On many of my trips over the years to the Twin Cities, I've passed a little Italian restaurant on my way to my hotel in the Bloomington area. I've always been intrigued by the place and it doesn't really have much of a presence on the Internet. One night after an aggravating drive to the Twin Cities in an early spring snowstorm, I decided to take a chance on dinner at Luna di Luna in Bloomington.
The Awada family are of Lebanese descent and three of the brothers have owned restaurants around the south side of the Twin Cities for a number of years. One of those brothers, Alex Awada - is the chef/proprietor of Luna di Luna along with his wife Sanaa. Alex's first foray into the restaurant business was an Italian restaurant by the name of Guiseppe's in the south Twin Cities suburbs. He ran that for 10 years before closing it to open Luna di Luna. The little restaurant is located in the 8800 block of Lyndale Ave. S. in Bloomington. (see map) From the outside of the place, I guessed that it was formerly a Long John Silver's.
When I entered the restaurant, I found a small, cozy spot with a small bar up front. I was greeted by a guy in an untucked white t-shirt - not exactly the best first impression on my first visit to Luna di Luna. It turned out that it was the owner Alex Awada. I spied the small bar and asked if I could sit there. He said, "Sure, sure! Anywhere you want."
Well, it turned out the bar was very uncomfortable. There was no ledge to the bar top and my knees were jammed up against a brick facade under the bar. And the sound system near the bar was blaring with contemporary jazz music. After getting a house cabernet from a young lady behind the bar and getting a menu to look over, I got the attention of Alex Awada and said, "Aw, you know, this isn't the best idea. Can I get a seat at a table?"
He was more than accommodating. "Yes, sure! You're right, the bar isn't the best place to sit. Come on. Let's get you a table," Alex said enthusiastically. He took me to a two-seater table along the wall. It was small and a bit cramped along the wall, but it was much better than sitting at the bar.
Saada Awana came over to wait on me. "You'll be much more comfortable here," she said assuringly. She brought the menu and my wine over from the bar for me. Not long after, she brought out a basket of fresh baked bread with a plate of herbed vinaigrette to dip the bread in. The bread was warm and soft with a salted sesame seed outer crust. It was delicious.
The menu was short but had a lot of interesting items. They had staples such as chicken parm, a seafood "frutta di mare", and fettuccine alfredo, but they also had some things such as a baked spaghetti pie in a bolognese sauce, and a four-cheese bake with tortellini pasta in a light cream sauce. Chicken and/or shrimp could be added to that for an upcharge. I was also impressed with the wine list at Luna di Luna. It was far more extensive than the food menu.
After I ordered my dinner, Saada brought me out a nice salad with a house-made creamy light garlic dressing. The salad was topped with shaved parmesan cheese. The salad was very fresh and very flavorful. It was very delicious. If the salad was any indication of what was to come, I was already happy with my visit to Luna di Luna.
For my main entree that evening, I went with something that had my interest by the time I read through the description on the menu. It was called Ceciliana - penne pasta in a bolognese sauce with chopped sausage and meatballs. It was all topped with melted mozzarella cheese. The taste of the Ceciliana was - in a word - outstanding. It was a cold evening for early April. The snow had stopped, but it was still somewhat treacherous on the roads. And I was in this cozy little Italian restaurant that I had passed by many times wondering about how good the food may be, enjoying this hearty and delicious Italian dinner with a couple glasses of a robust Cabernet. Life alone on the road - at that moment - was good.
After driving by Luna di Luna a number of times over the years, I finally decided to give it a try. And I'm glad I did. And I afterward, I was mentally kicking myself for not stopping in sooner. It was a cozy little family run place and I thought the food I had was outstanding. They have little to no presence on the Internet other than on places like Yelp, Zomato, or Trip Advisor. Given how small the place is, they probably don't feel that they need to be highly visible. I'm sure that they rely upon repeat customers and by word of mouth. Well, here's my strong recommendation to give Luna di Luna a try if you make it to Bloomington at some point. You'll be glad you did.
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