Daniel Clawson We had dinner at Bianca’s this past Saturday and it was simply said, a well oiled machine of professionalism and well crafted taste sensations. My girlfriend had been here before with her work, they take clients here when in town, but this was my first time here. After traveling to Albany, GA for nearly a year now my only complaint is not coming to Bianca’s sooner. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel personally to many large metropolitan areas and have eaten at restaurants that are known to be destinations of their own. I believe Bianca’s is on its way to becoming that sort of fine dining establishment. The decor is modern, elegant, and clean. The lighting is moody, but deliberate. They dim the house lights so much that even though the neighboring tables are relatively close together, they fade into dark obscurity because your primary light is a nice little lamp on your table. This does make taking photos a little more dramatic than I would normally go for in my lighting choices, but it helps keep your focus on those in your party than on everyone in your vicinity.
I do have to make special mention of the wait staff. Our waiter, Johan, was a delight and charming to interact with, but they also had people to make sure drinks stayed full, plates being taken away, bread refilled. Furthermore when the table next to us accidentally knocked over a wine glass, three people swooped in immediately to clean up the mess before any semblance of disruption could be felt. They train their staff well and it shows. For those who have been there, I feel like this is aspiring to be at the level of service they have at Bern’s Steakhouse in Tampa, FL. I was thoroughly impressed.
Everything we ordered was delicious, but I do have a few favorites I want to mention. For starters, the complimentary bread with a herb and garlic infused olive oil was truly memorable. The bread was crusty and nicely toasted, but had a texture almost like they used a cake flour or something. It had such a fine granular mouth feel that it was almost like chewy, pillowy, croutons. It’s hard to explain, but excellent and thankfully they happily refill the bread upon request… and we did which is unusual for me because I don’t normally like to fill up on the bread to make sure I have room for the meal. For my entree I ordered the Spaghetti Al Coccio Con Fritti Di Mari and the sauce was remarkably flavorful and well developed. The portion of seafood was generous enough to fill even the most hungry patron. My girlfriend had the 16 oz Linz (sp?) ribeye from the chef’s menu that day. It was cooked in a caste iron skillet and thus had a bit more gradation in temp than I would like to see at that price point, but overall came out a solid medium as ordered. I also wish the seared crust was a little more defined, but I am being a little nitpicky. It was an excellent steak. My favorite bite of the evening was the dessert. I normally go for anything chocolate, but I saw the Tortino and it stood out to us as something worth trying. It is described as a sponge cake filled with vanilla gelato, topped with fresh berries and a vanilla cream glaze. This description doesn’t say that the gelato is the best I’ve had outside of Italy and the thick crust on the bottom of the sponge cake was amazing while having a dense and chewy consistency that was scrumptious while still being moist barely describes the elation that came out of this tasty morsel. I would come back just for the Tortino.
All things considered, if you’re in Albany, GA and have a reason for a nice sit down fine dining experience, put this at the top of your list.
