Baci offers diners dreams of Italy

Mary Furr

Wondering where to take that special someone on Valentine’s

Day?Wonder no more as owner and chef Angelo Juliano has come to the

rescue with an enchanting bistro named, most appropriately, Baci --

“The Kiss,” in Italian, on Beach Boulevard at Garfield Avenue in

Huntington Beach. Valentine’s Day this year is a Saturday, so come to

Baci and visually wander the streets of any Italian village in a

bistro that dreams are made of.

Baci’s charming interior of arches and winding streets was created

by artist Franco Masci, a friend Juliano brought from Rome. On one

wall is written, “Se magna e se bene in allegria,” -- “Eat and drink

in happiness,” and that is exactly what we did beginning with my

choice of a great flat bowl filled with varied winter greens --

spinach, red leaf, mushrooms, cucumbers and carrot shreds, not

chilled but at room temperature, to bring out the varied flavors.

Soup was another choice -- a pasta e fagioli -- an earthy homemade

bean soup in a big flat bowl, warm and filling all by itself on a

winter day.

Baked salmon ($16.95) in a delicate champagne sauce is nearly 1

1/2 inches thick and maintains its firmness as it flakes. Juliano,

knowledgeable about food, will tell you that some fish, like Dover

sole, may be firmer because it must swim upstream rather than drift

to the ocean. The salmon here is served with penne “Angelo” -- short,

straight, ridged tubes in a creamy sauce filled with chunky chicken

pieces and intensely flavored with sun-dried tomatoes.

Another entree choice is chicken filet ($14.95) with a sweet

topping of raisins; the influence of Arabic cuisine, which, according

to Juliano, migrated to southern Italy centuries ago.

Desserts are made in-house, a creme brulee (French for “burnt

cream”) with a crust of caramelized sugar covering a rich custard.

Another dish, Zuppa Inglese, described by restaurant critic Herb Raus

as “the best in Orange County,” is a traditional recipe -- a roll of

spongy cake filled with smooth custard -- simple and delicious.

Then there is Tortufo al Cioccolato Nero Flambe, ($7) a dark

chocolate turtle shell over vanilla ice cream, doused with a mix of

Grand Marnier and Drambuie, which is flamed at the table. Owner

Juliano created the dish while working as a chef in Switzerland, and

said he was tempted to call it “strip tease,” as the flaming sauce

spooned over the truffle slowly revealed the vanilla ice cream

beneath.

Remember, the way to a woman’s heart is through the door of a

restaurant.

Happy Valentine’s Day.