Review: Bari may be the international crowd’s new party central, but the Italian food is serious
The hours run very late for Houston, set to a roar of conversation and a soundtrack of oldies remade by international artists. You’re expected to dress the part to party. There’s actually a dress code, which begins, “We politely request that you dress your best when you dine with us,” and finishes with the dire injunction, “Any guest who does not appear sufficiently well presented may be refused entry.
With so much emphasis on style, I admit I did not have high hopes for Bari’s Italian fare. So the food was a nice surprise, and lunch time — which extends throughout the afternoon — felt much more relaxed than the dinner crush. One day’s fish special was spare and masterful, the slab of snapper grilled to a crisp crust and a dewy slip-slide, with a velvety little beurre blanc touched with orange to set it off. A brisk shaved fennel salad freshened things up, delicate fronds and all.
I did take issue with the way Calabrian chile overrode the subtleties I had hoped for in an otherwise fine bowlful of spaghetti with clams in their shells. Yet the pasta textures are well calibrated, and I rejoiced when one night’s special of tagliatelle tossed tableside with shaved black truffles in a giant wheel of Parmesan turned out to be wildly rich and luxurious, a fancy party trick that really did have some magic.
Add a mango cheesecake in which the mango element tuned out to be a bouncy layer of orange gel. Plus couple of innocuous, girly pink cocktails from a list that needs work — notwithstanding that it offers a giddy, refreshing version of the espresso martini that’s everywhere nowadays. That alone could be dessert. Or try the surprising pistachio tiramisu De Pirro dreamed up after his latest trip back home to Italy. “Everything’s pistachio, pistachio, pistachio there now,” he reports.
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