I know I've been slacking lately, and for that I apologize. But, enough small talk. . .
This particular picture has nothing to do with food, but it's worth noting that you can still get a henna tattoo at Animal Kingdom for a relatively inexpensive price. I want to say this one was $25. Oh, and that's only the beginning of the tattoo--it wound up about three times that length. FWIW, that's
Luv's leg not mine. . .it's a little blurry so, no, you're not imagining it or not had enough coffee yet. . .
Back to food. We love ourselves some Italian--we always make our own sauces at home, from simple, summer-light fresh tomato with basil ones all the way to takes-a-couple-of-days to make Bolognese (with a recipe given to us from our most favorite Italian spot--OMBRA Cucina Rustica in HHI--but that's another story). To date, our favorite go-to at the World has been Il Mulino, though we do love the Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar, as well. We've had good experiences at other spots not named Mama or Tony yet have found Il Mulino to fit our taste buds and needs the best
Until now.
I introduce to you Exhibit A: Bice (pronounced Bee-chay--we shamefacedly found out the place did not rhyme with rice. Oops).
LOML had been reading about it and wanting to try it for some time; however, given that you have to drive or be driven there and that it's part of the Dark Side and it would be an expensive fail if it didn't turn out to be good, we hesitated over the years. Since we'd just been to Il Mulino on the last trip, we finally decided to give Bice a try (for the record, it's named after Beatrice "Bice" Ruggeri who started a trattoria in Milan in 1926). Oh, my, are we thrilled we did.
It was a stormy day, as most of those days in July were, and we made the 15-20 minute drive to the Portofino Bay Hotel without incident. Just as we arrived, however, the heavens let loose. We valet parked Walt (yep, we name our vehicles after Disney icons or characters) and had to snake our way through the hotel to get to Bice. People who geo-cache have nothing on us--down a long hallway, bear left, take the next stairs down to a level where about halfway you pivoted right, down more stairs, up more stairs, put one foot in and take the other one out--you get the picture. When we did arrive, the exterior of the restaurant didn't shout elegance or upscale. In fact, to me, it seemed almost a little underwhelming. Once in the restaurant proper, though, it was lovely--high ceilings, tablecloths, tables by the window, and a certain luxurious feel to the place. We were seated in a nearly empty restaurant (it got busier later) and right by a window that overlooked the "port." Hopefully, my lovely wife will have more pictures--I failed to take many.
Our service the entire night was exceptional, and our particular server was patient with our questions about the menu, substitutions (well, not for me), and the wine (yep, that's me). The menu was quite extensive, so it was difficult to narrow down our choices. I think
Luv went with two small plates of two different pastas--I'm sure she'll chime in if not. I opted for one of my all-time favorite dishes, the veal shank ossobuco which in Bice's version is served with a saffron risotto. Sounded right up my alley. To go with our meal, we ordered a bottle of Ripasso. If you're not familiar with this wine, you should be. It's one of my top 2 or 3 affordable wines and tastes like I imagine the country side of Italy to be.
Back to the food. We gnoshed on some bread with olive oil while waiting on our meals--the breads were good, not great but the oil was marvelously herbaceous and floral. Loved it. There was also a hummus and a balsamic vinegar for dipping, as well. The hummus was ho-hum while the balsamic had that sweet tartness that contrasted well with the oil. . .but the oil was the star.
When my ossobuco arrived, I was stunned. It looked like a portion from
The Flintstones cartoons.
The picture doesn't do it justice due to the closeup nature, but it was a big honkin' piece of meat, covered in that braising liquid and a deep, velvety tomato sauce. As you can see, it was fork tender (appropriately so) and simply the best I've had since Orso Ristorante in Anchorage, AK, some decade and a half ago. The risotto was a smart pairing with this meal as the pungency of that spice helped offset the richness of the meat and sauce. (In the back, you can see the dipping sauces for the bread.)
Here's another shot with the dipping sauces and
Luv's dishes in the background--obviously, one of them was a ravioli though I can't remember the filling. The other may have been a Bolognese? In between, you'll notice the lovely hue of the Ripasso. It was a great match for my ossobucco, and as I recall, actually worked wonders with the ravioli, too.
You might be wondering for what purpose the small fork is in the middle of the ossobuco?
Luv was curious at first, but I knew right away. If you guessed it's for the bone marrow, you'd be absolutely correct. While my wife isn't a fan, I am, and it was so rich, fatty, and almost smoky in nature. Melt in your mouth greatness.
I couldn't finish the entire portion given how large it was, so it wound up in a take away bag and provided a tasty, late evening snack a couple of days later. It's hard to imagine that I will order anything else when we return, and we will return! From the service, to the food, to the wine list, to the ambiance, Bice is a hard restaurant to top. I know on these boards, people ask about the dress code quite a bit, so I will suggest that if you do go to Bice, dress nicely. You don't have to dress up per se, though we did see a couple of men with ties and one long evening gown (not on a man); however, the vibe of this spot is opulence. That being said, we also saw a couple who were in more casual resort wear but even that was nice shorts, Izod-style shirt, an actual blouse-y shirt (not a t-shirt), and the like. However, far and away, most we saw dining there that evening obviously wanted to feel as though it was a special experience. It certainly was for us. Though
Luv will likely add her thoughts and a few pics, I am ready to rate this place anyway.
GRADE: A Highlights: Food, service, wine list, ambiance Lows:
Finding it