Ciao Bella Piadina

Ma’ma mia! That’s one creative food truck.
Now, I never heard of a Piadina and I’m wondering why the Olive Garden hasn’t jumped on this Italian item because it’s not only really creative, but it’s also really easy to eat on the street. And when it comes to street food, it’s an important aspect to take into consideration — Can I stand up and eat this while I walk?
So what they’re serving up is the basic Italian food choices such as pasta’s like bolognese and pesto as well as Lasagna. But the real thrill here is the Piadina’s.
So what are these things? It’s a flat bread folded over on various cuts of meat and other delicious stuff covered up. It’s like a half assed calzone, only the contents will not burn the top of your mouth like some hot pocket from hell.
I got the Chiara. I don’t know how you could pass up flat bread wrapped around Prosciutto, tomatoes, tontina cheese and lettuce. This thing literally gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
But if you don’t like one of their pre-​made piadina’s, you can always choose your own adventures in the items you’re sticking inside of it.
The price is also something momma would love. At about $ 7 per piadina, you’re gong to be eating very well, be filled and have that satisfaction of trying something new.
This is seriously a food truck that will make you reevaluate what you know of Italian cooking.

I would NEVER expect a food truck to come with ovens. Ciao Bella Piadina has now surpassed my expectations.
Ciao Bella Piadina is an Italian gourmet food truck. I have not yet seen an Italian GFT, so this is probably the only one in SoCal. Have you noticed something wrong by now? It’s an Italian food truck. Italian food is, pasta aside, notorious for their foods being baked, especially pizza and lasagna. Well, CBP has overcome that difficulty, and is serving real Italian cuisine wherever they go. And I do mean that loosely, because they love to travel a lot. Throughout their travels, I rarely see them, but always go for their Lasagna Bolognese. I don’t know how they do it, but their lasagna is baked just right, and the internal layers just melt away in your mouth. Most other lasagna I’ve tried requires biting through the layers. CBP make their lasagna just right, so that you get all the flavor that isn’t seaparated by the layers of pasta.
Good luck finding CBP! This has been featured on my Top GFT lists before, but their elusiveness is starting to get really irritating!

I finally got a chance to try this truck at the Weapons of Mass Digestion event and was all set on trying the Piadini… when the Eggplant Parmesan was recommended to me. Apparently it turns out that this is Grandma’s secret family recipe.
So, knowing that little tidbit, how could I NOT try it? Besides, I haven’t had eggplant in awhile and it just so happened I was talking about it the other day and having a little craving for it.
I am glad I did. It was quite tasty, which was surprising because I usually prefer my eggplant fried and crispy. (yeah, I can destroy any healthy, nutritional type of food by frying it). LOL
Oh, and what a great bunch of folks. VERY friendly! The portion was large and the cost was low. Also good points.
Of course, as I write this, I am still feeling the urge to try the Piadini (I have never had one before), so I will be looking for this truck in the near future so I can finally taste one. Especially after reading some of the reviews on here. They have me salivating for a meaty, cheesy Piadini…
I will be back with more pics and an updated review when I do.

I tried the eggplant parmisan and suggest that you try something else. It was greasy and all the flavors were melded into a brown greasy blob. The Piadina was cold and nothing special. The arugula salad was okay with especially tasty little pieces of shaved cheese. I arrived at the end of lunch hour but that is no excuse for an eggplant dish so disappointing. I won’t be back.

My husband lived in Italy for a couple years in a tiny town called Godo. They have a small Piadina restaurant and he would eat them EVERY day! Piadinas are only found in that region… Emilia Romagna. They are absolutely delicious! I constantly crave Piadina and was so sad that they didn’t have any here in LA! haha We even had our friends bring us back some when they visit. We have been searching for authentic piadina all over LA and we are thrilled to have finally found it! You have got to give this truck a try! You may not know what a Piadina is, but once you give it a try you will LOVE it! You will get addicted! Get it filled with Nutella for a yummy treat!

Drove quite a ways to give these guys a try and they were out of lasagna by 1:00. I understand they’re a new truck and these things happen but, based upon what I did try (spinach lasagna), I wasn’t too impressed. Price was right ($ 5 bucks) but I was still a bit hungry and unsatisfied after I left. I’ll definitely give them another shot when they’re around.

I wasn’t familiar with piadini — a crusty flatbread folded around assorted meats, cheeses, etc. But after sampling them at this new truck, I could see them easily becoming addictive — part pita, part crêpe, part panino.
In the Ciao Bella Piadina truck, they cooked the circles of dough while we watched. I ordered the Chiara, which is filled with prosciutto, fontina cheese, tomatoes, and a light layer of mayonnaise (which made it feel vaguely French-​inspired). It came out warm, crusty and delicious. Light and delicate, not heavy or oily… even though it’s the perfect filling lunch, I immediately craved another.
Other iterations featured ham, speck or bresaola, paired with a variety of cheeses. Customers can also choose their own combinations, or opt for a few other items like lasagna.