On analysis, la cucina italiana is a miscellany of regional, provincial, local and family dishes that vary from season to season and cook to cook. It is a deliciously random fund of little treasures, of recipies rarely written down but passed intuitively from one generation to another, modified according to the produce available and enhanced by knowing hands.
At Bacco Wine Cafe, those hands belong to Loris and Rafaella Barsiola. They arrived in the United States from Savona, Italy in 1999 and opened Bacco a year later. Since then, the restaurant has become a popular dinner destination which attracts both new customers and a loyal following of regulars.
Loris works the dining room playing an eclectic mix of Jazz and serving fine Italian wine from his collection. Raffaella presides over the kitchen, preparing the evening's menu from her family recipes and the freshest local ingredients. The menu is small and constantly changing, with each dish prepared to order.
