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Second Coming
If you make your way to South Norwalk, CT, to check out the return of Bacchus be sure to bring your sweetie. If you don’t, the romance of the exposed brick walls, bubbly prosecco and scrumptious homemade pastas will seem all for naught.
Bacchus has returned to SoNo after two and a half years on hiatus. You might remember the cozy Italian restaurant’s wine cellar mural and melt-in-your-mouth osso buco when the restaurant made a very short appearance in the same location a few years ago. A legal dispute forced owner Arnie D’Angelo to close his doors for two and a half years but he returns to the SoNo dining scene with even more gusto than before.
“Is the osso bucco as good as you remember?” he asked our party last night.
“Better,” said one returning guest. Slow cooked for 12 hours, the veal dish was one of two signature dishes served up last night by executive chef Raul Santander. The other, Raul’s free-range chicken, was a semi-boneless organic chicken breast marinated, seared and slow roasted in a roasted garlic sauce, served with mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables.
The evening started as well as it ended with pan-fried baby artichokes served with smoked tomato aioli. D’Angelo flies them in from his 180-acre farm in Peru. The crispy hearts with a soft and buttery artichoke in the center set the mood for what was to come: a parade of decadent and delicious dishes that the Roman god of wine and revelry himself would approve. The mini Maryland-style crab cakes were fresh and perfectly pan-seared; fresh mozzarella was served with just a sprinkle of basil and fabulous all by itself; beet salad with herbed goat cheese, pistachios and truffle honey dressing had a sophisticated flavor and paired nicely with the Channing Daughters Rosato di Merlot from Long Island, NY; a tuna tartar salad served on a crispy wonton tasted so fresh you could distinguish each ingredient, from the lemon juice to the creamy avocado. Next came a decadent crabmeat lasagna appetizer made with homemade lasagna noodles, jumbo lump crabmeat, béchamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Luckily I managed to save a tiny bit of room for dessert because they were worth the sacrifice (all but the tartufo are homemade in-house). The aroma of the warm chocolate lava cake drew us all in as it was placed in the center of the table. The flan was creamy and sweet and tasted more like crème brûlée than the crème brûlée did. My favorite was the tiramisu; one bite and I knew it had been made that day.
As the evening waned Dean Martin’s Sway played in the background and I realized that the only thing missing was some romantic Italian music. Next time I return with my husband I’ll put in a request for some Il Divo.
Go There/
Bacchus
150 Washington St., South Norwalk, CT
203-956-6220
bacchussono.com