|
The art
of Bart's
by Joe Bonwich - St. Louis Post Dispatch - © Copyright May
1, 2008
I like to
think I have a well-indexed mind when it comes to restaurant
memories, but given that I was probably 12 or 13 the first
time I ate at a Bartolino's restaurant, some of my
recollections are imprecise. More recently, given the
peculiar logistics of the weekly restaurant-review schedule
I've maintained for almost 15 years, I've been back only
recently for three or four meals but not as a reviewer.
The most recent visits, about 18 months apart, provide a
telling anecdote about the original Bartolino's, which from
1969 until Dec. 31 was at 2524 Hampton Avenue. In both
cases, we were seated in almost the same place, and the same
people sat next to us.
That memory sharpened as we sat at Bartolino's Osteria in
the new Drury Inn just below the Hampton exit off Interstate
44. The restaurant is a successor to the original, but also
a change in tone and style.
 The
occupants of the adjoining tables at the new Bart's changed
from one visit to the next, but the conversations were
remarkably similar. Diners on one side and staff on the
other gushed out genealogies, tracing family lineages on the
Hill and listing off restaurants where they had eaten
and almost as frequently had worked.
The new place holds about 160, but it's broken up into
discrete spaces and doesn't feel huge. Even with a party of
12 next to us for one visit, it was neither noisy nor
cramped. Doric columns and other architectural devices help
the visual divisions among textured yellow-gold walls, and
the enormous pride of the Saracino clan is evident in the
many family photographs that are integral to the dιcor.
 Under
the old hierarchy, an osteria was expected to be the most
casual of the three, but I think the intended metaphor here
is that the new Bart's will continue to be a gathering place
for locals, even if some of them had moved away from their
origins on the Hill.
The lobster
ravioli was clearly surprising Bartolino's customers, so
much so that our waiter was compelled to tell us twice
that it had a distinctively sweet flavor.
Lobster and vanilla is a reasonably well-known flavor
affinity, but the chef hit his dish with Galliano, an
Italian liqueur that Bartolino's probably sold the most as
part of a Harvey Wallbanger 39 years ago. The Galliano has a
hint of vanilla flavoring as well as a variety of spices and
herbs, resulting in a daring flavor combination that won't
appeal to all palates.
I really enjoyed it and, while I would
have liked a bit more lobster in the stuffing, that would
have pushed the price well above the $19 charged.
The pesto
on the salmon pantesco looked a bit like horseradish but had
a mild nutty flavor from the addition of almonds that worked
well with the fish and the cherry tomatoes served with it.
Veal braciole balanced both flavors and textures from
pignoli, pancetta and a couple of cheeses with a massive
tomato punch from a pool of sauce underneath.
 Our
appetizers also showed an ability to put more Italian accent
- or even to modernize - dishes that have become staples in
the St. Louis Italian-American repertoire. An eggplant
roll appetizer came stuffed with a gentle herbed ricotta
filling, and the flavor of thin bits of prosciutto served
with it was further concentrated by crisping the cured ham.
Even
cheese garlic bread, generally just a filler dish of bland
mozzarella on basic bread, was a major departure, placing a
full-bodied parmigiano-onion mixture on a dense ciabatta.
I had mixed feelings about the Sicilian mussels. What were
listed on the menu as "fresh Mediterranean
mussels" looked a whole lot like the greenlip variety
bigger and more uniform but with a less-pure flavor than
the smaller species.
The presentation was gorgeous, with
eight of the big mollusks neatly arranged on the half shell
amid reds from tomato and the bright green of fresh basil.
Those ingredients, plus olives, garlic and capers, caused a
rush of aromatics as soon as the dish was placed in front of
me.
Still, although smaller mussels would have required more
work on the part of the diner, I think they'd work better in
the dish.
For dessert, a torta di pane alla nocciole imparted
chocolate and hazelnut flavors to a large portion of nicely
fluffy bread pudding, while a frutta di bosco matched fresh
strawberries and blackberries with the pucker of lemon
gelato and a cherry-port syrup.
The wine list is long for an osteria but fairly short for a
ristorante, with about a half-dozen Italian whites and 18
Italian reds, plus about 30 other wines from the rest of the
world running from about $20 to almost $100 for bottles.
Close to 20 wines are offered by the glass from $5 to $9.
Our servers deftly straddled the line
between formal and familiar and were generally very
attentive, although one fumbled by touting the bread to each
of his tables, only to forget to bring ours.
And for those in search of Bartolino's old basics such as
toasted ravioli and pizza, those and other less-expensive
items are featured on the Osteria's lounge menu as is a
Chicago-style pizza made with mozzarella di bufala that I've
tagged for a return visit.
Maybe this time it won't take me as long to work one of St.
Louis' classics back into my rotation.
(Photo above right - Crostini includes tomato concasse;
roasted garlic, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil;
kalamata olive tapenade; and basil pesto.)
(Photo above left - Salmon pantesco is served with almond
tomato pesto, vegetables and roasted potato towers.)
jbonwich@post-dispatch.com
314-340-8133
All photos
and text are property of St. Louis Post Dispatch. Top
photo by Katherine Bish - For the PD.
©
Copyright St Louis Post Dispatch
|
