Northern Specialties at Bello Cibo
By Becky Billingsley
When Sean and Camille Hayes opened Bello Cibo Deli in Pawleys Island in 2010, the longtime experienced restaurateurs new they could fill a niche for diners craving northern specialties such as Beef on Wick and Taylor Ham.
In a sunny setting, the couple created a cheerful restaurant with a sports-loving theme. A row of five four-top tables line the right-hand wall, and around the front door are several cocktail-height tables with either faux brushed steel or wood grain tops.
The ordering and food preparation area is separated from the cocktail tables by the coffee bar. At the far end of the food prep area is a deli case with meats, cheeses, salads and a few other treats. Bello Cibo means "good food" in Italian, and that's what customers are reporting they're getting.
Morning choices include breakfast sandwiches, bagels, toast and buttered Kaiser rolls. The bread is delivered fresh daily from a local bakery.
Breakfast sandwiches can be filled with eggs, bacon, ham (including delightfully salty Taylor Ham) and a variety of cheeses. Combination suggestions are in the menu, but Sean stresses that his customers can have their food exactly the way they like it: mixing and matching is allowed and encouraged.
"We're not limited to the menu," he says. "We'll be happy to oblige anyone to make what they need, as long as we have the ingredients."
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Lunch options include green salads, tuna and chicken salad, soup, chili, antipasto, wraps, sandwiches and panini such as one with Buffalo mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and basil. There's even an Irish Reuben Panino with pastrami or corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing.
The Chicken Soprano Panino is a colorfully delicious choice with chicken breast, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoni, pesto and provolone. Those ingredients alone would have been excellent, but the Hayes pushed the flavor pleasure higher with the addition of their creamy secret sauce. Sean described it as a "mayonnaise/mustard sauce with secret spices that's lightly peppered with a touch of sugar."
The Panino came with a dill pickle spear and a small side of rotini pasta salad with black olives, diced green bell peppers, shredded Parmesan and a slightly sweet clear dressing.
Bello Cibo also has sandwiches such as Pastrami on Rye, Egg Salad Club and Tuna Salad. Subs are built on 10-inch rolls and filled with Boar's Head combinations like Blazing Chicken Breast with bacon and provolone; or Tuna Salad with celery, onions and cheese. If you don't want a sub roll, you can get it on a wrap.
Every day there is a soup of the day and chili, and the soup is featured in a daily lunch special with half a sandwich.
Meats and cheeses are also sold by the pound along with side dish goodies like prosciutto-stuffed peppers, macaroni salad, coleslaw, olives and knishes. For dessert there is another Northern specialty: chocolate-covered jelly rings.
The Hayes plan many special events, such as the Beef on Wick day they held on Nov. 18.
"Beef on wick sandwich is a roast beef sandwich found primarily in Buffalo, New York," Camille Hayes explains. "It is made on a kummelweck roll. The meat on the sandwich is traditionally served rare, thin cut, with the top bun getting a dip of jus. Accompaniments include horseradish and a dill pickle spear. The kummelweck roll gives the sandwich its name and a distinctive taste. A kummelweck (sometimes pronounced 'kimmelweck' or 'kümmelweck') is similar to a Kaiser roll, but topped with kosher salt and caraway seeds. Kümmel is the German word for caraway, and weck means 'roll'."
Bello Cibo is at 115 Willbrook Blvd., by Piggly Wiggly in the Litchfield Market Village Square Plaza in Pawleys Island. It's open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and the number is 843-237-4333.
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