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Barbuzzo (Philadelphia, PA)

Barbuzzo
110 S 13th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Dining date: 6/21/17

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Barbuzzo is one of the more popular restaurants in Philadelphia. It’s part of a restaurant group that operates a number of other restaurants in the neighborhood, even a chocolate shop and jewelry store. Barbuzzo serves Mediterranean cuisine with a concentration towards Italian, including pastas, pizzas, housemade charcuterie and a variety of both small and large plates. We stopped in for dinner on a busy Wednesday evening – the small restaurant was packed when we got there and packed when we left.

SEARED SNAP PEAS rustic soffrito, roasted garlic, smoked ricotta salata

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GRILLED MEDITERRANEAN OCTOPUS cantimpalo chorizo, fingerlings, taggiasca olive, roasted peppers, white bean puree, herbs & lemon

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PORTUGUESE MUSSELS smoked portugese sausage, white beans, corn, garlic, calabrian chile butter, cilantro, spring onion

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CAMPANELLE NERI maryland crab, broccoli rabe, lemon, calabrian chile butter, oregano bread crumbs

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PAN SEARED GNOCCHI trumpet mushrooms, pancetta, red chard, peas, truffle butter

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SALTED CARAMEL BUDINO with dark chocolate crust, vanilla bean caramel and sea salt

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Favorites on this evening were the octopus and gnocchi, although all of the dishes were done pretty well. Octopus was tender with a nice smoky char, complemented by a creamy white bean puree and discs of fingerlings, chorizo and olives. Gnocchi was pillowy soft, served with earthy mushrooms and greens with a little bit of pancetta. The budino is their signature dessert and it delivered a very rich and satisfying caramel custard. I really liked the dark cookie crust which provided a lot of textural contrast. Maybe I’m just too used to Los Angeles but I thought the prices were very reasonable here too, with many of the small plates around $10 and pastas/pizzas/large plates priced in the teens.

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