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Bellflower
RESTAURANTS
Cafe Camellia / 2.5*
16916 BELLFLOWER BLVD. BELLFLOWER; 562/866-2824
Can you believe an award-winning French restaurant in a town best known
for its automobile dealerships? Cafe Camellia has won all sorts of distinguished
dining and wine awards, and its faithful clientele isn't limited to the
locals. People who have dined here once will often drive
impressive distances to have another meal. The decor is very chic 1950swith
a hand-painted ceiling that sports abstract shapes in blue, red, yellow,
and green. Cafe Camellia is particularly good at creating luscious sauces.
A particular favorite, confit of duck breast, is poached in a cabernet/pear/banana/rum
sauce. Another intriguing entree is prosciutto- wrapped free-range chicken
breast, stuffed with spinach and red bell pepper, topped with a delectable
goat cheese cream sauce. $$; MC, V; no checks; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sun;
full bar; reservations recommended; 4 blocks north of 91 Fwy.
Johnny Rebs' / 1*
16639 BELLFLOWER BLVD. BELLFLOWER; 562/866-6455
Johnny Rebs' is a fun and friendly place where you can get good ol' Southern
barbecue served with a dash of good ol' Southern hospitality. Considering
the cholesterol-heightening properties of most of the entrees, it's ironic
that the place is right next to a health food store. But the hostess was
fast to point out that "Most of our meats are smoked, so the fats
are
drained out." That may be, but this place still isn't going to be
a contender for a heart-smart dining experience. What it does have is
succulent barbecued chicken, ribs, beef, sausage, and pork. It also features
other Southern specialties such as catfish, collard greens, black-eyed
peas, Cajun rice, and home-baked biscuits. The walls are unfinished wood
and red brick, decorated with license plates and other folksy memorabilia,
and college pennants hang from the ceiling. There are bowls of unshelled
peanuts on each table, and southern beers, such as Dixie Jazz Light and
Mississippi Mud Black & Tan, are featured. $; MC, V; no checks; break
fast, lunch, dinner every day; beer and wine; reservations accepted for
parties of 6 or more only; 3 lights north of 91 fury at flower St.
Marino's / 1.5*
17126 BELLFLOWER BLVD. BELLFLOWER; 562/866-9260 OR 562/867-4225
Forget your trendy Northern Italian cuisine: Marino's is proud to announce
that it's strictly an old-time Sicilian-red-sauce restaurant. For more
than 20 years this Bellflower institution has served regulation Italian,
and all the old favorites are on the menu: chicken cacciatore,
cioppino, eggplant parmigiana, veal scaloppine. The food is always fresh,
and the red sauce just peppery and spicy enough. The interior is more
reminiscent of a country cafe in the Midwest than of Italy, with its chintz
and lace cafe curtains and grainy wood, but the photographs on the walls
are strictly Old World Italian. These fascinating pictures, which date
back as far as the turn of the century, chronicle the lives of Italian
immigrants both at work and at play. The atmosphere is warm and homey,
the food is familiar, and it doesn't take much imagination to feel as
though you're having dinner in an Italian family's home, with mama doing
the cooking. $; MC, V; no checks; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner every day; beer
and wine; reservations accepted for large parties only; 1 block north
of 91 Fwy. |