Restaurant Review: Baci, Italian Fine Dining

Restaurant Review:  Baci, Italian Fine Dining

1955 West Morena Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92110
619-275-2094

Every now and then I get to get dressed up and go to a grown-up restaurant. Tonight was one of those nights. I drove the few miles to Baci on West Morena Blvd just in time to place my order with my five dining partners, several of whom were family members.

What a menu. It started out with Antipasti ranging from $11.95 to $14.95.  There were 8 different items to choose from plus a soup for $5.95.

Veal Special. (All photos by Judi’s daughter, Michele.)

One person ordered mussels that were excellent.  The broth was succulent and the baskets of bread that were on the table complimented the mussels. A second person ordered “Carpaccio Di Manzo,” a raw filet mignon, dijon mustard, olive oil, parmesan cheese and capers. He knew how good it was and did not want to share with us, so he placed an order for two of them – one he ate by himself and the other we shared. It, too, was delicious.

One other appetizer ordered by a third was mozzarella and Prosciutto that was also delicious.

From the five salads listed – $7.95-$13.95, a fourth member of our party ordered the Caesar salad and his date ordered the Hearts of Palm salad. Both were very good; cold and crispy.

A bottle of Pouilly Fuisse Roux – that later turned into two bottles – was ordered. It complimented the meal perfectly. All of us – even this reviewer – enjoyed it.

Bison shortribs.

There was Pasta, Carne, Pollo, Pesce, Vinello, on the menu. And our delightful waiter, Francesco, took almost 7 minutes telling us about the specials of the evening. (It was obvious that he was from Italy, and I enjoyed listening to him tell us about the specials almost as much as I enjoyed eating my entrée.)

One member had one of the veal specials and he said it was delicious.  Another had the Bison short rib special that he said was cooked to perfection.  A third had the swordfish special and raved about it throughout the entire meal.

The fourth had the Pollo al Limone, a regular on the menu, and the fifth had the Pollo Marsala, another regular on the menu.

Swordfish.

I had one of the two Scallop specials, served on a bed of pasta. Of the scallops on my plate one was quite gritty; I suspect that the sand was not adequately cleaned out of it before it was cooked. The others were fine. It is also noted that they were large scallops – 2-3 bites out of each one.

I can tell you how much the two chicken dinners were – $23.95 and $24.95 , but I cannot tell you about the other meals because they were “specials” and the old adage “if you have to ask how much it costs you can’t afford it” was in operation. I fully expected to pay my share of the meal, but another person generously picked up the tab and would not tell me what it cost. I suspect, however, that it came to a couple of hundred dollars for the 6 of us.

Pollo Marsala

As the meal progressed, we engaged Francesco in conversation, and he made the meal more enjoyable for all of us. He noticed that I was taking notes and asked me if I was, indeed, taking notes. I told him yes. I asked him his name and that was when he spelled it out for me. I did not tell him, at that time, that I was doing a review. (It must have been obvious, because we were also taking pictures of the food.)

When he asked if anyone wanted dessert he heard that even though he was too full, one of our members was having his birthday and I said he should have something. Without saying anything else to us, Francesco brought the birthday boy a Tiramisu with a candle on it and we all sang Happy Birthday to him.

Scallops dinner.

Then, after we were finished with the dessert, we were brought a glass of port – I think it was from the menu and named “Naval Black Ruby” and  was complimentary. It was wonderful and gave the meal a nice finishing touch. By the way, there are 6 items on the dessert menu, beginning at $8 for the Tiramisu and the others at $9. A Gelato was $6.

True to form, I felt the need to flirt with Francesco – and my family only added to the fun. (He is single – but oh so young.) It was at that time I told him I was doing a review for the OB Rag and gave him my newly minted business card.)

There is no doubt that the meal was out of my price range, but it was an enjoyable time and if someone were to ask me where they should go to celebrate a special occasion I would not hesitate to recommend Baci. And I should say that the entire wait staff was courteous, efficient, and delightful. I hope I have an occasion to go back.

Francesco and the reviewer.