Housed on a sleepy Division Street passage, Bacaro is as close to Venice as you’ll come in Manhattan. (Gondolas there are not, but it’s worth noting that Division lies just south of Canal Street.) Here, chef-owner Frank DeCarlo and his wife, Dulcinea Benson, bring the idea of a Venetian bacaro (a laborers’ wine-and-snack bar) to New York in an intimate two-floor dining space—exposed brick, dark wood rafters, slate floors, and all. On the sunny windowed ground level is a marble-top wine bar and a few small tables, ideal when ordering snacks (try the six varieties of crostini), cicchetti (or small plates; go for the spicy fried meatballs), or an ombra (a small glass of wine). In the cavernous basement, however, lies a transporting candlelit dining area fitted with long tables, crystal chandeliers, and even more of that exposed brick. Bacaro’s downstairs regulars prefer the cuttlefish-ink pasta and the smoked-mozzarella-and-radicchio lasagna. Attached to the dining room are two wine cellars stocked with DeCarlo’s picks from the Veneto region, as well as a nook dedicated exclusively to salami storage, revealing just how relentless he is in the authenticity department.
Bacaro
Images by Heather Waraksa, Flowers by Ariel Dearie
