Besh Bets
Artesia's chef has created
a
country culinary oasis.
|
|
|
Flavors are mushrooming this month at Ralph Brennan's BACCO.
|
WHAT: Bacco
CUISINE: Contemporary Italian
WHEN: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; brunch Sunday
WHERE: 310 Chartres St., 522-2526
CARDS: Major
Referred to as "white and black diamonds," truffles are prized mushrooms that
you don't see popping up on menus in New Orleans very often these days. That's
because they are now going for a whopping $3,200 a pound due to a new 100
percent tariff on European luxury gourmet items (up from $1,600 a pound in
1998), according to restaurateur Ralph Brennan.
The tariff recently was imposed in response to Europe's refusal to
import American hormonally injected beef. The price of truffles normally is
determined by the color, surface, size, aroma and scarcity. Specially trained
dogs are used in Italy and France to sniff out truffles that must then be
unearthed by hand. Italy is a major source for both white and black truffles.
The preferred white truffle mecca is in northwest Italy at Alba, which is where
Bacco executive chef Haley Gabel embarked on a culinary tour before preparing a
"Venetian-Carnival" dinner at the fabled James Beard House earlier this year.
She returned with ambitious ideas for recreating the contemporary Italian
dining experience at Bacco.
Brennan, who owns Bacoo and Red Fish Grill and is co-proprietor of
Mr. B's Bistro and Storyville District, joined diners and local chefs in
heralding the elaborate kick-off for Bacco's first-ever October Truffle
Festival, which runs throughout the month.
Bacoo is offering a four-course nightly truffle dinner menu (priced
$95 with Banfi wine pairings; $75 without) in addition to special truffle
dishes for weekday lunch; white truffle shavings will be served a la carte as
well ($10 for lunch; $15 for dinner). Bacoo's regular menu remains available
during the monthlong truffle festival. Special events are planned throughout
the festival, including an Oct. 22 Truffle Martini Madness Event.
The six-course dinner hosted at Bacco served as a preview to
truffle dishes that are being served throughout the month. The evening began
with a delicate appetizer, fried quail eggs glossed with white truffle oil and
truffle shavings. (A similar dish, Italian fried egg with a gorgonzola sauce
and toasted bread with shaved black truffles, will appear on the lunch menu as
an appetizer Oct. 25-29, priced $8). The flavor of the egg was delicate and
subtle, lingering with the scent of oak created by the truffle oil and
shavings. Next came seared scallops, tender enough to melt in your mouth. They
were splashed with white truffle oil, then accented with delicate fines herbes
that rendered a sassy counterpoint of earthy onion with the sweet, buttery
scallops. (The scallops also are making their appearance on special menus this
month.)
This was followed by a splendid version of beef carpaccio
(appearing on the lunch menu as a $19 entree Oct. 18-22 and on the nightly
dinner menu). The delicate plate of paper-thin sliced beef was centered by a
spray of arugula with shaved Reggiano Parmesan cheese, fanned out in a circular
fashion and perfumed with truffle oil, black pepper and white truffle shavings.
Next course was pasta -- fettucine con tartufi nero (served as a lunch
appetizer Oct. 11-15, priced $8; it also is on the nightly dinner menu). The
tall spiral of superb, homemade pasta (executive chef Gabel's forte) was veiled
in a black truffle puree and perfumed by white truffle oil, shaved cheese,
extra virgin olive oil and fresh parsley. Limoncella, a citrus liqueur made
with Grappa, lemon rind and simple syrup (used by Italians as a digestive aid)
was poured between courses as a palate cleanser rather than the usual serving
of sorbet. Each course was paired with a fine Banfi wine.
The main course was lobster (the highlight of the nightly
truffle-tasting dinner menu this month) served ceremoniously in split shells.
The elegant dish had a luscious champagne reduction sauce with a truffle puree
and truffle shavings. The meal ended on a festive note with a dark, semi-sweet
chocolate mousse (which also is on the dinner menu) and raspberry sparkling
wine from the Piedmont region. The tartness of the raspberry brought out the
deep flavors of the mousse.
The 8-year-old Bacco, which has received several awards, offers
gutsy Italian food with earthy appeal served in a romantic environment with
whimsically appointed dining rooms that evoke the feeling of old Italy. House
specialties include homemade pastas (the best of which is crawfish ravioli),
fresh grilled fish, and pizzas prepared in wood-burning ovens perfumed with
hickory and pecan logs. Service is tops, in the Brennan tradition.
|
