Bellini's

Sunday 15 April
After an unnecessarily traumatic Amtrak journey to Metropark NJ, involving torrential rains, crowded trains, and the loss of a beloved hat, Karen and Bill picked us up, soothed our jangled nerves, gave us wine and cheese, and took us out to Bellini's, a classic Italian-American joint. I use joint in the nicest possible sense. The music is Frank, the sauce is red, the portions are huge, and of course you get salad and a side of pasta with that.
We had the Veal Bellini: fried breaded eggplant, alternating with fried breaded veal, alternating with prosciutto (also possibly fried and breaded), each topped with sauce, the whole thing stacked and sealed in mozzarella and roasted red peppers . . . oh, and a strip of bacon on top. It looked like a giant white caterpillar with red stripes. We also had lobster ravioli swimming with shrimp and artichokes in a cream and tomato salsa rosata. No bacon (the kitchen must be slipping). Doggie bags for everyone, except the dog.