Blog Post: Day 5 of Restaurant Week–Delicious Dining Experience From Start to Finish

Kelli Lighthizer is touring local restaurants during Conejo Valley Restaurant Week. Follow her blogs to the last night on Thursday. .

Day Five - Conejo Valley Restaurant Week:

Today is the last day of Conejo Valley Restaurant Week... a bitter sweet realization. It has been a treat to dine my way through the Conejo Valley, experiencing some of the best culinary talents our community has to offer five nights in a row. On the other hand, I think I've been the victim of a multi-day food coma, shocking my body with these three-course dinners too delicious not to indulge in.

For our final Restaurant Week dining experience, Liz Gaffron (from ConejoDeals.com) and I invited some friends to come join us at Bellavino Wine Bar & Restaurant on Thousand Oaks Blvd. I've been to Bellavino a couple of times and love the setting, but it wasn't until tonight that I realized I had never actually eaten dinner there.

I've enjoyed meeting up with friends there to catch up over a glass of wine and their gourmet cheese plate, but that had been the extent of my Bellavino experience. We directed our visiting friends to the ConejoValleyRestaurantWeek.com event website to review the list of participating restaurants and their promotional menus, and Bellavino was their pick, so Liz and I were eager to oblige.

Jennifer and Deborah, from West LA and Glendale, braved the LA traffic and made their way up to the Conejo Valley. And with weather in the low 80's, they were especially pleased to find that Bellavino offered covered patio seating! We were all impressed by the robust Restaurant Week menu they had prepared and found ourselves having a hard time narrowing down our dinner selections. 

Finally, we started in on our dining adventure with a round of Caesar and Greek salads, which were actually hearty sized servings. Bellavino is so warm and welcoming, that we never felt rushed through our meal, which was great since we planned on taking our time! We had a lot of catching up to do.

Moving on to our main dish, we enjoyed the Prime Rib (served with Gratin Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus and a side of creamy Horseradish Sauce and Au Jus) and the Grilled Salmon (served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and sautéed Vegetables over Avocado Sauce). It's so nice to have extra sauce drizzled around the dish to dip the vegetables and meat/fish in.

Everything was prepared perfectly. The prime rib was prepared exactly per our request, and all the vegetables were fresh and crisp. They must have a calculated, smooth running system back in their kitchen. After eating and talking, more eating and more talking, Deborah exclaimed, "I cannot believe I just did that!" We followed her gaze to her plate, realizing she had finished her ENTIRE prime rib. And believe me, with a cut that size, that was no small feat.

Jennifer had been looking forward to the Salted Caramel Vanilla Crunch Cake since our first glance at the menu and had convinced the group to order two servings of the cake. Were we ever glad we had! Even after finishing off both slices of the salted caramel cake, it was all I could do to keep myself from licking the caramel sauce off the plate. All those flavors, mixed together, presented so beautifully... oh yes, that was definitely right up our alley. And we enjoyed the White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake, too, especially with the fresh berries. The plate was generously decorated with whipped cream, which we found to be the perfect berry dipping concoction!

What a way to wrap up the tastiest week in the Conejo Valley with another girls night out at Bellavino Wine Bar & Restaurant. With that Salted Caramel Vanilla Crunch Cake lingering in our minds and an overall wonderful dining experience, I'm sure Jennifer and Deborah will be open to coming out to the Conejo Valley again soon, especially if we suggest revisiting Bellavino for our rendezvous?

Richard Belloff, owner of Bellavino, was kind enough to come by and check on us throughout the evening, even agreeing to pose with us for a quick photo with the top dog. Thanks, Richard, it was a memorable, delectable evening to say the least!