Uber Chef/restaurant owner, Mario Batali, opened Babbo Pizzeria with much fanfare at Boston’s Fan Pier several months ago. The reviews have been excellent, but yours truly until last weekend had never been to Babbo Pizzeria. I was stunned; the wine list includes only wines from Italy; no California or French wines. Further, the extensive wine list includes many organic, traditional or natural wines. My only issue is that wines from Campania, Basilicata and Puglia are underrepresented, although the few available wines are organic/natural. The number of wines from Sicilia is impressive. Not surprisingly natural/organic producers such as COS, Occhipinti, Conelissen and Terre Nere are available, but Mario has included lesser known but fabulous quality producers such as Passopisciaro and Graci and even a few others that I had not heard of before; Guccione and Valdibella. Mario has included several vintages of Abruzzo premier winemaker Emidio Pepe. There is a broader selection of wines from Northern Italy, and as with the wines from Southern Italy, the list is dominated by natural/organic producers (or for Barolo wines; traditional producers such as Cappellano, Brovia, Giacosa, Mascarello and Aldo Conterno – the last one straddles the traditional/modern line).
The food is excellent; and the portions are more reflective of what one would experience in Southern Italy. The pasta dishes, or in Italy the primo piatto, are reasonable in portion and price. Likewise, the second plate, secondo piatto, is also reasonable in portion and price. The food and wine create the feeling that you are dining in Southern Italy.
Mario was one of several Americans of Italian descent that was featured in a PBS documentary on the Italian-American experience. Interestingly, Mario received some negative comments from viewers because he is not “Italian” enough. The criticism stems from Mario’s Italian lineage deriving from his great-great grandfather who immigrated from Italy to Butte, Montana; making Mario fourth generation born in America. This blogs does not care how “Italian” someone may be; this blog promotes people and businesses that support Southern Italy food, wine, culture and travel. By his commanding personality and following Mario Batali is able to achieve what few, if any, restaurants are able to achieve; present a food and wine menu that tracks as closely as one can; the dining experience in Italy. There is no footnote to Babbo Pizzeria that reads “great Italian food paired with American wine”.
You should check out Mario Batali’s pizzeria http://www.babbopizzeria.com.
