Villa Barolo - a world-class restaurant in Warrington
By: Frank D. Quattrone - Ticket Editor
01/20/2006
 Villa Barolo is to international cuisine what WXPN (88.5-FM)
is to musical diversity. With its popular "World Café Live," featuring
world-beat music not readily heard elsewhere - as well as healthy
doses of folk, blues, new and local music and even classic
rock - the station can't fail to satisfy the taste of anyone
who loves good music.
In like manner, even with its emphasis on northern Italian
cuisine, Villa Barolo has become the "World Café" of
the regional dining scene. Chef Lo, who in 10 years transformed
Caffé Marco Polo into one of the area's most popular
dining havens, is the maestro of one of the most adventuresome
menus I've seen in years.
According to the chef-owner of the Warrington restaurant
already thriving in the space once occupied by Vincent's
and Marabella's, "The basic menu
is traditional Italy, mostly from the north, but the first page is filled
with my own creations, European, with my own touches." The
regular menu, with many classic homemade Italian salads,
pastas, risottos and entrees, is one of the best you'll
ever encounter, but those specials - called Chef Lo's Menu
Additions - feature dishes you'll rarely find anywhere,
with preparations fired by one of the most original and
daring minds in dining.
Here are some examples from the
appetizer portion of the menu: Seafood Dumplings ($7.95),
French-style puff pastry stuffed with crabmeat, baby rock
shrimp and smoked salmon, grilled till golden brown, and
topped by a pink cognac sauce; a 10-ounce South African
(cold water) Baby Spiny Lobster, split for ease of handling,
lightly seasoned, grilled and topped with crabmeat and
Lo's fine pink cognac sauce; and Mushroom Trio ($12.95),
featuring some of the world's finest fungi, each prepared
somewhat differently - matzutake from Japan, divine chanterelle
and oyster mushrooms simmered in white wine and separated
by garlic toasts.
Chef Lo also offers organic, healthy, exotic
and wild fare every day. If you like filet mignon, for instance,
you'll love Filet of Farm Raised Ostrich, grilled and drizzled
with a pinot noir reduction, accompanied by garlic mashed
potatoes and sautéed
spinach ($25.95).
And when was the last time you dined on
caribou?
Thought so.
 On the night of our visit, the menu included the
spectacular combination of Caribou & Lamb Chops ($28.95)
marinated with fresh garlic and rosemary and grilled and
drizzled with a honey-rosemary demi-glaze, also served with
garlic mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. No, the ostrich
didn't taste like chicken, nor did the caribou resemble buffalo,
venison or steak. But the lean meat of each, perfectly paired
with a glass of dry, bold, complex Barolo, will have your
taste buds dancing with newfound ecstasy.
Each day, the chef
offers three or four special game dishes in season - including
antelope, North American elk, wild boar, kangaroo, not to
mention tasty fish you've probably never heard of (like barramundi, orrata
and bronzino), and he knows his stuff. "This is the best time to
offer American elk or caribou, hunted in the wild, because they're eating
berries, which keeps them lean and not as gamy; and they're not as fat
as they'll be later in the season."
Chef Lo loves talking about food
almost as much as he enjoys preparing it. But he's a gregarious, hands-on
proprietor, who's present everywhere in his dazzling new restaurant
- up front Sunday through Thursday at the new host(ess) stand
(much closer to the entrance than it was at Marabella's),
where he greets guests, often accompanying them to their
table; he can also be seen chatting with others about their
meals, and he returns to the kitchen on Friday and Saturday.
 He
also chooses his own wines, and offers eight beers on tap,
20 selections of vodka and nine different cognacs. And, over
the years, he's trained his staff to perfection. The entire
kitchen staff from Marco Polo has joined him here at Villa
Barolo, plus managers, including the courtly John Camiola,
formerly of Stefano's and a mainstay at Marco Polo for five
years.
The servers, like charming Sam Ouhibe, recite the specials
by memory, never touching a note card, explaining each preparation
with confidence, even passion, for Chef Lo's amazing creations.
They'll
describe each day's selections from the new Raw Bar, show
you the fish on ice available for the day and make you feel
like royalty - without undue fuss.
Lo believes that each guest
should be treated the same, "whether they
order Chicken Parm[esan] or a hundred dollar bottle of wine." And
it's this respect for his customers as well as his innovative menu
that makes Villa Barolo something special.
The restaurant's signature
dish, like Caffé Marco Polo, is fresh fish
grilled and filleted tableside, served with linguine prepared with
cockle clams and crabmeat in a white wine sauce. The night of our
visit, we ordered some barramundi, watching the show as Chef Lo
carefully twirled back the skin of this tasty freshwater Australian
fish as if it were a long strand of spaghetti. Then he split it
into four perfect sections, drizzled it with lemon and olive oil
and placed it in our plates with sautéed spinach and roasted
potatoes. Yum City!
 And the regular menu is just as fine as the
daily specials, highlighted by appetizers like Frutti di Mare
($8.95), cockle clams, white water mussels, shrimp and calamari
sautéed
in either a white or red garlic wine sauce, or Caprese Salad
($8.95), traditional Italian tomato salad with fresh buffalo
milk mozzarella and fresh basil leaves drizzled with a touch
of olive oil; pastas like Fettuccine all' Amatriciana ($12.95),
fettuccine with fresh tomato, bacon and Romano cheese, a
regional Italian sauce from Amatrice; Penne all' Arrabbiata
($12.50), ziti tossed with a spicy hot pepper and garlic
marinara sauce; and house specialty Gnocchi al Pomodoro ($1350),
homemade potato pasta in a delicate tomato sauce; and risotto
dishes like Risotto alla Pescatore ($18.95), Arborio rice
with clams, shrimp, mussels, crabmeat and calamari in either
a white or red garlic wine sauce.
Entrees include the likes
of Misto Alla Griglia ($24.95), a mixed grill of center cut
sirloin, veal tenderloin and chicken breast; Involtini di
Vitello ($22.95), veal filet stuffed with spinach, tomato,
mozzarella and prosciutto; Calamari Ripieni (18.95), tender
squid stuffed with crabmeat in a light marinara sauce; and
Zuppa di Pesce alla Livornese ($19.95), a house specialty
consisting of fresh shell fish, lobster tail and filleted fish.
Chef
Lo says his "mission" is "to present world-class
cuisine in a comfortable zone." Even some plates, whose
rims are ringed with a map of the world, reflect the international
nature of his menu.
Lunch is served without tablecloths.
The restaurant assures guests that they can have a fine meal
of hot or cold panini, soups, salads, frittati (Italian style
omelettes), pasta, entrees and corned beef from New York's
famed Stage Deli, delivered to their table within 10 or 15
minutes. And the desserts measure up to the rest of the menu.
Guests enjoy their food in cozy booths or tables in a lovely,
serene atmosphere of earthy colors and light woods, overhead
lamps and sconces resembling turtle shells or exotic mushrooms.
The
amazing Chef Lo arrived from Hong Kong, where he studied
the culinary arts, more than two decades ago, and has carefully
fine-tuned his skills under European-style chefs in America.
He learned Italian cooking from the German executive chef at
the Hershey Hotel, gained valuable experience at Portofino and
La Veranda before opening Caffé Marco
Polo in January 1996, and in short order has become a beloved
mainstay on the regional dining scene.
Villa Barolo, named for
one of the finest wines of Italy, is the latest expression
of his passion for fine food. He gave up a literal "gold
mine" (Marco
Polo) 14 miles south on Route 611 to open this new restaurant
- to be closer to his home, to be able to own his own property,
and to create a menu that both everyday families and adventuresome
diners could enjoy on a daily basis.
Don't miss it. It's one
for the ages!
Villa Barolo
Ristorante & Wine Bar
1373 Easton Road
Warrington PA 18976
215-491-9370
www.villa-barolo.com
HOURS: Lunch:
11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Dinner:
Sunday, 3:30 - 10 p.m.;
Mon. - Thurs., 3:30 - 10:30;
Fri. & Sat., 3:30 - 11.
Reservations: required
for parties of 6 or more.
All major credit cards.
Facilities for handicapped.
One smoking room.
Available for private parties.
Dinner entrees:
$11.95 - $28.95.
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