Forever Young Magazine

September 2007
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Section: Food

Ba-Da-Bing’s!
By Annemarie Jason

Annemarie Jason

Are you familiar with the song, “What Kind of Fool Am I?” Well, recently I tried it with these lyrics:

What kind of fool was I?
I never dined at Bing’s,
Where there’s some great Italian food
That’s well worth remembering ...

Bing’s has been around for close to 20 years and I regret that I did not discover it until recently. It’s one of those restaurants that makes the Buffalo area a diner’s dreamscape, since it’s friendly, comfortable, affordable and home to g-o-o-o-d flavor.

Bing’s is a family affair, with Shelley Collora Schratz as its heart and soul. Shelley can be proud to offer a menu that features a wide array of Italian specialties and homemade desserts, including Bing’s award-winning crabcakes, artichokes and specialties for the sweet tooth. Also on the menu are Collora family favorites, such as Nona Elaine’s hand-rolled manicotti and stuffed braciole, and for soup lovers, Nona’s Pollo e Polpettine, a rich chicken broth with tiny meatballs.

A friend and I arrived there on a stiflingly hot evening and bypassed the outdoor seating so we could experience the joys of air conditioning. After ogling the list of appetizers for awhile, we decided to share an order of bruschetta, which was just right — cheesy and topped with some of my favorite local produce: the ripe red tomato. Our salads were fresh and zingy with balsamic garlic vinaigrette. Then a granita-like lemon sorbet arrived to cleanse the palate. It had just the right degree of tartness to carry our taste buds beyond garlic and on to other flavors.

Bing's

1952 Kensington Avenue, Amherst

839-5788

Open:
Tues-Fri @ 11:30 a.m.
Sat @ 4 p.m.

For an entree, it took me quite awhile to decide whether I should have Jenna’s Pasta and Peas or one of the specials: grilled polenta with wild forest mushrooms and marsala wine sauce, ravioli in roasted garlic and green peppercorn cream with shaved romano, or risotto with tomatoes, asparagus and asiago. I finally settled on the latter and was pleased with my choice. The asparagus was cooked perfectly; tender and crisp, the seasoning a perfect blend. Filet of sirloin was my friend’s choice. She loved it and said that it was cooked just right. Because it arrived with polenta and mushroom sauce, I just had to ask her for a taste. It was very good and my friend loved the mushrooms’ earthy flavor as well as the medley of zucchini, summer squash and tomatoes in butter sauce that came with it. The portions were the right size for sensible eating and we were pleasantly full.

However, dessert still beckoned. There were Italian favorites like cassata cake and gelato — one of my many weaknesses. Further along that sweet road of sin were carrot cake and chocolate Godiva cake. But we were women of virtue. Our wonderful waitress recommended the chef’s “skinny” pumpkin cheesecake, so we split a piece. It was light, delicious and not-too-sweet. We didn’t miss the calories at all.

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