C’Era Una Volta, Alameda
Nestled in a small alley right off Alameda’s main street, C’Era Una Volta (Italian for “once upon a time”) is an unassuming little place that serves a typical Italian fare. Rudy, the owner, is from Livorno, and he likes to create new dishes inspired by his native area.
The ambiance at C’Era Una Volta is informal, simple, and when I first set foot inside it felt like I was in Italy: crowded entrance with wine bottles stacked up in racks, a display counter showcasing desserts, and an overall atmosphere of certain simple restaurants in Italy, where you are welcomed by the owner and treated like a member of the family.
We were there for lunch, and we ordered a few dishes: first of all, gnocchi with Tuscan ragu’. If you’re used to the “traditional” Bolognese ragu’, this sauce will taste very unusual and maybe you will question its authenticity. In Tuscany, however, the ragu’ is made mainly of beef meat, often with additional wild meats like rabbit, venom, and so on. And they add rosemary, which throws the flavor in a much unexpected direction! The one we tried at C’Era una Volta over the gnocchi was delicious.
The Eggplant Parmigiana was good, too: baked (and not fried!) layers of eggplants with cheese and tomato sauce conjured a dish that was not as heavy as you would expect. The Parmigiana was a good sized portion with a good flavor balance, not heavy, not oily, and quite good!
The highlight of lunch was probably the daily special, a frittata made with squash blossoms! Light and flavorful, this is a dish that you’d enjoy in the midst of summer for dinner. Eggs in Italian tradition are mainly a dinner food and served as a secondi, a main dish. This frittata was truly amazing!
We finished lunch with what Rudy called Vesuvio, a chocolate molten cake topped with ice cream . That was not very Italian in any way, but it was still pretty good! In all, C’Era Una Volta will not be the place where you end up for a special dining experience, but I appreciate honest food served at the right price. Unassuming, simple and quite welcoming, C’Era Una Volta might not be a destination restaurant but it’s for sure worth your time if you’re around Alameda!
C’Era Una Volta
1332 Park Street
Alameda CA 94501
510-769-4828
Filed under: East Bay, Restaurants
