Many of us shed a drunken tear or three back in the summer of 2004, when we found out that Banducci's Bit of Italy was closing its doors for good. Carole and I never really went there for the food, which was passable red-checkered-tablecloth Italian, at best. But the scene was amazing — especially around the piano bar, where retired showgirls and one-armed veterans alike would participate in the sort of egalitarian karaoke jams that they'd never allow at Melvyn's. We'll never forget eating in the restaurant's main room as a particularly eye-watering version of Crystal Gayle's "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" wafted out from the bar; a ghostly female voice sang it in a high (and extremely sharp) soprano, while the piano player rolled over the keys as if his hands were clad in oven mitts, and somebody else was playing harmonica in an entirely incorrect key. I was laughing so hard, I almost passed linguini through my nose.
Over three years after Banducci's sad demise, a new Italian restaurant has finally opened in the same spot at 1260 S. Palm Canyon in Palm Springs — Osteria Cipolline. After scoping it out via drive-bys for several weeks, Jenn and I decided to give it a go last night. For us Banducci's lovers, the experience was a little unsettling at first; the bones and layout of the place are pretty much the same (though they've knocked out the wall between the piano bar and the main room), but the innate tastefulness of the new interior took a bit of getting used to. The chianti bottles, plastic grape vines and framed Paris posters (sic) that decorated Banducci's are long gone, replaced by generic "modern" paintings and exposed ceiling beams; both the piano bar and regular bar now have polished granite counters, which make you feel like you're having a drink at a high-end home furnishings store rather than at a cozy neighborhood bar.
The service, though, was warm and friendly, and the chicken marsala was considerably fresher and tastier than anything I'd ever had at Banducci's. (Can't say the same for the accompanying angel hair pasta, though — it was significantly overcooked, and came in a light tomato sauce that was pretty bland.) I was tempted to try the cioppino, though I wasn't willing to take the chance on a $28 entree, even if it did come with salad and pasta. Jenn liked her chicken parmesan enough to ask for a doggy bag, but we were a little bummed out by the lack of cannoli on the dessert menu. Tiramisu, creme brulee, and BOSTON CREAM PIE (I shit you not!), but no cannoli? C'mon...
Overall, our dinner at Osteria Cipolline an enjoyable experience, and I got a nice warm shiver of nostalgia when the piano player (who was wearing a tux) kicked into a very Roger Williams-esque version of Roger Whitaker's "The Last Farewell". But frankly, I'm not sure if I'd go there again. I guess I know how an old pagan felt when he returned to the location of his humble former temple, only to see an opulent church erected in its place; it's nice, all right, but it doesn't feel much like home.
I also remember Banducci's...Brian and I from Melvyn's used to go there after Melvyn's closed... the grapes, and chianti bottles, and fuzzy wallpaper, and plinky piano-- reminded me of my Italian Grandma's house. Have'nt been to the new place.... not sure if I want to. ♥
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy Schowe | Feb 18, 2010 at 09:45 PM