Arbana Osmani's Bana's, from recipes for the people you love, to recipes for the people who love you
2024-05-02 15:33:00
TiranaPost
Weekday, rainy one, around 11:00, and I thought to myself: Why not take a stroll to Bana's? Until that moment, I hadn't tried either the sweet or savory delights of Bana's.
I could have chosen to order through POK, the online app, any day of the week and at any time of the day, but I didn't want to. At least for the first time, I wanted to go there myself. Why not? If I were lucky, I might even bump into Arbana. In case anyone still doesn't know, Bana's is created and managed by Arbana Osmani.
I climbed the steps of the Pyramid, and as someone that gets lots very easily, to my surprise, I found the restaurant very effortlessly.
I entered, and everything was white, in neutral colors, clean, and with a fresh feeling coming from a delightful terrace, where I sat and enjoyed the sun that came out quickly after the rain.
I stopped at the counter first and hmm, I hesitated. The Alba sandwich intrigued me a lot, since Im “obsessed” with truffles, but next to it was the Berat sandwich, which I had to try since it was named after my hometown. How was it? Yummy!
It was somehow late for breakfast, so luck was not on my side that day. The pistachio brioches were sold out, so I took the classic one with chocolate. I always prefer black, and it was fantastic. Said in one word, it was "flaky," just like those homemade desserts my mom used to make.
Maybe the older you get the more you seek to find in restaurants that taste and aroma that reminds you home. And Bana's has the right approach because everything is made in-house. From the pastry cream, pesto, everything, even the pasta dough.
This time I order the pasta “to-go” according to the preferences that my family members have. I ordered Ravioli with pesto, and one could easily say that the pesto was homemade. It had a fresh aroma, and it was rich in taste, too.
Ravioli with 4 cheeses, which as they say, " I would be over the moon to eat everyday.
Ravioli with tomatoes and basil for vegan one on the family.
And ravioli with mushrooms and truffles for myself as a truffle fan. We exchanged a bit with each other and tried all the flavors, and I can say without hesitation that they were the best ravioli we had ever tried.
But let's return once again to the terrace of Bana's... While enjoying the brioche after that generous sandwich and sipping apple juice, I was admiring everyone I saw. Maybe good food was making me see my surroundings with a more optimistic eye. Or maybe everything was truly working perfectly.
I was admiring the girls that were serving while smiling, but especially a lady, who was always quick to clean everything around. There I understood why at Bana's, as soon as you entered, cleanness caught your eye... Everything has an explanation.
I was admiring those who came and went to try Arbana's recipes that are carefully collected and combined all regions in Italy. Most likely, if people came for the first time out of Arbana's fame, the food, desserts, tiramisu, profiteroles, pasta would make them come back again.
I was admiring Arbana's determination in how from her first cooking book, "Recipes for the People I Love," she managed to create solely out of passion a chain of Bana's with recipes for people who love her.
And so, lost into my thoughts, Arbana also came around. I met her... What did I say and what did she say to me? No guys, you're asking too much 😂 Today, I just wanted to tell you about Bana's!
