Baci Ristorante

This restaurant in Buckingham, Pa., offers reasonably priced Northern Italian cuisine in a pleasant and hospitable atmosphere.

By: Richard Burns

   Some Northern Italian restaurants that bill themselves as Northern Italian seem about as Northern as Mississippi. Baci Ristorante, self-billed as "Classic Northern Italian Cuisine in the Tuscan Tradition," remains true to its motto. With few exceptions, the dishes authentically reflect the recipes of Northern Italy and do them great credit.
   Owner Dave Baci was born in Italy, raised in France and married a woman from England. Mr. Baci has owned this Buckingham, Pa., restaurant, housed in a building that dates to 1709, for about six years, turning it into a major player in the field. While the restaurant menu is staunchly Northern Italian, the pub on the ground level, Heart of the Oak, serves English pub food.
   The restaurant features a ceiling with dark, open beams, walls that are half stone and a large fireplace at one end. The tables are candle lit, with white-over-dark-green tablecloths and very comfortable upholstered chairs. There are about 20 tables in the main dining room. In spite of the hard surfaces and the busy room, it was surprisingly quiet. There is a second, smaller dining room for private parties and weekend overflow.
   The menu is extensive. There are more than a dozen appetizers and four soups. Another dozen or so pasta and risotto dishes are offered, as well as about 20 main courses. Salads and vegetable items are also listed, as the menu is à la carte. In addition, a large number of specials were offered on the Friday night we visited, presented without prices.
   We considered such delicious sounding appetizers as fried goat cheese with grilled portabella mushrooms, shrimp and cannellini beans with olive oil, tomato and garlic, and calamari sautéed with spinach, white wine, garlic, red chili and tomato.
   We finally settled on grilled baby eggplant, with roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella, and grilled jumbo shrimp from the specials offerings. Both were exceptional. The three good-sized grilled shrimp had been split and marinated in a delightfully delicate sauce, then grilled to perfection. They melted in your mouth. All appetizers cost either $8 or $9.
   We shared a pasta dish and again had a difficult choice among exciting alternatives such as tagliatelle with duck sauce ($13), trenette with prosciutto, mushrooms and peas in a light cream sauce ($13), and a risotto with shrimp, clams, scallops and calamari ($17) from the specials menu.
   We chose the Gorgonzola ravioli in a cream sauce with chopped fresh tomatoes ($13). There were six large round raviolis that were cooked just right. The dish was a bit salty from the cheese, but the fresh tomatoes helped cut the saltiness. We also shared a mixed greens salad ($5) with a good blue cheese dressing, fresh greens served on a cold plate.
   The main-course menu is extensive, offering chicken, veal, beef and a few seafood items. Other tempting options included chicken morsels with shrimp, scallions, mushrooms and garlic in a tomato and white wine sauce ($18), a Cacciucco, a traditional Tuscan fish stew in a spicy tomato and white wine sauce ($23), and the aged 18-oz. porterhouse steak, at a very reasonable $25.
   We settled on veal scaloppini with mushrooms, artichoke hearts and fresh tomato in a white wine with lemon sauce from the specials menu ($19), an outstanding dish with a tasty sauce. We also ordered a delectable veal chop stuffed with prosciutto and cheese in a wine sauce with mushrooms ($24), fork-tender meat that arrived at the table oozing with melted cheese in a soft, delicate sauce. Wonderful.
   All desserts, except for the sorbets, are made in house. We were offered a wide choice, ranging from a ricotta cheesecake to a crème brulée, along with chocolate mousse, poached pear in a wine sauce, even a chocolate mousse cake and an English Trifle (Mrs. Baci’s influence). We selected cannoli, with chocolate chips and chocolate sauce, and a panna cotta (each $7). Both were extremely good. The cannoli had obviously been stuffed after ordering, as the shell was still crisp and the filling soft and sweet. The panna cotta was served with a fruit sauce with fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, deftly flavored and delightful.
   The atmosphere was pleasant and welcoming. Our server, Sarand, was knowledgeable and efficient. We later learned she is one of the owner’s daughters and has "grown-up" in the restaurant business. In fact, with the exception of the very energetic bus boy, all the front room help was part of Mr. Baci’s extended family. It certainly works to create an efficiently run and friendly place.
   This is a first class restaurant that offers fine Northern Italian cuisine that is elegant, reasonably priced and served in a pleasing and hospitable atmosphere. We are already planning a return visit.
For directions to Baci, click here.