Restaurant Week: Bacaro

Alas, the time has come for Restaurant Week in Providence to end. But have no fear! You have until at least tonight to find yourself a late lunch and dinner at a Restaurant Week restaurant! And if you weren’t able enjoy Restaurant Week, no worries — these restaurants will always be around in Rhode Island and are AMAZING year round, like Bacaro!

Most recently I went to Bacaro, located in Providence, with my sister. Bacaro is an Italian wine bar located downtown and is probably one of our favorite places to go! They have a large menu with many selections — flat pizzas, pastas, entrees, olives, antipasta, and the list goes on!

When I first saw the Bacaro Restaurant Week menu, I got really excited; my favorite pasta dish was on the menu — Pasta con I Funghi! I felt like Bacaro had selected it just for me :’) (just kidding). There was no doubt on my mind that I was going to enjoy Bacaro during the Restaurant Week at all! And of course, I did.

As normal Bacaro-goers, my sister and I ordered a few other small appetizers in the menu before enjoying our Restaurant Week dishes. We ordered our regular apps — Castelvetrano olives, pan-seared scallops, and the foie gras crostini. Now, I may be biased but I really do think that these appetizers/tapas are really top notch choices! The olives are just awesome, and the scallops are “OH MY –! MELT IN YOUR MOUTH” amazing. The scallops themselves aren’t too heavy and the truffle oil just makes the scallops THAT more savory. The foie gras crostini is simply perfect. The foie gras is served on semi-hard wafers that aren’t hard to bite through and the foie gras is perfectly creamy and flavorful. It is, in no way gamy, and is even served with a homemade Bacaro jam that does not destroy the flavor of the foie gras.

After finishing our appetizers, we continued on to the Restaurant Week menu (I know… we eat a lot). For my Restaurant Week appetizer, I selected the Caesar salad. Although just a Caesar salad, I’ll have you know that this salad was still unlike any typical Caesar salad. This Caesar salad was a lot more light than other Caesar salads I have had. The dressing and cheese was not overwhelming and the croutons were not greasy. In fact, the croutons were real bread, fresh from the oven! I mean, if any restaurant can one-up a traditional Caesar salad, you know that restaurant must be awesome. Bacaro certainly is!

After finishing my salad, I had the Pasta Con I Funghi (of course, it’s my favorite!). The Pasta Con I Funghi is a homemade egg tagliatelle pasta (Bacaro makes their own pasta from scratch I’ve heard…) with parmesan cheese, truffle scented eggs, and mushrooms. If you are not a fan of mushrooms, I can assure that the mushrooms in this dish are not overwhelming in the plate. In fact, like the scallops, the truffled eggs makes the pasta super savory. What I love about this pasta dish so much is that it’s light, not drowning in pasta sauce, yet so packed with flavor. After looking at that Pasta Con I Funghi dish, you’ll be wondering why your dish is empty because unbeknownst to you, you’ve already finished the whole pasta dish because it was so delicious!

After devouring my Pasta Con I Funghi, I enjoyed an apple crumble (as listed on the Restaurant Menu). The great thing about Bacaro and desserts is that they make desserts to order. They don’t keep desserts in freezers only to serve — they make it once you order. I advise to have a good idea about what dessert you would like to enjoy so that it’ll be readily made once you’re done eating your entree dish. So, of course, since desserts are made ready to order, my apple crumble was so warm. I especially liked my apple crumble (and I don’t usually care for apple crumbles) because it was perfectly portioned, not overwhelmingly sweet, and fresh and warm!

So, if you’re in a rush to find a great restaurant to finish off Restaurant Week in Providence, definitely take a look at Bacaro. Not looking for a Restaurant Week restaurant? Still look at Bacaro!

Bacaro is located at 262 South Water Street in Providence, RI by downtown. For more information about the restaurant, check out their website! Also, follow them on Twitter @BacaroRI for the latest restaurant news!