Bebo Trattoria, Chef Claudio Sandri in Crystal City - Closed.

[Biscuit Girl]

I don't see why Bebo is being savaged for this either - I think anyone could go in, ask for Roberto, and say "can I have the smoked mozzerella pizza Joe Heflin raves about?"

I talk about RJ Cooper going off-menu all the time, and he'll do it for anyone who asks - what's wrong with this? Yeah, okay, you have to read the food boards to know about it... so?

Re: ordering items not on the menu.

When they first took the Broccoli Rabe off the regular menu, we asked if it were still available and were told yes. Now that it's a regular on the daily specials, one may not need to ask. But if it isn't, then it's as simple as opening your mouth and asking.

Re: the overly critical posts on Bebo.

We are not friends of Roberto but eat there at least once a month and overall our experiences at Bebo have for the most part been positive. Have we had spotty service, yes but only a few times. It happens. Have we had bad or inproperly prepared dishes, no. They've forgotten a dish once and were extremely appologetic about it. Bebo isn't perfect but neither is any other place.

And for those who have bitched about soggy pizza or overly salty food, etc ....how many have sent it back, talked to a manager or even mentioned it to Roberto when he's out on the floor? If you didn't do anything then you have no place to complain here. You should do that while the food is on your table. If you have and were still not satisfied, then you probably have good reason to be unhappy and ceratinly should say something here but I don't think a majority of the complaints placed on this board are justified. Should we always post happy things on this board, no. It's a great place for open discussion but when it becomes a bashing fest, then things have crossed the line. I've been reading and posting here for a while and I have never seen such a negative bunch when it comes to Bebo and Chef Donna. If Bebo were as bad as some on these boards make it out to be, then it would no longer be open.

I will now step down from my soapbox. (and brace myself for the responses)

[bennybig1]

i had a great meal at bebo HOWEVER it was in the private party room for a party of 20. and EVEN THEN, there were service issues.

the maitre'd insisted that the large table in the middle of the dining room was for our party- even though nobody else was there and it was 5 minutes after the start of the part. odd i thought that even the birthday guy's family isn't here yet. I asked again- are you SURE this is the table for the xxxx party? Oh yes.

of course we then noticed the back private party room with 10 people already in it.

my wife ordered a sour apple martini that literally, NOT a joke, was nothing but vodka. it wasn't green. i think the bartender put it up on the bar as he was getting the sour apple mix and maybe the waiter just grabbed it. I can't think of any other reason.

but the food was wonderful.

so it seems like if Roberto would put the emphasis on hiring and training good staff as he does on the food- which MOST of us find wonderful, he'd have a bigger hit than just a "great food, crappy service" place he has.

saying a restaurant is crowded doesn't necessarily mean it's top notch- 1) it's crystal city- not a lot of restaurants with world class chefs there 2) not everyone cares that they get crappy service if they're eating at a restaurant staffed by a famous chef.

i would give Bebo another try and hope the service has improved, especially since I haven't had the pizzas yet.

[lackadaisi]

My comments have not been intended to degrade the food at Bebo in the slightest. Nor are they intended to degrade Joe H's opinion. As I mentioned before, I loved the food that I had at Bebo. And, as I have mentioned repeatedly offline, I trust Joe H's opinions more than just about anyone else's.

My only point is that his relationship with RD and Bebo is so tight that when he makes comments on the restaurant, they take on the tone of a defensive restauranteur and not simply someone enjoying the dishes. I for one certainly want to keep hearing his opinions on what the new stand-outs are, even if they are not on the menu. But, just as a restaurant doesn't benefit from overzealous and omnipresent defense of an owner, it doesn't always benefit from overzealous and omnipresent defense of a close friend.

[jparrott]

The other thing is, that going off-menu is very different at an inexpensive, casual place like AF or Bebo (which is inexpensive and casual even though RD is there) than at Maestro or Vidalia. Wait staff at high-end places are (usually) much better trained/able to respond readily to such an expression of enthusiasm from a diner. High-end places' ordering and running systems and methods tend to make responding to such requests much easier, as well. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, process-wise.

[MarkS]

Shame on Roberto if he can't hire managers which can run the front of the house. Every other comment here is on bad service..Why would I ever want to go and receive bad server. A good portion of the coments are related to the food.

Maybe he should close this down and just concentrate on the old lunch grill. Our expectations were always met and we were always happy.

[Dave Pressley]

Shame on Roberto if he can't hire managers which can run the front of the house...

My wife and I went to Bebo last Saturday. We sat at the bar and were well taken care of by Stephanie. Service was solid, the food was OK (only had a few snacks at the bar), the wines by the glass were tasty and the restaurant was incredibly clean and inviting.

Twice though--once directly in my ear and once in my wife's--managers were yelling over the bar to Stephanie to get checks transferred from her bar to the tables. Both times, my wife and I jumped when these Rico Suave morons came out of nowhere to bark "Stephanie!" from right behind us.

Annoying...yes. Will it stop us from returning in the future? No. We look forward to our return trip.

[starfish]

...Wait staff at high-end places are (usually) much better trained/able to respond readily to such an expression of enthusiasm from a diner. High-end places' ordering and running systems and methods tend to make responding to such requests much easier, as well. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, process-wise.

I have deliberately stayed out of this conversation as I have never dined at Bebo. However, Jake’s point runs counter to a basic principle of management which I have always held to be true. It costs the same amount of time and money to train staff well as it does to train them poorly. Worded another way, good service is free.

The process of providing good service is the same at a well run casual restaurant as it is at a four star temple of cuisine. In both places the costs are the same for serving a plate properly, making a request of the chef, greeting guests warmly, and all of the other things that can encompass good service.

The organizations that are known to provide good service, generally, have a philosophy for service that is taught by those charged to do so. The ability to embrace and teach a philosophy, any philosophy, is limited only by ones creativity and communication.

This is not a criticism of Chef Donna or his staff. It is simply a differing perspective about the comparison itself.

[DLB]

wow!

Pizza Soup: Hey Tom - longtime lurker, first time writer. After reading the Dish last week, I was so excited to try the pizza at Bebo. My husband and I have long followed Roberto even though the service at his places is usually less than medicore. We'd been to Bebo before and loved the food (that's it), and were anxious to try the pizza. In fact, we were elated when we arrived on Friday night, the Chef himself was manning the pizza oven. I ordered the Margarita w/ spinach and mushrooms and what came out was pizza soup. It appeared as if I needed a spoon. When I finally got the waiter's attention, I pointed out the water/oil substance sloshing all around the plate and he informed me it was b/c there was Buffalo moz on the pie. I said I'd had plenty of pizzas with that kind of cheese and it didn't come out as soup. In addition the crust was chewey and gummy - it couldn't be cut w/ a knife, torn, or chewed. I tried. I asked him to take it back and just take it off our bill, I didn't want a replacement b/c he was arguing with me that that's the way it was supposed to be. He finally took the plate, and then the manager came over w/ the plate in hand and said, "what is wrong with this?" (waiving it in front of me as liquid was dripping and spilling) and I explained. He then informed me it was fine, and proceeded to try to rip a piece of the crust and eat it in front of me, but it was an ill-fated demonstration because the crust wouldn't rip and liquid was everywhere. I finally said, "I just don't want it." And he said, "well if that's the case, then ok." I didn't want anything free, I didn't expect anything other than what I had thought I ordered. I just write to get the word out to Roberto to put product out that his reputation deserves and to inform him of what his staff is doing out in the "field." There were many other service issues, but I won't take anymore of your time. Thanks!

Tom Sietsema: Yikes! The manager got into a debate with you, at the table?

As I pointed out in my Dish item last week, Roberto himself was manning the pizza oven when I dropped in for a pie. I had mozzarella on the crust, but it wasn't the least bit soupy. Sounds like there might be a consistency problem ....

[monavano]

Had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I read that. I think it's very unprofessional to argue with a customer at most any time. Moreover, it's insulting to insist that a pizza is supposed to be soggy. As if the patron is somehow an idiot who is going to believe this.

[Pat]

Had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I read that. I think it's very unprofessional to argue with a customer at most any time. Moreover, it's insulting to insist that a pizza is supposed to be soggy. As if the patron is somehow an idiot who is going to believe this.

When I read Tom's reply, I got the feeling that he had missed the part where the customer noted that Chef Donna was manning the pizza oven that night.

[susanmab]

We live in the neighborhood and have dropped in about once ever two or three weekS since the week Bebo opened. The food is indeed inconsistent (black olives on a pizza that clearly states green olives, no gorgonzola on the gorgonzola pizza, salad alternately swimming with or absent of dressing), but it's usually good enough to keep us coming back - that, and we like seeing local businesses succeed.

The single most bizarre thing about the place, however, is the defensiveness of Donna et al over the criticisms. I can honestly say that we've only had what can be characterized as "good" (decent, no glaring errors) service once. Every other visit had at least one thing go wrong that affected our ability to best enjoy our food. Examples include: my fish being served when I didn't have a knife and our inability to catch anyone's eye for ten minutes (fish went cold while I tried desperately to make eye contact with anyone in the room); Coffee and tea (ordered with dessert) arriving a full fifteen minutes after empty dessert plates were removed; An inability to receive sugar for the iced tea despite asking the server three times and a busboy once. It has become nothing less than a comedy of errors, "what's going to go wrong tonight" - but at least it's a comedy. We feel slightly masochistic for continuing to go, but it's like a fun adventure: will they ever get it right?

I have no agenda other than being a foodie who likes to dine out; I have no "vendetta" against Donna - before the Bebo debacle I considered him one of our city's cultural assets (I probably still do, although it's tempered a bit now). But it seems to me that he does his reputation a great disservice by allowing his name to be on the front of a restaurant that can't for some reason attract, train, and keep high quality staff. The impression I'm left with is one of great arrogance, perhaps it's built on part by people like me who continue to dine there even though the service lacks even the most basic professionalism? I'd have much more respect for his establishment if there was any indication that he was aware of the substandard experiences his guests were receiving and did not find them acceptable. The old "please bear with us; we're working on it" would go a long way.

[jparrott]

The problems for the restaurant continued as the computer system repeatedly froze (the reason for the poorly timed entrees, since orders were going in at different intervals) and then the credit card system went down

This happened to me when I went to Bebo the second day it was opened--that I forgive. But if it's continually happening, they should have a contingency plan.

[jparrott]

I have deliberately stayed out of this conversation as I have never dined at Bebo. However, Jake’s point runs counter to a basic principle of management which I have always held to be true. It costs the same amount of time and money to train staff well as it does to train them poorly. Worded another way, good service is free.

Danny, I hear ya. However, the ability to attract and retain servers with the kind of food and wine knowledge and serving nous to adapt to the kind of requests that are considered normal/encouraged in fine dining is much tougher at a place where the average check is $25 (and thus, the average tip is $4). And (warning: reduction ad absurdum ahead) what would a waiter asked to go vaguely or semi-specifically off menu at a Cheesecake Factory do in response? Yet I would say a lot of the dining public thinks that the service at Cheesecake Factory is pretty good--for that dining genre.

[baczkowski]

Isn't this the point where Rocks displays our mutual taste in women and says, "I wanna have sex with Salma Hayek!"

[jwhite]

The single most bizarre thing about the place, however, is the defensiveness of Donna et al over the criticisms. I can honestly say that we've only had what can be characterized as "good" (decent, no glaring errors) service once. Every other visit had at least one thing go wrong that affected our ability to best enjoy our food. Examples include: my fish being served when I didn't have a knife and our inability to catch anyone's eye for ten minutes (fish went cold while I tried desperately to make eye contact with anyone in the room);

I'm a bit confused, did you mean to say fork instead of knife in the bolded section? It does not make sense that the lack of a knife would render any halfway decent prepared piece of fish impossible to eat.

Perhaps next time using your voice or even raising your hand might be a good idea. I don't mean to pick on you but this whine on an internet board because you acted ridiculously passive in a common situation stuff gets old. However I did get a good laugh picturing you giving the oblivious waiter the evil eye while your fish got cold so I guess it evens out.

Not that I am a "Donna Defender" or anything; actually I think he is an exceedingly talented chef who is inept at managing people and that this has become blatantly obvious as he moved down in cost structure.

As an aside, do they do carryout? Seems the best of both worlds.

[JimRice]

As an aside, do they do carryout? Seems the best of both worlds.

They do have the Bebomobile, which delivers at lunch. I've not tried it yet.

[Joe H]

Were it any other chef/restaurant owner with this perceived description, the restaurant would be a laughing stock of a place (as it seemingly is now) but with far less customers. I think we all certainly have the highest of hopes that Chef figures his service issues out before his customers decide that the issues in the dining room don't warrant the effort to dine at Bebo anymore.

I believe that I have now heard enough from this mean spirited board. When the attacks become personal and blindly seem intent on trying to force someone out of business I no longer have an interest in posting. I do want to say, in closing, that Roberto is an absolute treasure to Washington who, today, is not only serving our best pizza but has introduced us to an Italian trattoria that we did not know before. I am indebted to him and look forward to continuing to dine at his restaurant. From Galileo in the early '80's on P street to the Laboratorio and now to Bebo I feel truly fortunate to have his restaurant and his cuisine available to me. Today, he continues to serve some of the very best that I have found on either side of the Atlantic.

Thank you, Chef.

[RaisaB]

Joe, you know I love you. You are passionate, about wine, women and food. I have read over these posts and I cannot find where there is a true personal attack against Donna. There is a problem with service at Bebo. Yes his food is good but it is inconsistant. If his managers are yelling at the staff, (whether in front or in the kitchen) (which countless have attested too), it shows poor judgement on Donnas' part. I do not go out of my way to go to Bebo's. It is a shame. He may be a great chef, but he needs a better business system.

BTW, try Fireworks Pizza in Leesburg.

[alan7147]

I believe that I have now heard enough from this mean spirited board. When the attacks become personal and blindly seem intent on trying to force someone out of business I no longer have an interest in posting. I do want to say, in closing, that Roberto is an absolute treasure to Washington who, today, is not only serving our best pizza but has introduced us to an Italian trattoria that we did not know before. I am indebted to him and look forward to continuing to dine at his restaurant. From Galileo in the early '80's on P street to the Laboratorio and now to Bebo I feel truly fortunate to have his restaurant and his cuisine available to me. Today, he continues to serve some of the very best that I have found on either side of the Atlantic.

Thank you, Chef.

I'm a little biased, but I think he's the best, ... There's other guys that have better numbers … but to me, it doesn't get much better than Johan in this league. Not much better than him.”-- Ron Gardenhire (Minnesota Twins)

[DLB]

Maybe it's Crystal City. Joe, you may be the only person that thinks this is the best pizza in DC. Sorry, it's just not.

[DonRocks]

is becoming a pile-on. Can we give it a rest? Cheers, Rocks.]

[jwhite]

I believe that I have now heard enough from this mean spirited board. When the attacks become personal and blindly seem intent on trying to force someone out of business I no longer have an interest in posting.

I do not think those two words mean what you think they mean.

Personal would imply something along the lines of calling the man's wife ugly or saying his kids are stupid. No one has sad any such thing to my knowledge. Critiquing how he runs a restaurant or even implying that he is not competent doing so is not a personal attack. It is a review of his performance.

Blindly would imply without merit and not based upon the poster's personal observation. This is laughable as the critical posts have had many observations and such personal observations are the key to an individual review.

You should probably stop posting on this matter as your biases, which initially I did not agree existed, have become clearly apparent with this post. If you do not believe me, as I doubt you will, have a trusted friend review the entire thread.

[Dave Pressley]

FWIW, my post was certainly not written with a mean spirit at all. Just another fan of Roberto Donna's ccoking who wants Bebo to succeed on all fronts.

[shaggy, I removed your post per your request. Cheers, Rocks.]

Edited August 3, 2007 by DonRocks

[jparrott]

I think shaggy speaks for a lot of us--we want Bebo to succeed so badly that we are more frustrated when these issues arise.

[DonRocks]

I went tonight. My raw thoughts (as described to a friend of mine via PM, and cut-and-pasted here, his replies removed):

having gone tonight, undetected, with roberto nowhere to be seen, on a crowded friday night

okay random thoughts (stop me when you wish)

1) service problems remain very real

2) ugly space

3) ordered bottle of 2004 Primitivo, was brought 2003 which was opened and poured without showing it to me - i don't like 2003 in Europe and would not have accepted it

4) two four-ounce pours revealed small amounts of dish soap in the wine glasses. soapy bubbles were not going away

5) asked server for new glasses, he finally understood (he didn't speak much english) and brought two cheap table-wine red glasses although did make a point of rinsing/wiping them. he was well-intentioned.

6) canneloni with meat sauce ($14.95) was delicious, and served in a very hot plate, but unfortunately wasn't hot enough. both the canneloni and the meat sauce were very good despite the temperature.

7) sausage and broccoli rabe pizza was too watery again, the sausage being fantastic

8) onion, smoked mozzerella and spicy salami was a great pie but equally "wet" to the broccoli rabe pizza

9) "Bebo" calzone of pork shoulder, and (if I recall correctly) provolone and broccoli rabe was a combination that didn't work together. Similar to the great lunch sandwich but with meat/cheese proportions in reverse which makes too much tang

10) tiramisu was better at Casa Oaxaca than it was at Bebo

11) Bombaloni were not fresh out of the fryer, but still very good

12) overall food was very good, service showed blotches here-and-there of trying to improve, but desperately needs a from-the-top shakedown that hasn't happened yet.

13) our soapy wines were sitting there, and would have remained untouched and untended to unless I spoke up, which I did - I asked for a couple glasses of Chanti, and our server said yes, absolutely, and brought them (with good fills, and another apology for the soap).

14) a good meal overall, and one which I'd return for

15) pizzas without roberto were not at the very top, but still among the best pies in the city. if you're playing the numbers game, say top five.

[cjsadler]

Until recently, I worked down the block from Bebo and have been there quite a few times. The service problems are indeed very real there. I think I swore I wouldn't go back after one ridiculous episode (most of my office had already initiated a boycott of Bebo), but ended up going this past Sat for lunch with a friend that lives over that way to finally have the pizza. Tried asking for the smoked mozzarella pizza ("It may have been on there as a special? Something Roberto does occasionally?"), but the bartender had no idea what I was talking about (and he's been there since they opened). He did point out that smoked mozzarella is available as a topping, so we just swapped that for regular mozzarella on the Napoletana pizza (anchovy and tomato). Also had the rabe and sausage pizza (a bit wet, but not really a problem). Both were good, but that's about as far as I'd go. Toppings were great, but the crust lacked flavor and could have stood some more time in the oven (Roberto was not there) Only pizzas, cured meats and salads were available for lunch on due to staffing problems in the kitchen. Service was fine, though-- there are a couple of bartenders there who do a good job and one of them happened to be working Saturday.

[youngfood]

Tried asking for the smoked mozzarella pizza ("It may have been on there as a special? Something Roberto does occasionally?"), but the bartender had no idea what I was talking about (and he's been there since they opened). He did point out that smoked mozzarella is available as a topping, so we just swapped that for regular mozzarella on the Napoletana pizza (anchovy and tomato)....

Can Joe or someone explain more about this smoked mozz pizza for others who are interested and might try asking for it sometime soon?

[danfishe]

Can Joe or someone explain more about this smoked mozz pizza for others who are interested and might try asking for it sometime soon?

It appears we will also need the secret password to order this particular dish.

[monsterriffs]

That has got to be the haymaker of first posts. Welcome!

Looking forward to the rest of this dialogue...

[Mark Slater]

If true, this might make for an interesting article.

Yes, and if not true this might make for an interesting lawsuit.

[cjsadler]

cjsadler: There are no male bartenders at bebo who have been there since they opened. Not really sure what to make of that other than a growing trend that they have difficulty keeping a staff.

I may be mistaken. I refer to the older male bartender who has a beard. I thought he had been there since around the time Bebo opened.

[DonRocks]

[i'm sorry - I'm busy at work and need to shut this thread down for now. I'll deal with the deleted posts (yes, I deleted them) when I free up later today.

Edit: Okay so I was wrong - I STILL haven't freed up, but wanted to at least open the thread for now. Cheers, Rocks.]

Edited August 13, 2007 by DonRocks

[treznor]

When I'm in DC (about every other week or so) I stay in Crystal City somewhat frequently; last week was such a week. I've been into Bebo about once a month or so since it opened, sitting at the bar everything past the first since I'm always dining alone. I had been awaiting the firing of the pizza oven so made it into Bebo when I finally could.

The salumni was good (soprassata picante), the wine decent (a friuli merlot I believe), the company interesting (the whole side of the bar I was on were friends with Roberto or the manager I think...). But to the pizza, the main reason I had gone in. After hearing others complaining of the wateryness of the sauce on the broccoli rabe pizza I almost steared clear, but it really was the pizza that struck me best; broccoli rabe, sausage (veal? I forget now), and garlic. The pizza came out not watery at all, the crust perfectly cooked with just a bit of charring on the outside and nicely crisp throughout. The sausage was nicely spiced to give it a little zing but not so spicy that it detracted from the play of the cheese and the broccoli rabe.

I was very happily impressed with the pizza and didn't notice any of the problems that others have noted. Roberto was at the pizza oven himself so maybe there are still training issues if others are doing the pizza cooking, but with Roberto at the oven the pizza was truly very delectable.

[Heather]

I had lunch there with a friend last week, and was ready to bare the claws. Bebo pleasantly surprised me.

We started with two specials: the trio of vegetables (chickpeas, eggplant, and cauliflower) and the meatballs with pine nuts and raisins in a spicy tomato sauce. The chickpeas were a touch bland, and the eggplant needed a lighter hand with the balsamic. The cauliflower was the best of the lot, cooked just through and topped with bread crumbs and hot red pepper flakes. I'd order it as a side all by its lonesome. The meatballs were delicious, light and with a sweet/spicy thing going on.

The pizzas were well cooked with the right amount of toppings and just enough char on the crust. They were good, but not stellar enough to tear me away from my passionate affair with Comet Ping-Pong. The Capri (tomato, mozz, oregano, basil, whole egg) sounded more exciting that it was, mostly because I was expecting the egg to be runny instead of hard cooked. Napoletana Verace (tomato, garlic, oregano, anchovies) pushed a few more of my buttons.

Service in general was prompt and reasonably attentive, with a few minor bumps (got the wrong cheese, server dragged his sleeve through my friend's pizza), and one event that had us staring at each other in astonishment. Our second glasses of wine were brought over, and the wine left in the first glass was unceremoniously dumped in the with first. We looked at each other, mouths open, with a "Did I just see that?" look on both of our faces. If I want backwash in my fresh glass, I'd prefer to do the dumping myself.

Chef Donna was gracious enough to chat afterwards and answer a few of our questions. He is a big, charming, charismatic guy and passionate about his food. It gave me a little insight into why he's cut so much slack in the biz.

So...I'd go back. It helped that the lunch was friendly and full of good conversation, had it been a business lunch, or a date, the little service glitches might have annoyed me. Comet Ping-Pong still has my heart, but nothing about my Bebo experience would make me cross it off my list. I'd love to try some of the pastas, and a few more of the pizzas.

[DameEdna]

Heather liked the pizza at Bebo? If only Joe someone who dearly loves Bepo could see this.

[TomA]

My wife and I have eaten 4 pizzas at the bar (where, else, to avoid service issues in the dining room) the past two weeks and am happy to report all four (white, marinara, marinara w/smoked mozz, and the eggplant/olive) were at least 8.5 on a scale of ten...no evidence of "wetness", almost perfect to near-perfect crust and premium toppings...good news: Roberto was not cooking the pies in our case, but his pizza makers were performing up to standard (earlier non-RD pizzas have been noted as not quite done at times, or "wet". Bebo pizza is notably better than current 2 Amys IMHO at this juncture. Other dishes we had were a great pork shoulder panini and some nicely dressed salads with top notch greens and chopped vegetables. Note, we ate at the bar and on "off" hours so service was fine...cannot guarantee anything in the dining room or at prime time, but for the $$, Bebo is top notch value/quality ratio if you ignore the service "eccentricities".

Saturday is pizza, salads and salumi only for lunch due to Crystal City being not so busy on weekend days. My take on the famous smoked Mozz non-menu Pizza..order a $10.00 marinara pie and add $2.50 for the smoked mozz..its great....if you like crisper crust always go with the Marinara with one or no toppings. Also, we have proably eaten about 6 other pies prior to this report and would rate them 6.5 to 9.0; the lower rated ones were either over sauced or slightly underdone..generally, of the 10 pies we have had, the average on my scale is about 8.0...not bad and with the RD bar being high, at least as good as the usual suspects...2 Amy's, Comet table tennis, etc.....alos with Cafe Pizziala in the 'hood..Crystal City may be ground zero for Washington area pizza..NY style and Neopolitan..Once you become "known" at Bebo, service at the bar becomes pretty good and RD is always gracious to us, and we are no high rollers who drop $100-150 a night. Generally, for the price all fo the food we have had is at least decent, often very good and occasionally execellent. For entrees that usually run under $20, thats not bad....but RD does need to get good floor managers to get the level of service to his food...BTW.. I think he DOES CARE.

[TedE]

Another salvo fired in the great Bebo vs. the media war ....

[ol_ironstomach]

Glad to see a domestic tomato top another sauce taste test. To heck with VPN authenticity...I'm glad Roberto prefers that it be all about the best flavor.

[jrichstar]

mmmmm.......more trouble with the press. Is there a trend here?

[JimRice]

This is a little off topic, but there was an episode of America's Test Kitchen where they tasted canned tomatos for the US versus Italy, and the US ones won. If I recall correctly, to avoid import duties, there is tomato sauce mixed in with canned tomatos from Italy. So, the US made ones tasted fresher. Sorry if this has been discussed before, I did a search and nothing came up.

[Al Dente]

Found this one growing in my garden...

must be one of them heirloom varieties...

[mdt]

This is a little off topic, but there was an episode of America's Test Kitchen where they tasted canned tomatos for the US versus Italy, and the US ones won. If I recall correctly, to avoid import duties, there is tomato sauce mixed in with canned tomatos from Italy. So, the US made ones tasted fresher. Sorry if this has been discussed before, I did a search and nothing came up.

A few of us did this test and discovered this as well. I wonder what certain folks that proclaimed that Italian San Marzano's were the best will change their tune now.

[lackadaisi]

Jlock and I stopped by for a late lunch this afternoon, and I am happy to report that both the service and the food were excellent!

As we sat on the lovely patio, Jlock bumped into his water glass and spilled it all over the table. Not only was the waitress there immediately to help clean up his mess, but she left additional napkins. And, when the manager (I believe) stopped by a few minutes later to offer to move our table a few feet to ensure that we would both remain in the shade as the afternoon passed, he saw that Jlock's menu was the slightest bit damp. He seemed aghast that they would give us a menu in that condition (but, not in a manner disrepectful to our waitress), but once we assured him that we were the ones that had caused the problem, he insisted on getting us a clean one anyway. The rest of the meal continued with the same attentive and cordial service, but no more spills from Jlock.

We split the pork sausage and broccoli rabe pizza and the mortadello, ricotta, and salami calzone. I have no idea who was cooking, but both were amazing! I have joined the Bebo camp; by far the best pizza that I have had in this area. The pizza was a little damp in the center, but not to the detriment of the rest of the pie. My only regret is that we were too full to try the nutella pizza.

[JimRice]

We went there tonight after Biscuit Girl got off a six-day week. The napoletana pizza was [bleeping] awesome! Best we've had ever, better than even what I make at home. I ate pieces with anchovy on them, and Barb had pieces without, and we both went away happy. We also tried some of the salumni, the cured pork jowl and the hunter sausage, and they were good, although the jowl was fattier than we expected. The sublte flavor of the fat was overwhelmed by the other spices going on.

[DLB]

The Pizza Margherita tonight was quite good. However, this was my last visit to Bebo. I just cannot deal with the bad service. My wife, who is the most patient person I know, ask me: "Why do you keep coming here"? It took two hours to to get out of here tonight, and we only had two pizzas, a sulumi and one dessert. My pizza arrived 10 min. after my wife recieved her pie, and it only arrived after I ask about it, with not explanation or apology. All this, and the place was not busy at 6pm on a Sunday. I just can't win here, so I give up!

[danfishe]

As I have been wanting to try their pizza for a while, I went to Bebbo on Friday night and sat at the bar by myself. The two bartenders were very nice, one was obviously new but they were both attentive, no complaints there. The salumi starter was excellent. I had a pizza with onions and pepperoni. Amazingly they ran out of buffalo mozz at 9:30, so I had the regular cheese, which was fine. Overall the pizza was good, though not discernably better than 2 Amys or even Sette Bello. On another note, the air conditioner was broken, and the entire restaurant was uncomfortably hot (and not entirely full). Would I go back for a quick pizza lunch or a very casual dinner? Absolutely. Would I go back for more than that? No.

[Ferhat Yalcin]

I had lunch past saturday , having a mozzarella and tomato salad and 2 different pizzas. pizzas were good, the salad was just ok because the cheese was so mushy and tasteless. the bread we got was frozen in the center (haha what a coincidence).

[TomA]

another Saturday pizza update...two of the best pies we have had at Bebo....did the bar early (11:45)....got a marinaraw/eggplant and black olives and tomato/mozz with arugula and procuitto..... better than the last I have had from Paradisso and 2 Amy's...service was competent at the bar but a bit sullen, but who cares when the pis were this good. Both pies had better crust than our previous ones (perfect blistering and crust texture/flavor..no wetness in center)..decent mixed salad came with the pie via a coupon. The marinara as a base for one or two toppings is really a revelation.

Permalink | Report | Reply

[DPop]

Well, I finally had a good experience at Bebo. Roberto was there at the oven on Friday and was very pleasant, greeting me at the door and later willing to make the smoked mozzarella pizza that JoeH raved about above. Service was average other than that, but even that was much better than I expected in the dining room.

We started with the crudo of tuna under an arugula salad, drizzled with lemon juice and pepper. Nice thick, hearty pieces of fresh tuna with a perfect tart bite accenting the nice natural flavors. I could eat this over an arugula salad every day for lunch as an entree and be a happy man.

We had the spinaci e ricotta, which was a nice light pizza that had plenty of flavor despite the lack of pork or much cheese. The sauce carried this, as it was lightly pasted on the crust and permeated throughout every bite. A nice light pie unlike any I have had in this area. The smoked mozzarella, which my server said could not be made but upon personally putting in the request with Roberto (and requesting that heo make how he saw fit) it became a reality, was a very good pizza (if not as incredible as JoeH described it). The smoked mozzarella and garlic carried this one, with that wood taste in the cheese giving this particular white pizza a flavor that I have not experienced outside of a grilled piece of meat or potato. The garlic was sliced in long, thin slivers and generously spread throughout the pie and really hit the spot as a complement to the smoky cheese. Not as good as my Meat Lover's pizza at 2Amys, but certainly one of the better pizzas I have had in the area.

This visit gave me hope. If Roberto sorts out all service issues and keeps putting out this kind of product, this place will flourish as a lunch spot and hold its own for dinner service as well.

[cgarden]

Two friends and I had a tasty dinner at Bebo on Saturday. I started with the beet/tomato/arugula salad, which was probably the low-point of the meal - the salad tasted alright, but at about $10.00, it seemed pretty small and not really "worth it." Also, as has been noted upthread, the very soft cheese that came with it did not stand up to the other flavors, and didn't bring much to the party. On to the pizza - I had the onion and gorgonzola pizza, which I really enjoyed. The outer edges were very crisp and nicely charred (the crust at the center of the pizza was quite soft, but I don't think it could have been otherwise, given the toppings on the pizza - anyway, I liked the contrast). My co-diners had the pork shoulder calzone and the basic tomato/cheese pizza, and both disappeared very quickly. A word on service -- we had no problems at all -- water glasses were refilled several times throughout the meal; the waiter came over a few times to ask, in a very concerned tone of voice, whether everything was alright; and when the bus-person/runner initially brought over the wrong salad, the waiter was at the table in about two seconds flat to fix the problem. Overall, I can definitely see us returning for pizza.