Il Bacio Brings A Bit Of Italy To Redmond

----------------------------------------------------------------- Restaurant review

XXX Ristorante Il Bacio, 16564 Cleveland St., Redmond. ($$ 1/2) Lunch ($8 to $15) 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dinner ($10 to $18) 5 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; until 10 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Closed Sunday. Beer, wine. Major credit cards. No smoking. Reservations: 869-8815. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Not just another suburban spaghetti and meatball place, you think, as you come up to the front door of Il Bacio in downtown Redmond.

A newspaper notice near the entry announces that "Master Chef Rino Baglio" has served as personal chef to Princess Caroline of Monaco, was on the culinary team for the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Di. Once fed Ronald Reagan in Venice and taught at the Cordon Bleu in Paris.

So it comes as a surprise when the waiter in formal black and whites, in a starched, pleated shirt, intones that among the evening's specials, in addition to sweetbreads in wine sauce, is . . . Spaghetti and Meatballs.

"But these are made entirely from veal," he hastens, "in a special, thick sauce."

Doubting that Charles, Di and Ronny ever had the option (or ever will), I order the meatballs ($12.95). Good choice.

Not your usual meatballs

Tender and light (but not fluffy with filler), there are five of them circling a coiled mound of imported pasta. Gently broken open, they give off a light trace of garlic, essences of parsley and lemon rind, and they are richly dotted through with coarsely chopped fresh basil.

There's but a brief lexicon of attributive labels you can tack onto meatballs (Mama mia! and Spicy! come to mind.) But seldom "fragrant." Yet these were as deeply perfumed as an herb garden in June.

The tomato sauce had more celery in it than I care for but it was vigorous and enjoyable; the pasta decidedly al dente. The whole effect was - for a dish usually considered woefully pedestrian - masterful.

Baglio, who earned a first-place ribbon in the 1984 International Culinary Olympics, opened Il Bacio in December 1994 after establishing his adjacent Italian bakery, Pasticceria il Bacio, a year earlier. He recently expanded the dining rooms and moved his popular luncheon deli (and Sport Cafe) to the other side of the Cleveland Street Square address.

Meals begin with prompt delivery of a small tub of extra-virgin olive oil pooled over a heavy pinch of red pepper flakes; a basket of Ciro Pasciutto's imposing Italian country bread; and slices of rustic, dark-crusted La Panzanella.

For those who have not yet tasted it, this is the only bread in Seattle that I take home in doggie bags.

The dinner menu leads off with a half dozen appetizers, including Lumache Con Polenta ($7.95), escargot sauteed in olive oil and herbs and served over polenta. They're excellent, although I have long suspected that snails' singular contribution to French and Italian gastronomy resides in their efficacy as a delivery system for fats and garlic.

Scallops are delicious, too

Another choice starter is Capesante Gratinate (also $7.95), scallops (daringly rare) sauteed with white wine, olive oil, bread crumbs and herbs, served in a fresh, winey tomato sauce, with a surprising dusting of grated cheese and parsley over the top. Italian seafood is seldom presented with cheese of any kind (I once got into a fight with a waiter in Venice when I insisted upon some).

The Insalata Bacio ($4.95) is a chopped green salad with diced chunks of provolone, Genoa salami and marinated mushrooms dressed with a "pink sauce" that, surprisingly, has a shrimp stock base. The daily soups are appealing; a creamed broccoli with mozzarella was a silky delight.

The dozen pastas, in general, are flawless but the Penne Puttanesca ($10.95), appropriately spicy but well-balanced, and the creamy Risotto Porcini ($12.95) are superb.

The menu is short on seafood (although scallops and prawns are represented) but some veal selections are choice. The Costoletta alla Milanese ($15.95), a full rib chop was flattened, breaded and pan-fried. Still attached to the bone, it's served simply with a half lemon, pan-fried potatoes and crisp but tender deep-green broccoli florets.

Chef Baglio is an accomplished baker and his dessert tray reflects those skills. His Cannoli Toscani, Tiramisu and Bignes (eclairs) are pure confectioner's art - and refreshingly not too sweet.

In summary, Il Bacio (the kiss) is a great little exurban discovery, and the best reason for a trip to Redmond since the city closed down its once-delightful (and always forgiving) golf course. (Copyright, 1996, John Hinterberger. All rights reserved.) John Hinterberger, who writes the weekly restaurant review in Tempo and a Sunday food column in Pacific, visits restaurants anonymously and unannounced. He pays in full for all food, wines and services. Interviews of the restaurants' management and staff are done only after meals and services have been appraised. He does not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.