A Little Piece of Italy

    “A Little Piece of Italy”

As the scent of bread and sauce hit your nostrils as you walk through the glass door to enter Balzano's Italian Kitchen, your mouth begins to salivate. The waiters and waitresses dressed in an all black uniform taking orders and delivering food are scattered around the restaurant attending each table. As you look toward the front of the restaurant you can see a skilled bartender mixing and serving drinks and cocktails to those sitting at the bar. Balzano's also has a second restaurant for take-out food such as pizza and wings located a street over from the sit-in restaurant and a catering service for weddings, graduations, anniversary parties, and so on. Every detail of this restaurant and the way it runs is superb if not perfect.  

    The mastermind behind this excellent cuisine is Lucy Hergan. The story behind Balzano's begins some years ago with Lucy's brother proposing the idea to open an Italian restaurant . Lucy had already owned a building in Bloomsburg and her and her brother decided to use it as the foundation of the restaurant. Her and her father put much work into this establishment before it became a milestone in Bloomsburg. After her brother turned the business over to her she exclaimed “the staff she hired knew more about how to run a restaurant than she did.” As time went one she became more acquainted with the restaurant and how to run a successful business.

    The question was brought up “What sets your business apart from other competitors?” she replied “It's a family run business with all homemade foods and baked goods.” I believe a restaurant like this with homemade foods and what not can be far more superior to chain restaurants. Lucy’s motivation comes from making people happy with her product and service. She takes great pride in it because she said she “watched it grow from a one door business to a two door business, and it is just amazing.” The employees enjoy working for her because she portrays “fairness, always has a plan, and we respect her for creating such a wonderful establishment.”

    Excellent service is just one of the reasons that make a good restaurant. The service staff is impeccable, always catering to the needs of the customer. The waitress greeted us with a cheerful smile and great attitude when she asked what we wanted to drink. As she took our order of a Coca-Cola with a lemon, a raspberry iced tea, and a water with a lemon wedged on the rim, the soft and relaxing orchestrated music in the background really set the mood of Italian cuisine. As she came back with our beverages we were all set to order and she took out her black notebook and ballpoint pen and took our order. When we finished ordering we gave her the tall menu's and she thankfully took them and went to give the chef's our order. The aroma of bolognese, meat and cheese ravioli, pasta with meatballs, chicken parmesan, and many other Italian dishes filled my nose and I became hungrier than I already was. It was then when the waitress brought out a loaf of fresh out of the oven bread and butter. As I grabbed the bread, tore off a piece, and smothered it in butter I bit into the crunchy crust and eventually hit the warm soft part of the bread. I swallowed it and was extremely satisfied.

    The hardwood floor, and walls with designs of swirls and professional paint designs, and designed ceiling really added to the authenticity of the restaurant not to mention the paintings on the wall. In the center of the restaurant there was a wooden stage for bands to play on some nights. Who doesn't like a nice dinner and a live band in the background? As we were gazing at the decor of the restaurant our appetizer of barbecue wings came out. With our mouths watering we dove in and devoured them. Licking my fingers to get every bit of sauce off I looked around and saw pleased faces with every bite of their entree. As the waiter took our dish of wings away another waiter came out with my salad. A house salad with the greenest lettuce, a plump cherry tomato, sliced carrots, a cucumber with some of the skin left on the side, crunchy on the outside-chewy on the inside croutons, and a plastic container full of Italian dressing to pour on top of my salad. As I indulged in the salad, I finished it before I knew it.

    It was then that the waitress brought out our dinners and everyone had a smile from ear to ear at our table. She put the meat ravioli in front of my friend Troy and pasta with vodka sauce and two big meatballs in front of my other friend JP. Finally my entree hit the table in front of me, and there was a nice big bowl of bolognese topped with red tomato sauce and a fresh green basil leaf on top of this masterpiece with a spoon hanging out the side for the spaghetti. I put the Parmesan cheese on top of my meal and enjoyed every single bite.

    As we finished up, a waiter grabbed our finished dishes and forks to take to the back to be washed and prepared for the next table. The waitress asked us how our meal was, as any good waitress would. We replied that it was fantastic. She asked us “Any room for dessert?” We all got a piece of cheesecake topped with strawberries and caramel and a cup of coffee. The waitress happily took our order and she went on her way. As I looked around at everybody socializing and enjoying themselves I was happy we chose Balzano's Italian Kitchen to eat at. As we saw our desserts in the distance we became hungry again. She placed the three cheesecakes with strawberries and caramel in front of us and the cup of steaming coffee in front of me. The cheesecake was very delicious and the coffee was the perfect beverage to have with it to wash it down. Mrs. Hergan stressed “A good chef should have consistency, be on time, have an ability to work with others, be very creative, organized, and understand safety.” This plays a huge role in the restaurant business and the quality of a restaurant.

    As the waitress took the rest of our dirty dishes we had that look of fullness and satisfaction on our faces. She asked us again if “that's all we would be having today?” I think by the look on our faces we were very satisfied with our dining adventure. She came back with the bill and told us to have a great day and thanks for our business. We paid the bill and left a nice tip for our lovely waitress, but we sat and relaxed for a bit more because we weren't quite ready to leave yet. As the day turned to night I took a big breath and exhaled slowly and though that that was easily one of the best service and food I've ever had. I think my friends would agree with my thought. I looked around one last time at the beautiful decorated walls, the design pattern on the ceiling, and the dimmer atmosphere to give more of an authenticity feel for Italian food and was ready to leave.

    The popularity of Balzano’s can be linked to Mrs. Hergan for her personable ways and how she walks around and talks to every table and asks how everything tasted. She believes people that like the service as well as the food will be happy with their choice of Balzano's. Not many restaurant managers do that especially chain restaurants. I believe that shows a good quality in a restaurant. As we walked out, the staff again thanked us for our business and so did Lucy. We told her everything was delicious and we won't be a stranger to this fine establishment. It left a smile on her face and all of ours as we walked out of the glass door.