Location. Location. Location.

That’s the mantra in real estate. When it comes to restaurants, though, location isn’t quite so critical. Some of our Valley’s best restaurants can be found scattered throughout rural boroughs and townships, miles from the urban core. Discerning diners know where they are and have no trouble finding them.

On the other hand, groupings of fine dining establishments like Bethlehem’s Restaurant Row can attract browsers by the bunch. Likewise, well-paid professionals in major employment centers deserve a place to eat, drink, and unwind. So it certainly can’t hurt Bacio Italian Trattoria that it sits within a major cluster of professional buildings across the street from the Valley’s largest employer—Lehigh Valley Hospital. With Bacio’s grotto-like, candle-lit, circular bar and Happy Hour promotions; with special events geared to the fashionable and trendy; and with a concentration of well-paid, well-educated professionals young and old within walking or easy driving distance to draw from, it’s no wonder that Bacio’s has become a favorite place to see and be seen.

And We Thank You

The terrazzo floor and chairs that simulate patio furniture in the main dining area are intended to give Bacio’s a Mediterranean feel, although Cathey and I found the bright red drapes a bit jarring the first time we visited a few years ago. On a recent, quiet Wednesday evening, our opinion was the same—bright red just doesn’t work for us. To me, this color is more compatible with fast food, rather than fine dining. We would prefer pastels, but that’s just us. On that same previous visit, I described the meal that accompanied a wine tasting as “just adequate, lacking distinction.” And, as regular readers of Dining Out know by now, it’s all about the food for us.
We needn’t have worried. Bacio’s provided a delightful dinner this time out, thank you
very much.

Although there were no off-menu specials to choose from the night that we visited, the menu did feature recommended wines and weekly suggestions from Chef Philipo Sgroi—a pleasantly well-rounded little native Italian who told us with some pride that he cooks at Bacio’s seven days a week.

With classic Italian music competing with more modern rhythms filtering in from the bar area, Cathey chose to start with a baby spinach salad with pancetta, onions, cherry tomatoes, green and black olives, and gorgonzola with balsamic vinaigrette. All of the ingredients were tasty and fresh, the cheese authentic, the pancetta crispy, and the vinaigrette well-constructed. I chose a delightful caprese, a Mediterranean appetizer that features stacked orange slices, tomato slices, rounds of house-made mozzarella, and smoky Proscuitto di Parma with a garnish of organic baby arugula and fresh basil, dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and aged balsamic. Its tastes and textures were harmonious.

For her main course, Cathey tried the veal medallions with sautéed red onions, wild mushrooms, red peppers, and baby artichoke hearts served with a Brolo wine demiglace over the pasta of the day—angel hair. The veal was sweet and tender, the veggies fresh and properly cooked, and the pasta had that homemade taste that it should have at a true Italian restaurant. The portion was generous enough for two and made for a satisfactory lunch for Cathey the next day.

When a Kiss is not Just a Kiss

I went for the Delmonico marinara. I was somewhat concerned that the beef would be braised to accommodate the marinara and I’m not much for soft beef. Instead, I was pleased to receive a fine, well-marbled hunk of grilled beef, crispy black on the outside, just-right pink inside, with a dash of a simple marinara composed of Roma tomatoes, garlic, and basil. With shaved Parmesan melting over the marinara and potato gnocchi on the side, I happily wiped my plate clean.
Cathey watched me finish the meal with a multi-layer chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and a mound of whipped cream, washed down with a good, strong cup of coffee. Yummy good. With a bottle of Gabbiano Pinot Grigio and generous service, $140. Not cheap, but with Sgroi hitting every note just right, worth the freight.

As usual, during dessert I introduced myself as the restaurant critic for LVS. Enter Antonio, the bustling maitre’d with graying hair, a moustache, and a pleasant Italian accent whom Cathey alternately described as ‘cute’ and ‘a hoot.’ He regaled us with the story of the 110 Red Hat ladies who came for lunch, each with a special request and all requiring separate checks, then hustled off to pay attention to a private party in the back room.
‘Bacio’ means ‘kiss’ in Italian. ‘Al bacio’ translates to ‘excellent.’ Works for me. At Bacio Italian Trattoria we enjoyed an excellent meal, kissed by the cuisine of the Mediterranean. Mangia!

Chef Spotlight: Chef Philipo Sgroi

After graduating from college with a degree in hospitality in 1978, Bacio’s Chef Sgroi, a native Sicilian, got his first job offer and headed for Naples—Naples, Florida, that is. He’s been in the U.S. ever since, arriving in the Lehigh Valley in 1992 to help relatives open Bellissimo restaurant in Allentown. After a stint in Pan y Vino, Sgroi took charge of Bacio’s kitchen about two years ago.

At Bacio’s, Sgroi works hard to keep the menu creative, fresh, and family friendly in the tradition of an Italian trattoria —more like a café than a formal ristorante with a set bill of fare. To that end, he likes to add a new dish every week and turn over the menu every 30 days. But don’t worry. Remember that dish you enjoyed a couple of months ago? If you don’t see it on the menu, just ask. Sgroi will do his best to oblige. I ask if Sgroi has a favorite dish. “Fish,” he says. “I dream of serving fish like in Italy, the whole fish with the head and the bones and all. And you know, the best part of the shrimp is the head.” Most Americans aren’t used to that, though. Cathey, on the other hand, likes her sopa de pesce (fish soup) just that way. “Call me the day before and I’ll prepare a sopa just the way we do in Sicily.” We will.

Would Sgroi like his own restaurant some day?
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Just give me the keys and let me make people happy. Then you can pay me,” says Sgroi with a smile.