Rosa’s Bella Cucina

The Arancini is so delicious. Rice ball melded with Mozarella… Are you kidding me? Now I’m gonna look around for more of these balls~! I got #14 so the spinach one and I heart it and wish I got two for the flavor. My only complaint is the price for one ball $ 5, along with the fact that I wish it was hotter, more fresh. So boom, there you go.

We used to have an Italian guy in our office and rumor has it, he liked Rosa’s Bella Cucina and always went to he truck when it came to our building. He’s gone now so I have not confirmed whether this is true but I believed the hype of the rumor and headed down for a sandwich. First of all, the Bambini is a joke. It’s insulting that a sandwich I can literally eat in one mouthful would cost $ 4.
So of course I went with the $ 9 Papa size. I wasn’t sure what to order but figured La Mamma Angelina would be a safe bet; it was listed as #1 on the menu after all. The description said: «Imported Italian Prosciutto, Fresh Mozzarella, and Marinated Sun-​Dried Tomatoes.» Yes, all the components were in the sandwich but the everything tasted cheap and of poor quality. The prosciutto was of small, broken up pieces and tasted super oily. Not my favorite at all. If only I could grab a sandwich from Bay Cities for lunch…

This was my first visit… Fugetable. I was hoping for something more. Oh well.
I tried the arancino and a polpette sub with provolone.
The arancino: rice overcooked and too soft. The rice ball had the consistency of mushy fried breadcrumbs and the filling was not noticeable. Disappointing.
The meatball sub was just okay. I think it is comparable to one from a hoagie shop in Jersey. The polpette had decent flavor though a bit dense; the sauce and cheese seemed good and fresh; the bread was chewy and soft. The sub is a decent lunch item but not worth a special trip.
I think I’m tough in this category given my expectations. For the sub, I want a more delicate texture to the polpette and a crustier bread like Sarcone’s in Philly’s Italian market: crispy crust strewn with sesame seeds, and a chewy interior to gently cradle the polpette. And top it with some parm or romano.
It’s still a challenge to find really good Italian food that doesn’t come from the kitchen of a home cook.

They come to my work once in a while and I always skip the free lunch for the sandwich combo here.
$ 10 gets me 2 mini-​sandwiches. I love the Moma special (prosciutto, mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes) and the caprese. It also comes with salad on the side and a mini canoli. There is a complete meal!

What a find! Thanks to my Italian coworker’s extravagant praise of this truck, back before I went strict on my diet with no exceptions, I took the plunge and opted for a diversion from my normal «salad only» self-​imposed lunch mandate. The mini sandwiches are full of fresh flavorful ingredients and served on a substantial ciabatta roll.
Prefer their arancini over Vesuvio’s.
Whenever this truck makes a stop by the Pennsylvania Ave. alley for lunch it’s a sure favorite amongst my coworkers.

The one time i went i ordered the caprese bambini and the arancino siciliano. Set me back around 9 bucks and i was still hungry after.
$ 4 for that lame little sandwich? It wasn’t even anything spectacular, so i was pretty disappointed with that. Just whatever.
as for the rice balls, wack. again $ 5 for some tiny little thing. But i probably am really biased because I am used to the ones from my local family run italian deli back home in NY. $ 3 would buy you a rice ball literally the size of a softball. Buy it there, take it home, cut that sucker open and throw it in the oven for a few to get it warm and gooey. No extra sauce or condiments necessary. Best thing i have ever eaten and i have been CRAVING them since i moved here.
So when i finally found a food truck here that sells rice balls, i was excited to try it out. But unfortunately it was not up to par. I don’t know it just seemed a little lacking on the flavor, maybe more cheese and spices in the rice mix? The sauce on top seemed like more of a way to make up for the lack of flavor then anything. Plus $ 5 for like 3 or 4 bites, not cutting it. Again just whatever.
Maybe this is good for LA standards, but no where near what it could be.
So my search still goes on for the perfect rice balls west of the tri-​state area.

I have been to this truck two times and have had vastly different experiences.
The first time was amazing! I ordered the Bambini La Caprese slider ($ 4). Fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, all smothered in a basil pesto sauce inside a mini ciabatta bun. All the ingredients were super fresh and I loved the flavorful pesto. Can’t go wrong with a caprese sandwich. Along with my mini caprese sandwich, I also ordered the Arancino Siciliano ($ 5). I love rice, cheese and anything fried! So when I saw these savory Italian fried rice balls, had to get it. The fried rice ball was filled with fresh mozzarella, and topped with a meat ragu and peas. So delicious and perfectly crispy on the outside with oozing cheese in the inside. The service was fast and they accept credit cards.
The above would have been a 4 star review, however, I had to average my rating to a 3 star due to my next visit to Rosa’s. I was excited to see that this truck was visiting my office again, so I made sure to eat a light breakfast. This time I wanted to try one of their hot sandwiches, so I ordered the Melanzane alla Parmigiana (aka Eggplant Parmesan sandwich) ($ 9). I was very disappointed with this sandwich because upon first peek, it was a smooshed up mess. The fried eggplant was super mushy and had no crispy texture whatsoever. The marinara sauce was tasty but there was so much of it that it made the bread soggy… and I ate it right away after ordering. I also ordered another Arancino Siciliano, since it was so delicious the first time. This may have been an off day, because the fried rice ball seemed like it was sitting out. It was cold, lacked flavor, and the rice seemed undercooked.
Overall, I think this truck produces good flavors and food… just not on a consistent basis.

Nothing great at all
Every day, average joe Italian from just another Los Angeles food truck
Had the Angelini which wasn’t too bad, prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella. Good sandwich but not the bang I expected.
Also had the meatball, once again, fairly bland, ciabatta bread used was dry… nothing great at all.
Must reiterate that I am a tough critic to please so if you are at all interested after hearing my review, by all means please do try. I cannot and will not speak for everyone. This is solely IMHO. It may have been a bad day for her… who knows

Rosa’s is a little slice of Heaven.
A little background is needed for this review. I’m from northern New Jersey and grew up in an Italian community where REALLY good home-​made Italian food was a staple. I moved to Los Angeles 20 years ago and really missed that incredible Italian food from my childhood.
I happened to Pass Rosa’s truck in the lot across from where I work. I was in the mood for Italian, so I gave it a shot, expecting very little. I ordered the Meatball sandwich and the arancino con spinaci. As I waited, Rosa and I got to talking. She’s a very sweet gal and made my wait go quickly. She was from Northern Jersey too and used to make zeppoleis for Italian festivals! So I had high hopes for my lunch.
I was NOT disappointed. I took a bite of the meatball sandwich and got a tear in my eye. No, literally, it was so good I wept! It tasted EXACTLY like the ones I used to eat as a kid back in Jersey. A one bite time machine! Next came the arancino con spinaci. So tasty. The spincah was cooked with just the right amount of garlic. Perfect! Just like my friend’s grandmoms back east would make!
I honestly can’t recommend Rosa’s enough if you are an east coast ex-​pat. You WON’T be disappointed!

The only complaint I have is that I want more! This place has TONS of yummy, comforting Italian flavor packed into a mix of sandwiches, saucy dishes, and tasty desserts. This is definitely a truck worth trying – for anything! Get a tasty sandwich if you want to cut the fat a bit that we Italians are known for. Or, go full out and get the zeppole to finish off the meal – a moist ball of fried dough sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar (get a little extra sugar, as these balls are huge). That’s what she said.

@RosaBellaCucina
An Italian deli on wheels!
How come nobody thought of this sooner!!!
We’ve now tried a few different items off this truck, some better than others, but all good. First time we came across this truck it the «La Caprese» for both of us.
A Caprese salad, (Bufalo mozzarella, tomato and basil), is good to begin with when the ingredients are good. Put that on a ciabatta roll and it just got better. Then add a very sexy pesto sauce to the mix and you’ve got a «money» sandwich. Here they’ve done just that.
They came to our work a while back with an Italian sausage and pepper sandwich on special. Being suckers for sausage we devoured the greasy goodness with great aplomb!
We do like this one!
Stalker Approved!

more like Rosa’s Fea Cochina!!!
RICE BALL GAVE ME FOOD POISONING!!!
Honestly, I thought it was just merely O.K. (rice was hard and it wasn’t impressive at all) this is apparently what they are «KNOWN for.» So I wouldn’t even bother to try anything else, unless you have the taste buds of the English… If what they’re known for makes you sicker than shit and tastes like cardboard rice with mystery beef and Prego poured over it, walk away. WALK away!
I will never eat here again, and will most certainly inform the unknowing who are walking over to this food truck the next time I see it… Awful, I was puking my stomach inside out Friday. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

The truck was at Saddleback College recently and this was by far my most memorable food truck experience. I’m kind of picky when it comes to Italian food, not that I’m on an expert, but there’s only a few impressive restaurants out there.
If you like rice don’t ignore the Arancino Siciliano. A lot of good sandwich options. I went with with Angelina and it was awesome. Portions are good.

I’m so glad I decided to give this truck a try since I love Italian sandwiches. I had the La Caprese «Papa» on Ciabatta w/​Turkey added ($ 9) and it was so delicious. It was so simple yet so appetizing. The basil pesto spread and fresh mozzarella really makes the entire sandwich. I am definitely coming back here for more and also really want to try their rice balls.
Service is awesome, everyone is so friendly and they also accept credit cards w/​no additional charge.

Two words perfectly describe this food truck… ARANCINI, a delicious rice and cheese ball, deep fried and covered in a ragu of meat and green beans… and CANNOLI, leave the gun, but take the cannoli… I promise you, if they were these cannoli’s you probably say the same thing.
The fresh mozzarella used in the arancini really put it over the top as the texture of the fresh cheese really gave the arancini a good texture and good heft. The homemade ragu was very flavorful and comforting, both at the same time. There was a nice crust on the arancini that really gave the meal some texture and overall very appealing.
The cannoli is filled with a homemade ricotta and chocolate chip filling in a freshly made puff pastry. The filling was sweet yet light enough to not make it feel like it would sit in your stomach for the rest of the day. The puff pastry shell was crunch, but because its puff pastry, it added to the lightness of the dessert.
From what I saw of their menu, they have quite the extensive selection of sandwiches, from classic and traditional Italian cold cuts to the traditional meatball sub and egg plant selections.
I would recommend this place on a cold day or night as it’s guaranteed to fill you up and keep you warm.

This one has a little Italian décor on the front. Got to give it credit for that. In the end you’re left with another Italian truck. Which along with Felipino food, seems to be the most popular trucks popping up.
While it’s not bad by any means, it just didn’t blow me away to any sort of level that other food trucks have in the past. Though that could just be me becoming really jaded given the fact that I’ve tried 99% of all the food trucks in Los Angeles already.
I did like their Caprese sliders. It made an offer to my hunger that it just couldn’t refuse and put it to bed with the fishes. Yeah, I know, I’m just playing into stupid Italian stereotypes and not every Italian joint pinches their fingers together and says such things as «that’s a spicy meatball!»
In this case though, «This truck is a mild meat ball!» In that it’s just average. The prices are pretty decent. So I can’t hate on them for the amount of food they give you, but nothing screamed for me to come back here and eat from them again.
Over all, it’s worth trying once because hey, it’s Italian food in slider form. Which seems to be the default form that food trucks toss their specialty item into. Which sort of makes me feel like it’s a cop out, but it’s also a convenient way to feed people standing on the street.
Eh, try it once. What would it kill you to do so? Momma cooked it for you, you can’t show no disrespect, eh!
Wait, I just did.

When my friend called to tell me she was standing in front of a food truck that had ARANCINI, I became ecstatic. Visions of rice balls danced in my head. She brought back one with fresh mozzarella and spinach for us to try. It was about the size of a small fist with spinach spilling out of it. It was alright… tempting enough for me to go get their other version with fresh mozzarella, ragù and peas. It turned out to be very disappointing. The rice was tough and the whole thing lacked flavor. Where was the savory yumminess?
Sigh, I need to go find the Vesuvio Truck!

Rosa’s Bella Cucina was our second stop for food at the DTLA Artwalk last night. Many of their bambini sliders looked appetizing, but we wanted to save room for other places so we ended up just ordering the #1 La Mamma «Angelina» slider which is prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, and sun-​dried tomatoes on ciabatta bread.
The sandwich was quite tasty, and I especially liked the fresh mozzarella. I LOVE fresh mozzarella… I can eat quite a bit of this stuff just by itself beofre I can get myself to stop. I didn’t find my slider to be oily at all as Rachel F. described in her review. I know prosciutto is expensive, but I thought this slider was a bit too small for $ 4. They had an option where you could make it a large sandwich for $ 9, which probably was a better value because it was much more than twice the size of the slider.
I hope they can make it down to Orange County sometime, as far as I know we don’t have an Italian truck down here!

With my last trip to another truck less than a half hour earlier leaving me unfulfilled, I was still looking for something to satisfy my hunger. The Lobsta Truck was the first I saw but after Jin arrived, everyone knew this was the cool one to be at and the line grew exponentially. (I’m serious about this). Next up was Rosa’s Bella Cucina which had set out a nice seating area for their guests so I stopped to look at what their offerings were.
«I’ll be with you in a moment» was the first thing I heard from Vienna and moments later she was giving me her undivided attention. As I pondered what to get, she gave me a quick overview of menu items, bread sizes and how I could make anything a combo. I ordered the #1 (La Mamma «Angelina» — Prosciutto, Mozzarella, and Marinated Sun-​Dried Tomatoes) with the Mediterranean Salad (Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Red Onion, dressed in a Balsamic Vinaigrette) and San Pellegrino Limonata. I also went «Papa» which means it comes on a large ciabatta and was totally worth it! Now, had I read Bill C.‘s review first, I would have known to go with the homemade potato chips instead of the salad but when Vienna said she gets exactly what I did, felt happy with my choice.
Before I knew it Rosa herself was handing me my order and sending me off saying something in Italian. It didn’t matter what it was at that point, I was smitten. With Vienna. With her. With their truck. With my sammie.
An absolutely amazing experience with food to match. I’m adding my 5-​stars to the host of others and looking forward to my next visit already!

Except for the occasional anorexic, everyone lives Italian food. But until today I don’t think I have ever seen an Italian Food Truck. But this afternoon I met up Rosa’s Bella Cucina and found some pretty delicious food.
The 1^st impression was a downer. Truxmap showed they were in the Food Truck Near CBS in Studio City. I drove out there and the street was bare. No Rosa Bella, and no other trucks either. Just a construction vehicle and a bunch of temporary 1-​day no parking signs.
So as I drove away disappointed beginning to compose my 1-​star review in my head. I mean how dare they stand me up? Good thing for them I (and me) I turned right instead of left. They had found a spot on Ventura Place, only about 2 blocks away, but out of sight for many if not most of the Radford Street crowds.
My 2^nd shot at a 1^st impression was much better. I met Vienna, she is the order taker/​hostess/​cashier and actually works outside the truck, making it easier to interact with the crowds. I have met a lot of nice people at a lot of nice trucks before, but Vienna may be the nicest of all. She is actually saving up to visit the Austrian city she shares a name with on her 21^st birthday. Not only is that totally cool, she is lucky her parents didn’t name her Fresno.
Vienna patiently explain the menu and the available combos, and I eventually settled on a MIX-​IT-​UP That’s 2 smaller sandwiches, home made potato chips (or a salad if you wish) and a soft drink.
They offer 6 different Bambina sandwiches and I chose #1 La Mamma «Angelina: and #2 Il Classico. They were a little of the small side, but definitely quite tasty. The Angelina is a traditional Prosciutto, Fresh Mozzarella, and Tomatoes, It was nicely seasoned and served on a fresh little Italian roll. Personally I liked the Classico a little better, It was more complex with Ham, Genoa Salami, Provolone, Lettuce and tomato and a roasted pepper spread. I think the dressing made the difference, but this is was an awesome sandwich.
They come with a side of awesome vinegar and salt homemade potato chips. if you like potato chips you will enjoy them and if you like crispy fries you will go crazy over then.
All that and a can of diet Coke is a $ 10.00 combo. One disappointment, the website and the other reviews mention the zeppole. I didn’t see it on the menu, or smell it cooking. The website says they have it for special occasions.
I think every day should be special, especially when Vienna is greeting the customers.
«Gourmet Food Truck #46 on my never-​ending quest to try every truck in So Cal».