Before Jan and Mark ever met—and certainly before they opened Bianca's Ristorante together—they were in love with Italian culture. For Jan, it was in her blood: her grandparents opened a restaurant in the US after growing up in Udine, Italy, and Jan spent her childhood at her grandmother's side. For Mark, it was simply a fascination with the country's hospitality, its wines, and, of course, its cooking.

At Bianca's the two let their passions roam free. In the kitchen, Our Chef's slow-cook velvety tomato sauces from southern Italy as well as rich, buttery dishes from the north. Calamari Rosigno Appetizer joins brandy-sautéed veal and popular garlic rolls that, like out-of-state cousins coming for a visit, arrive by the half-dozen. A healthy list of wines culled from around the world such as Italy, California, and South America punctuates the menu's offerings, as do handcrafted specialty cocktails such as the Martini Di Berry.