Villa Barolo
By Robert Gordon
Primetime A&E, February 2006
On the plane somewhere over Kansas, I asked the doctor who
was seated next to me where he lived. I had told the doc and
his wife that I was a restaurant writer and they were pumping
me for opinions and recommendations. When they said they lived
in Jenkintown, I told them one of our finest restaurants was
right in their own backyard -- or at least it had been until
recently. They piped up, "You've got to be talking about
Marco Polo's. We go there two or three times a week."
They
nailed it. I was indeed talking about Marco Polo's. To foodies,
that recommendation is hardly a revelation. For a decade
or so, Marco Polo's chef-owner, Chef Lo, cultivated a huge
and loyal following. But now he's gone. He was ubiquitous at
Marco Polo's -- cooking, filleting fish tableside, bustling
through the dining room, chatting with a huge cast of regulars,
and greeting first-timers.
Chef Lo has moved on to Warrington.
He's there to reanimate the former Vincent's/Marabella's
building. Actually, it's more like animate. In this era of
fine food, it's an uphill battle for a fine-dining restaurant
at Villa Barolo's location to compete with Doylestown's slate
of upscale eateries. Marabella's didn't stand up to the Doylestown
competition. And though Vincent's thrived at that location
for years, it survived only because haute cuisine had not yet
started feeling its hautes. Vincent's cuisine was bland and
uninspired. In Vincent's heyday, even quiche was considered
exotic -- a dish that, in today's stoked-up culinary scene,
even my twenty-something son dismisses as, "Quiche is
so seventies, dad."
But Lo brings Villa Barolo a winning
business plan and a world of culinary talent. His entire
kitchen crew has migrated to Warrington with him. So have many
of his key front-of-the-house people: the corps and core that
drove Marco Polo's success. Team Lo faces a different challenge
in Warrington. They have a 225-seat restaurant to fill, which
is daunting. However, Villa Barolo's well-evolved menu manages
to accommodate everything from family weeknight-out-meals-on-the-run
to special-occasion dining. Families can eat reasonably and
excellently. Kid-friendly pizzas and pastas abound, while
parents have a wealth of superb dishes to choose from.
Mentionting
the "K" word (Kids) is often restaurant-feature
code for "fine diners, stay away." I'm using no
such code here. There are ample spaces for intimate dining,
particularly in the stunningly attractive stone-walled dining
room that hearkens back to colonial times. Actually, the
entire physical plant is awesome and impressive. The marble
foyer is as handsome and classy a space as our region offers. Every
inch of the interior glistens and the overall feeling of
spaciousness throughout is exhilarating.
But it's still about
the food. Chef Lo handles an expansive menu as well as any
chef I've ever seen. He has a sterling resume. He was the
force behind the Veranda's success in the nineties...when the Veranda
was one of Philly's hottest hotspots (and a huge hit with the expense-account
set). That's where Lo learned his Italian chops. At Cafe Marco Polo,
he perfected them and started to throw in some Asian riffs while crafting
and expansive customer-driven menu.
My first recommendation for dinerati
navigating Lo's menu is to try a daily special. Lo augments
the large regular menu daily with an enormous slate of additions
which always include several different selections of fresh
fish like bronzini, orratta, barramundi, red snapper, dover
sole, and striped bass, to name a few. The daily specials also include
healthy (because the meal is less fatty), exotic, and wild fare like
wild boar, caribou and ostrich.
Ossa bucco is a Lo classic, al dente
tender, redolent and scrumptious. Calves liver is a surprising
treat, muscley yet mellow with lusty undertones. The filet
of otkapa, which is an Hawaiian pink snapper, is a longtime
favorite of Lo loyalists. Otkapa is a delicate, buttery sweet
white meat that is grilled and topped with diced tomatoes
and crabmeat. Served over a potato pancake, that trio of flavors
sings out even more crisply.
The regular menu offers several
winners. The house antipasti is a delectable bargain at $6.95.
Gnocchi, which is house-made, vies with the region's finest
as does risotto. Risotto alla pescatore is a destination
dish in terms of quality/price. The kitchen piles much more
than $18.95 worth of clams, shrimp, mussels, crabmeat, and
calamari atop the earthy rissoto. For the cost-conscious, none
of the seven chicken dishes top $16.95, yet all are flavorful,
healthy and brimming with fresh ingredients. Low prices characterize
this menu that soars on fresh ingredients and fastidious kitchen
technique. Grilled Norwegian salmon with zesty citrus vinaigrette
costs only $17.95.
The wine list boasts a selection of more than 140 bottles. More
than twenty-five beers are available. There's a raw bar for crudite
slurpers, and a snazzy upscale barroom (it's huge, too) for post-work
and post-dinner wind-downs and meet-ups. The ambitious Lo also
hosts banquets in his cavernous new digs. For banquet bookers,
expect far better fare than the uninspired institutional yawners
that are normally slopped out at large gatherings.
As I was leaving
Villa Barolo after my second visit, I chatted with a nearby
table. They were fans of Marco Polo's who followed Lo across
the "burbs
to Warrington. Doylestowners will eventually do likewise. If
anyone can entice the county seaters to trek those long two
miles down to Warrington for a delicious meal, Chef Lo can
and will.
That's what I told my newfound friends on the plane.
With Chef Lo now abiding in Warrington, go to Villa Barolo.
We all agreed we are blessed with the bounty of dining choices
we have in the Delaware Valley. Looking down on Kansas, I
supposed the entire Sunflower State couldn't approach Bucks
County in quality and quantity of fine dining venues. That's
not what's the matter with Kansas, it's only a small part of
it.
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