Barbusa in Little Italy

The Busalacchi family’s latest Sicilian restaurant, Barbusa just opened up in Little Italy. Barbusa is taking place of their previous Italian steakhouse Po Pazzo. Barbusa is offering up lighter and more traditional Sicilian food with a contemporary spin. They are sourcing their food from local farms and purveyors. They are making their pasta in house and all cured meats will be sliced in front of guests at the restaurant. I stopped in for a media event to check out the new spot and sample a few items off the menu. It’s a fun new spot to check out. See below for a view of their new menu offerings.

I loved the art on the wall and the open kitchen space. It is inviting and very representative of Italian family heritage.

The bar is the full length of the left side of the restaurant. They will be serving fresh craft cocktail combinations highlighting southern Italian ingredients. Thunderhawk Alements will provide a rotating section of local beers.

At the event, they served tray passed appetizers with beer, wine and a couple of their speciality cocktails. My favorite bites of the night included the bruschetta, a spicy pizza, a lemon shrimp salad with arugula, stuffed risotto balls, a blackberry and cheese dessert and the chambord panna cotta. I don’t have the actual names because I don’t have a menu and everything was tray passed, but they had some excellent flavors. I will have to go back to try a few more dishes.