Our Bite-Size Review of the Bedda Matri Food Truck

Enjoying Italian food prepared by a true Italian is a treat that people travel thousands of miles to experience. But here in Springfield, we’re lucky to have our very own resident Italian chef. Alessandro De Luca grew up in Italy and attended culinary school in Torino, and now he is on a mission to make dishes like arancini, cipollini and cartocciate famous in the Ozarks via his food truck Bedda Matri. On my visit, I ordered the Arancino Zio Franco, which is an egg-shaped, deep-fried and breadcrumb-coated rice snack. It had a perfectly crisp exterior and soft, sticky rice interior with a dollop of meat sauce filling made with De Luca’s special family recipe. The other snack I got was the cipollina, which featured sauteed onions, ham and provolone cheese all encased in a puff pastry envelope. The onions are what really stole the show here, along with the perfectly flaky pastry. And of course, I couldn’t leave without some cannoli. My favorite was the chocolate cannoli, which featured a dark chocolate filling that was decadently rich and had a consistency similar to brownie batter. If you want to try some of De Luca’s food for yourself, keep an eye on Bedda Matri’s Facebook page for the food truck’s location. Or, you can attend one of his cooking classes or dinners at his brick-and-mortar restaurant, Italian Kitchen (540 W. McDaniel St., Springfield).