Friday, September 30, 2016

September 30: Bacco Café

At #13 of 3,024, Bacco Café is the highest rated restaurant I've tried on this expedition. Being listed in the top ½ of 1% of Seattle restaurants set my expectations pretty high. Was it spectacular? No, not really, but it was really good.
The 62 bus from Occidental dropped me off at 3rd and Pine, and I walked the easy downhill to Bacco. The place is small, maybe a good sized living room, with seating for about 20. Al fresco seating nearly doubles that. The place was busy: the parties of 2 and 3 in front of me waited about 8 minutes for a seat; at 6 minutes, mine was a little faster. This is not a place for large groups.

Bacco clearly specializes in breakfasts, coffees, and juices, so my lunch order felt a little out of their wheelhouse. That said, the grilled cheese sandwich was one of the best I've ever had. When I make one, I use too much butter and it comes out pretty greasy. (Truth be told, when I make one, I burn it to a crisp, curse, throw it away, and try again to make a second one.) 

Their grilled cheese was buttery yet not greasy at all. At the end of the meal my napkin had crumbs, but no grease stains. The brioche was amazingly light and fluffy, something I don't normally characterize when thinking of a heavy grilled cheese sandwich. The blend of Beecher's flagship, Swiss, American, and cheddar was perfect. The only downside to it was the plating. Served sitting at an angle, the top bread slid significantly off of the bottom. I tried to force it back unsuccessfully, but angling it back and patiently waiting for the top to slide back on did the trick.

The fries were good, but unremarkable. For a drink, I had the Salerno, an orange/lemon/lime mixture that was so heavy on the orange, it rendered the other flavors moot. Yeah, I know that's an odd choice to go with grilled cheese, but I drank most of it before the sandwich arrived. I could have gotten coffee, but it's the same brand we get free at work, and I couldn't bring myself to do that.

Good? Definitely. A 1-in-200 choice? Maybe for breakfast, but merely an above average lunch. And it was priced accordingly.

Bacco Café
1st & Stewart
Grilled cheese, fries, juice, $20.57

No comments:

Post a Comment