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Crudo Night at Ballarò
Ballarò is a little Italian bistro on 2nd Avenue that is one of my favorite places for a coffee or modest lunch. They have excellent panini, including some breakfast specialties, good well-selected wines, and real Italians behind the counter. So when manager Stefano Sasselli announced that he was hosting a special dinner of crudo –…
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Bär-bõ-né
The eccentrically punctuated Bär-bõ-né (vaguely evoking its Avenue B location) is ostensibly Italian, and the menu bears out the claim – antipasti, primi, secondi – but there is something unmistakably different about the place. The pasta is a little denser than one is used to, the flavors a little earthier, the presentation paradoxically more stylish.…