The Great 2013 Hamburger Quest - Part 4: Bella Ria's

One of the neat side effects of me writing about my Hamburger Quest has been the suggestions that I have been receiving from people, and today's visit was a result of one such suggestion.  The suggestion came from one of my former Blue Cross colleagues, Jerry Bergman (The Official Head Linesman of The Grandstander), and the place is Bella Ria's Restaurant in West View.

Bella Ria's is located on Perry Highway and overlooks North Hills High School's Martorelli Stadium, and it is more of a diner than a restaurant, and it is exactly the type of place I am looking for in this quest - small, local, and independently owned and operated.  The kind of place where, as the song says, everybody knows your name.  It is also a place that I have driven past probably hundreds of times over the years and never stopped.  My mistake.

I met Jerry there for lunch today, and, of course, I ordered the bacon cheeseburger - an 8 ounce hand made burger cooked to order, and only $5.99, if you can believe that.  My only criticism is that my burger was more on the well done side than the "medium" that I ordered, but what the hell, it was delicious.  So was the chicken dumpling soup that I had that was perfect on a 16 degree afternoon.

There is nothing fancy about Bella Ria's.  If it's fancy atmosphere and plush surroundings you want, try somewhere else, but the "ordinary-ness" of the place gives it a local neighborhood charm all of it's own.  According to Jerry, they also serve great salads, and a pretty mean breakfast.  You can learn more about the place by visiting www.bellarias.com

The Rankings:

1. Tessaro's (Bloomfield)
2. Bella Ria's (West View)
3. The Tilted Kilt (North Shore)

Unranked:

• BZ Bar and Grill (North Shore)