Ciao Bello

Don’t forget: The entire wine list at Ciao Bello is half-priced every Tuesday in April! And Tony and Scott have just decided to continue the half-price offer throughout the month of May…

In Italian you say, di mamma, ce n’è una sola. Literally, it means, “there’s just one mother.” But it is understood to mean, “everyone has just one mother.” In other words, be thankful for that one loving and lovely mother who brought you into this world. Mother’s Day is always a very special occasion at Ciao Bello, where Tony outdoes himself every year with his spectacular Mother’s Day menus. Please click here for this year’s Mother’s Day Brunch menu. And please…

“Part of Vallone’s genius was to make Houstonians feel that the world was at their feet at a time when the city was increasingly staking its claim on a national and international stage… Another facet of Vallone’s genius was to make his restaurant fun.” Click here to read Alison Cook’s recent profile of Tony for the Houston Chronicle (subscribers only).

In case you missed it, Ciao Bello’s brunch cocktails were featured this month in Buzz magazine by one of our city’s leading food writers, Dai Huynh. “Ciao Bello,” she writes, “is a principal player in incorporating Italian bitters and liqueurs to lend complexity to drinks. A play on a classic, its Antica Manhattan is chilled liquid jazz made with Carpano Antica, the Italian king of sweet vermouths with notes of caramel and vanilla and hints of bitterness. Another popular toast at Ciao…

“I clearly recall the first time I saw Scott Sulma in action,” writes Paper City lifestyle and food editor James Brock. “It was at Tony’s, and he was talking to guests seated at a table near mine. Earlier in the evening the guests, a young man and woman who seemed a little uncertain about the menu and wine list, oozed discomfort. Sulma, I am now certain, had noticed their anxiousness as well, and was on a mission, smile on his face, voice…

“For Italian food to be authentic, it has to be creative.” It’s one of the cornerstones of great Italian cuisine, as Tony Vallone showed a packed house this week at Ciao Bello at the latest in his Italian Regional Cuisine Dinner series. That’s his “Risotto Cacio e Pepe,” above, an interpretation of the Roman classic “Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe,” made with rice in the place of pasta and topped with a slice of Umbrian black truffle. It was another great…

Please call (727) 375-5155 to speak to a Ciao Bello private party planner now. Holiday bookings are filling up quickly so please reserve now to ensure availability. Ciao Bello offers its guests a wide array of options for private and corporate dining and events, including private rooms as well as buyouts. Private Rooms: Terrazza Room (upstairs, no elevator) up to 50 persons, seats up to 35 projector ready Giardino Room spacious patio covered and air conditioned natural lighting thanks to 50…

One of the things that sets the Vallone family of restaurants apart in Houston’s ever-expanding food scene is Tony’s connections to Italy. Last week, Tony hosted winemaker Cristina Ziliani (above, left), owner of the Berlucchi winery in Franciacorta, an appellation about 45 minutes east of Milan where classic-method sparkling wines are produced. “I go to Milan every year,” says Tony. “The best restaurants there all serve Franciacorta by-the-glass. They love Champagne as much as we do here in the U.S.,…