Strawberry Chapstick: New Kid On The Block, Barbuzzo

Bringing to life a Valentino silk scarf for the night

Last weekend Alex and I drove into Philadelphia to try the new restaurant Barbuzzo. Craig LaBan’s review did us in, and the mouthwatering pictures kept us there. Do not venture into this restaurant without a reservation. We walked into heaps of people waiting for a table or bar space and I immediately noted how narrow, yet cozy, the restaurant was. Luckily (since Alex takes his culinary adventures seriously) we had reservations and were quickly seated. We barely looked at the menu because we knew exactly what we wanted.

Barbuzzo serves Mediterranean cuisine, and they serve it well. Besides being well reviewed, Barbuzzo is extremely well priced for the city (the most expensive item is $19). We had:

Cured Meat Board with Mediterranean olive tapenade and homemade apricot mustard, caperberries, cornichons & baguette. We both enjoyed this charcuterie, but agreed that it could not beat the amazing one we had at Parc.

Grilled Spanish Rock Octopus with housemade chorizo, potato confit, lemon and pimeton. The flavors were amazing and I loved the charcoal taste of grilled octopus, but I found it a little too dry and it did not compare to the one at Marea.

Uovo pizza with brussel leaves, guanicale, caciocavallo, house stretched fior di latte, truffle & farm egg. This was one of the best pizzas I ever ate. The truffle and the egg had a rich taste and brought pizza to a whole new level.

Salted Caramel Budino with dark chocolate crust, vanilla bean caramel & sea salt. If you go to Barbuzzo and this is the only thing you get, you will not be disappointed (who doesn't appreciate fresh caramel?).

After our dining experience at Barbuzzo we walked over to APO (Apothecary) Bar (it says online that it closed, but as of last weekend it was open for business). The lounge has a cool feel with old style vials on the bar to give a prohibition-era feel. We toasted to the night and to our next return to Barbuzzo (I already have my eye on the roasted bone marrow).