The Rocket

Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Kristen Baselj Bravo Cucina Italiana Restaurant, located in Cranberry Township, offers a variety of Italian dishes and features a unique fire pizza oven. [Click to enlarge]

Designed to look and feel like the ruins of a courtyard in Italy, Bravo's offers high-quality Italian dishes.

Bravo's, located in Cranberry Township, is one of 54 in the country. The restaurant is part of BRAVO! Development Inc., which that has also started restaurant chains including Brio Tuscan Grille, Bon Vie and Lindey's Café.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Our meal was started with fresh bread and oil mixed with herbs for dipping.

We then moved onto the "Primi Appetizer" of Cheese Ravioli Al Forno. These homemade cheese ravioli, came decoratively topped with Alfredo sauce and bands of pesto and tomato sauces. The portion size was small, but I would recommend giving them a try.

The Classic Grilled Pork Chops were very tender and not the least bit dry. These two large, sweetly marinated chops were accompanied by crunchy seasoned green beans and Tuscan mashed potatoes. However, my guest requested that the mashed potatoes be replaced with fried sweet potatoes. Upon delivery to the table, this change was not made.

The Wood-Grilled Double-Cut Lamb Chops entree that I ordered left a lot to be desired. The lamb racks were served cold and almost completely raw. I had requested the mashed potatoes be replaced with fried red-skinned potatoes, but when I first received my meal this was not done.

However, once my meal came back to the table, after being grilled a bit more, the lamb was juicy and delicious.

My guest and I looked to the waitress for a wine recommendation. She suggested a red wine called Parducci. I'm not usually a fan of red wine, but this selection would be good for people just switching to reds or for the occasional red drinker.

PRICE

Bravo's has the reputation of being more of an upscale restaurant, so I expected the prices to reflect this. Appetizers ranged from $7.99 to $9.99, with a bowl of soup costing $4.49 or $5.49. "Insalata," or salads, fell between $3.99 and $12.99.

"Specialita Della Casas" (house specialties) were priced between $10.99 and $15.99. "Pesce" (seafood) and "Griglia" (from the grill) ranged from $13.99 to $18.99, while the five "Bistecca" (steak) selections fell between $17.99 and $24.99.

ENVIRONMENT

The atmosphere was a bit loud, but still pleasant and sociable. You have to be willing to get to know your neighbors a bit, or at the least shoot them a friendly smile, because the tables are so close to each other that you can hear every word of everyone's conversations.

There is a small, full bar with one TV. The kitchen is completely open and visible from the entire dining area, which shows off its unique fire pizza oven.

I would recommend dressing up a little bit. Jeans are fine, but the feel of the restaurant suggests a collared shirt and maybe a skirt for the ladies.

SERVICE

The service staff was very knowledgeable about the menu and wine selections. They were more than happy to take the time make suggestions and explain unique entrees.

On the other hand, it seemed like many meals being served were followed by complaints from patrons. I noticed that both of the tables next to mine had problems as well.

Because our food was brought to the table by someone other than our waitress, it was a while before we saw our server to tell her about the discrepancies.

Also, the service was a little slow in general. For example, we waited about 12 minutes in between the clearing of our table and putting in our dessert order.

Bravo Cucina Italiana
20001 Rt. # 19
Cranberry Twp, PA 16006
(724) 772-8150

Kristen Baselj is a senior communicationmajor and a regular contributor to The Rocket.

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