after dinner sneeze

t says: So we dragged a and v to Barbuzzo (and they kicked and screamed the whole way, right?)  Well, this is what they had to say:

a says: The space was nice, more comfortable than many comparable Center City BYOs. Service did not blow-me-away but was attentive and polite. Food came very quickly which was a surprise for such a busy (and new) restaurant and pricing seems very fair – good thing since they aren’t BYO!

The piggy popcorn is the perfect way to start a meal – light, crunchy, and delicious. The meat board was very good and on-par with the best in the city, however, I give the edge to GTC for overall taste and presentation. The Brussel sprouts are some of the best I have ever had though I only recently started eating them and Pancetta makes anything better. I could have easily drank a gallon of the sheeps milk ricotta & fett’ unta but am still sour over paying for more bread. Finally, the meatballs were the highlight of the night for me which says a lot for such a great meal. Their consistency and flavor was perfect and may change the way I look at meatballs, for the rest of my life.

We went with a Portuguese red from the Dao which was well-rounded and paired admirably with our mix of food choices. The wine list is very accessible but also very limited and I think the current policy – no BYO/no corkage – is a mistake. This may be the best restaurant in Philadelphia currently and certainly a direct competitor with another favorite, GTC. The menu is more thoughtful and varied at Barbuzzo but GTC still has a slight edge in my book, mainly due to their BYO policy.

v says: Rivals GTC. More choices, more intimate, more affordable (if you don’t drink).

t says: For anyone who knows a and v, for a restaurant to rival GTC is quite impressive – but the more I think about the $2 charge for extra bread, the more annoyed I find it.  If they gave us a mere 1-2 more pieces, then we wouldn’t need to get a whole additional “order” of bread.  Also, I didn’t have the heart to mention it at the time, but I believe that Barbuzzo stores their wine right next to their kitchen – maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me.  But if that is the case, then a might have had something else to say about that had he noticed.