Terrific Takeout: Barbalu Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
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Husband and wife team Stefano Barbagallo and Adriana Luque have teamed up for a winner in Barbalu, downtown by the seaport on 225-227 Front Street between Beekman Street and Peck Slip. Once you find it, you'll be glad you did! We popped by to check it out and they are a relatively new hotspot open since October 2013. Before storm Sandy, they were involved in a different restaurant endeavor. We began with a splendid salad: Roasted Shrimp, Cannellini Beans, Red Onion and Celery which was delightful and perfect as we swing into the summer season. Beautifully arranged, this fresh shrimp salad was accentuated with striking dots of beet. Your food does taste better when it's this gorgeous. We particularly liked the care employed in the thinness of the cut of both the celery and onion. We loved the cascade of the shrimp cut the most and it was delicious!
We also tried the lovely Prosciutto di Parma, Artichoke Pesto and Parmigiano sandwich. What a smashing combination! Some places try to be too creative and come up with concoctions that turn our stomach but Barbalu achieves the right balance of being innovative and hitting the sweet spot of your stomach. The pesto we loved in particular and it had an amazing texture. You must try this.
For our pasta course, we tried the penne with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil: it's hard to beat a classic. Often we like to try basic dishes to see how they are executed and this was done expertly. The freshness and authenticity of everything we tried was remarkable and we look forward to finding out more about Barbalu. A plus: an Italian in the kitchen is always cooking for you.
