As an active member of the LGBT community, I often find myself exploring all kinds of LGBT friendly locations.
Knowing this, and also knowing my love for food, the lovely Miss Sarah Sparks decided to travel directly to my heart through my stomach. Smart move.
She asked me if I'd be interested in joining her for dinner at one of her favorite local restaurants, Bella Luna in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
For anyone who might not know, Jamaica Plain (also known as JP) is well known for being a very openly gay and gay friendly community. The location alone would have been enough to spark my queer interest, but the promise of food completely sealed the deal. Knowing Sarah and her love for food, I was prepared to be impressed.
Bella Luna is located in Jamaica Plain at 284 Amory St. It is located in the same complex as the Sam Adams Brewery, which adds a nice touch of true Boston spirit to the experience as a whole. Attached to the restaurant is one of Jamaica Plain's most hip venues, the Milky Way Lounge.
Bella Luna has a beautiful outdoor patio with seating available for customers who enjoy dining outside. Upon walking in, we were greeted by a smiling hostess and glowing plasma globe. The glowing plasma globe was definitely a highlight in the experience... I touched it both on the way in AND on the way out, and during dinner, I saw several others touch the glowy ball of goodness. I think I need one.
The atmosphere inside the restaurant is laid back and classy. Bella Luna has a very modern, friendly feel inside, along with a very welcoming wait staff. The star shaped light fixtures hanging from the ceiling lit the room perfectly, creating a warm and relaxed environment that is perfect for winding down after work with dinner and drinks.
Sarah and I, being the strange women we are, both have specific diets to adhere to, myself being type two diabetic and her currently practicing a vegan lifestyle.
Luckily for us, Bella Luna was able to accommodate both of our needs with the contents of their menu!
To start off our food date we order some appetizers. It was difficult to choose, but we finally decided on the Strawberry Fields Salad and Bruschetta.
This was my first time ordering a salad with fruit in it, and to be honest I was skeptical about the idea at first. With the first bite I was quickly relieved of my worries. The Strawberry Fields Salad consisted of arugula lettuce, sliced strawberries, and a balsamic vinaigrette topped with Manchego cheese. The contrast of the tangy vinaigrette and sweet strawberries made for a truly original salad experience, and the Manchego cheese added the perfect amount of sharpness to the taste.
Our second appetizer was the Springtime Bruschetta. Myself being of Italian decent, I have always loved bruschetta, and I really enjoyed the twist that Bella Luna added to make it theirs. Their rendition of Springtime Bruschetta was composed of grilled asparagus, goat cheese spread over a toasted crostini slice, drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. The substitution of grilled asparagus was a decadent and refreshing addition to an Italian tradition.
Sarah's main course was the Farmer's Market Vegan Pizza, which looked SO delicious that I just HAD to try a piece. The pizza was covered in soy cheese and fresh garden veggies (onions, peppers, garlic & tomatoes with light seasoning). This was my first experience with soy cheese, and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I'm not 100% sure I LIKED it, but I am glad to have tasted it. All in all, the pizza was delicious.
As a diabetic, it is important for me to maintain a relatively healthy and balanced diet consisting of mainly protein and carbohydrates. Chicken is my favorite source of protein so I decided to try Bella Luna's Chicken Saltimbocca. Their version of the dish was a slice of prosciutto on top of a juicy chicken breast sauteed with sage and Marsala, topped with melted Fontina over buttered farfalle and served with a side of sauteed spinach. The prosciutto was a little intense for my liking, but I am weird about certain meats and don't generally consume pork products (besides bacon, but bacon is like candy). The spinach could have used a little more flavor to liven it up a bit. The meal as a whole was scrumptious! The chicken was tender and juicy, and the seasonings really gave it a chance to stand out in contrast to the pasta and spinach. The buttered pasta was a perfect side to accompany the chicken, and it was also nice to have some greens in the meal to aid in digestion.
This entire meal was already amazing, and the dessert menu was nothing short of the icing on our fat-kid-lady-date cake!
One of my FAVORITE things in the whole world is strawberry shortcake. Sarah and I had originally planned to seek out Boston's best strawberry shortcake for our MassBytes adventure, but came up unsuccessful in our search. After deciding on desert at the last moment, we knew it was meant to be when the first item on the dessert menu was STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!
Bella Luna's strawberry shortcake was TO DIE FOR! The biscuit arrived STILL WARM with juicy sliced strawberries and a heap of their decadent home made whipped cream on top. I was in strawberry shortcake HEAVEN.
I loved every minute of our adventure to Jamaica Plain, and I will most definitely recommend Bella Luna to everyone looking to try a really fun and comfortable local restaurant, ESPECIALLY my LGBT brothers and sisters! Much love and thanks to everyone at Bella Luna Restaurant and the Milky Way Lounge for your hospitality and providing a safe & welcoming atmosphere, I had a great time!
(Submitted by Jackie Soriano, Three Strange Women, Unregular Radio, Mondays 3pm - 4pm.)
For More Information about Three Strange Women: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Three-Strange-Women/119049134849481
For More Information about Bella Luna: http://www.milkywayjp.com/
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