Dining review: Stellino’s keeps Bella Monica flavor fully intact, with potential to stand on its own

When Bella Monica owners Corbett and Julie Monica decided to open a second restaurant in Cary, they might well have given it the same name as their first one. Bella Monica is something of a local landmark, after all, and the menu at the new restaurant bears more than a passing resemblance to the one that has been winning fans for the original in Olde Raleigh Village for nearly two decades.

Instead, the couple named their new venture Stellino’s Italiano, after their daughter, Stella. Corbett Monica explained the decision in a news release: “Although the menu is similar to our Bella Monica offerings, the bigger space allows us to execute some new menu items that we weren’t able to offer at Bella Monica.”

The owners backed up the decision by giving their new restaurant a decidedly different look, with splashes of red – the ripe tomato of alcoves cut into a plank partition wall, the rich chianti hue of upholstery – for a vibe that might be described as suburban rustic.

But six months after Stellino’s opening, those new menu items only amount to three, by my count: lobster ravioli, eggplant rollatini and shrimp with arugula pesto.

“We’re in this for the long haul,” Monica says. “We want to make sure we get our lasagna just right before we take on a lot of new stuff. We have equipment in the kitchen that we haven’t even turned on yet.”

That’s a commendable goal, and one that Stellino’s appears close to achieving. In the meantime, until they’re ready to turn on the deep fryer and start serving fried calamari, you can get your squid fix the same way they do at Bella Monica: sautéed with basil and paired with a small salad of arugula and cannellini beans.

Bella Monica fans will also recognize tuna peppers, a delightful starter featuring bright cherry peppers stuffed with a piquant Sicilian-style tuna salad.

Under the same Antipasti heading, the classic spit-roasted spiedino gets translated here to a grilled boneless chicken breast — which, marinade notwithstanding, can be dry. And if you’re tempted by the one of the bruschetta options, skip the crabmeat version, whose topping is downright skimpy. Opt instead for the classic tomato-basil-garlic-EVOO topping, or rosemary-spiked cannellini beans topped with shaved parmigiano-Reggiano.

A medley of roasted cremini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms, glistening beneath a sheen of garlic butter and topped with a fried egg, is on the money. So is a shareable starter of polenta cakes, festooned with colorful ribbons of roasted pepper and syrupy balsamic squiggles.

Entrees and pasta dishes are listed together under the heading “Favorites from Nana’s Kitchen” – a nod to Corbett Monica’s grandmother, the source of several recipes. That includes the classic red sauce, called gravy on the menu as it is in many Italian-American homes, that is a common ingredient in many dishes.

In fact, you won’t go wrong by ordering anything on the menu whose description includes the word “gravy.” Spinach- and ricotta-stuffed pasta shells, say, or chicken parmigiana (with the proviso that, until they fire up the fryer, the chicken breast is baked under a slab of fresh mozzarella before being smothered in an avalanche gravy).

Or spaghetti with Mom’s meatballs and gravy, which gets you two generations of family recipes in one dish. Even eggplant rollatini, one of those “new menu items” on Stellino’s menu, comes slathered in Nana’s gravy.

Lobster ravioli, another newcomer, comes dressed in a rich sherry cream sauce riddled with snappy asparagus segments and bits of lobster. They’re fine, if pricy at $20.99 for five ravioli – though to be fair, the price of all entrees includes a salad (get the Caesar, with “croutons” of crumbled parmesan frico).

If anything could tempt me to hop off of Nana’s gravy train, it might be the wild Copper River sockeye salmon, nicely seared and served with a kaleidoscope of roasted cherry tomatoes, artichokes, spinach and orzo pasta in a caper butter sauce. Or Chianti-spiked veal bolognese, ladled onto a plate of al dente rigatoni. As long as I’m riding in the first class section, I’ll let the waiter shave some parmigiano reggiano over the bolognese.

Stellino’s thin, blistery-crusted pizzas are, if anything, even better than Bella Monica’s trademark flatbreads – as they should be, given that the new restaurant goes all in on Neapolitan style with imported Caputo 00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella. With more than a dozen topping combinations to choose from, the dilemma is whether to go for the Vongole (clams, pancetta, garlic and EVOO) or the Bella (a vegetarian jamboree of roma tomatoes, oven-charred broccoli, artichokes and feta on a base of basil pesto and buffalo mozzarella).

The usual Italian restaurant dessert suspects are ably accounted for, from tiramisu to cannoli. I’m partial to the not-too-sweet, subtly lemon-tinged Sicilian-style cheesecake.

That the Monicas named their restaurant for their daughter is a touching gesture, but from a marketing standpoint, Stellino’s hasn’t yet fully justified a name distinct from Bella Monica. It’s off to a good start, though, and given the owners’ track record, it will in no doubt stand proudly on its own.

Even after it has achieved that goal, the two restaurants will continue to bear a strong family resemblance, from the shared motto (“Vivi, Ama, Mangia” — that’s “Live, Love, Eat”) to the nightly specials handwritten on uncooked lasagna noodles. And as anyone who has eaten at Bella Monica will tell you, that’s a good thing.

This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Dining review: Stellino’s keeps Bella Monica flavor fully intact, with potential to stand on its own."