» GUEST REVIEW

By Lisa DUPUY

It has taken a few years but restaurateurs have finally changed Americans’ eating habits. I used to be the person who wanted a well-balanced meal on a plate all to myself. But thanks to the tapas revolution I, and many others, prefer sharing small plates with dinner mates. It might have something to do with the artisan cocktail, fine wine and craft beer explosion because we’ve come to learn diverse, robust flavors and heady spirits taste really good together.

What the Spanish call tapas, the Venetian Italians call cicchete (chee-keh-ti). Cicchete in Venice are typically small mouthfuls, like marinated anchovies, grilled squid or fried meatballs, eaten with a swallow of ombra, or local wine. This is usually done while standing at a table in a wine bar or bacari (bah-karee). Closer to home in Glendale, we now have our own version of cicchete and bacari at Bacari GDL.

Bacari GDL, one of the newest in a string of restaurant openings in The Americana at Brand and the third Bacaro/Bacari to open in LA, puts a new and inviting twist on the small plates trend. Instead of Spanish flavors, executive chef Lior Hillel draws on Italian sensibilities (e.g. burrata, pizza, fresh pasta and salumi platters) but even more heavily on his Israeli heritage and the Lebanese heritage of Bacari’s co-owners (and brothers) Robert & Daniel Kronfli. It’s these Middle Eastern twists that make the plates especially interesting.

For instance, we’ve seen Brussels sprouts salad on many a menu but Bacari puts a unique spin on it by caramelizing the mini cabbage heads, adding a pomegranate molasses sauce that’s to die for, and stirring in a little creme fraiche just to up the calorie and addictiveness level ($11). A nice counterpoint to this plate might be their simply titled “octopus.” The slices (not rings) of tender octopus are grilled and placed on a bed of shaved sprouts, red onion, celery and fig slaw with a tangy lime vinaigrette ($14). To me, this tasted the closest to things I ate on a recent trip to Venezia.

We had a large party the night we visited Bacari, so we were able to try a number of things. I’ll list my favorites and a few I’d personally stay away from next time. As a side note, Bacari is a great place to take a group. Or a first date. Not only is the decor stunning with dark green and black walls, a ceiling made of colored bottles and lighting that makes all of us look our best, the vibe is very European, relaxed but with a feeling like you’ve found “where it’s at.” No FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) here.

My favorites, besides the octopus, were the oven roasted chicken breast with its crispy skin and lemon jalapeno caper sauce, the oxtail with its sultry du’ah spice blend, roasted garlic and fall-off-the-bone tenderness and the bacon and double cream brie wood fired pizza with smoky bacon and jalapenos. My second favorites were the ricotta and beet gnocchi with its bright pink pasta pillows and chimichurri-chevre sauce, the wildly popular Noa’s cauliflower, caramelized with a creamy smoked chipotle sauce, and finally the mac & cheese. I know it’s mac & cheese but the white truffle oil and five cheese fondue make it outstanding ($11). The lobster and crab mac & cheese, on the other hand, does not live up to its extra $6 price tag. The seafood gets lost in the heavy dusting of breadcrumbs. I was also not enamored with the pork belly. I appreciated the convenience of the individual cubes of seared fatty belly but the texture was uneven and the sweet umami mulling glaze seemed cloying.

Everything we consumed was improved upon by the delicious cocktails and house sangria. The sangria features a spicy grenache and four fruits ($9 for a tall glass). The signature cocktails (around $12) again put a spin on the classics. The brown butter sour has brown butter-infused whiskey, dry curacao and an egg white froth. The harley sidecar is a little more boozy with rye whiskey, curacao, lemon and a scotch float. Both are shaken and strained in a generous stemmed glass. For dessert, try the chocolate chillini. Kahlua, vodka and espresso taste good going down and the chocolate chili leaves a tickle in your throat. It goes well with the date-bacon cake or the rosewater custard and pistachio malabi.

I just have to mention one interesting promotion they have at Bacari: the GDL Special. For $25 per person and for any 90-minute period, the bar is open. This means you can drink as much house wine, champagne, sangria and Sixpoint pilsner as you want. For an extra $5, you can add well drinks (not the signature cocktails mentioned above). It would be interesting to see how this works because personally I didn’t want to hurry anything while at the leisurely, lovely and luscious Bacari GDL.

Bacari GDL is located at 757 Americana Way, Glendale. For more information call (818) 696-1460.

  Lisa DUPUY