own. A provided website link is for a namesake restaurant in Ithaca, New York.

Customer reviews praise the modest prices, friendly staff, and to-go service. “They have a unique variety of Vietnamese and Chinese,” a recent reviewer posted. “They have great signature Saigon tofu dishes and their crispy chicken is excellent. Their owner is hardworking and on point. Good drink prices too. I avoided this place for years, thinking it would be a typical dive. I was wrong, they know how to cook.”

tuscano ' s italian kitchen

14919

Connor Perry doesn’t hesitate when asked what makes his restaurant special. “It’s the people,” the co-owner says. “The people we have here create a fun, welcoming atmosphere. There’s a genuine small-town feel.”

Diners come for more than the atmosphere, of course. Tuscano’s boasts Piccante chicken wings that are “hands down the best wings we’ve ever had,” according to a recent customer review. It serves brick oven-fired pizzas (barbeque chicken is popular), pastas (eight-layer lasagna!), classic Italian dishes such as Steak Marsala and Pollo Con Fresca, daily specials, fresh salads, and mouthwatering desserts. The bar menu features Northwest wines, 24 rotating tap craft beers, and a full spirits selection.

Tuscano’s hosts local live music about once a month. Five big flat-screen TVs regularly broadcast sporting events. The restaurant can host private parties, and partners with various community organizations to stage “dine out” nights, in which 15 percent of each sale that evening goes to the community partner.