Dining Reviews	Lunch Counter	Restaurant Guide

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Simplicity is a key to Bacco's success

Bacco takes its name from Bacchus, the god of wine; however, it will gain its popularity from the skills of its chef and owner, Michael Scognamiglio. This former chef at the popular West Ashley Al di La restaurant struck out on his own in the spring to take over the vacant Jilda's space at the corner of Houston Northcutt and Coleman boulevards.

Bacco is a small restaurant, with roughly 20 tables arranged in a long rectangle along with a bar area and seating in that space. It is unadorned, yet it felt both homey and romantic. A valuable lesson in what candlelight and linens can do for a space.

The restaurant's compass is decidedly Italian, pointing south on the boot that is Italy along with some Roman and Sicilian influences. The menu is short and we applaud the chef for both refinement and restraint in winnowing down his menu to selections that are collaborators rather than adversaries on the plate.

Your antipasti can be as simple as Fire Roasted Mixed Olives ($3), the ubiquitous Insalata Caprese ($7) of mozzarella and tomatoes, or Mozzarella in Carrozza ($7), a bread "carriage" transporting molten cheese.

Salads ($8-$9) are very generous; however, we wished for simple greens rather than the fig, soppressata and Gorgonzola version or the "garden" salad of grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, Roma tomatoes and asparagus over mixed greens. We did not ask, but I suspect that Bacco would accommodate that request in a heartbeat.

Gamberi al Limoncello ($8) caught our attention and it should yours - tender shrimp finished in a glaze of this sprightly lemon-based liqueur found on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. The shrimp were surrounded with paper-thin slices of grilled lemon, all circling a mound of crisp greens. It was remarkable in its simplicity with sweet-tart notes of lemon, nutty greens and tender shrimp.

The pastas are made in-house as is the sausage. The chef honors his Venetian roots with Risi E Bisi ($9/$12), veers to the north with a ragu Bolognese ($11/$13) and celebrates Sicily with capers and raisin and pine nuts topping pan-seared swordfish ($15).

The Pasta E Fagioli ($8) uses shell-shaped conchiglie pasta and barlotti beans and finishes the dish with mussels. Removed from their shell, these briny, tender plump pillows of the sea were first-rate. This bean and pasta dish appears all over Italy, changed only by the variety of the bean and the shape of the pasta. This hearty dish will be your mainstay when chilly weather comes to the Lowcountry.

The Trenette Alla Bolognese ($11/$13) tops a flat pasta, much like linguine, but its edges are ruffled with a three-meat ragu that is chunky with melted-down bits of beef, pork and veal, full of flavor, a witness to patient cooking and quality ingredients. This pasta shape is common in Genoa and is usually combined with potatoes and green beans and pesto. One quibble, the pasta was slightly overcooked.

Bacco's Melanzane Alla Parmigiana is a keeper. Sfoglie (sheets) of ultra-thin eggplant are crumbed, sautéed and layered with marinara sauce and topped with cheese. The whole is baked as one rectangular casserole and cut into squares as if the eggplant Parmigiana was lasagna.

For our secondi we ordered the Salsicce con Provala ($12), a dish of roasted sausage wrapped in smoked mozzarella and served with salt-roasted potatoes and grilled fennel. The latter, thinly sliced, was grilled and puddled on the plate. It was a wonderful elixir of olive oil, char and licorice flavor, just another example of the simplicity of Italian food and the competency of the cooking. The fennel-studded sausage was both delicate in texture and bold in flavor. Chicken, veal, a New York strip steak, a pork chop and swordfish complete the menu.

Our server was extremely knowledgeable about both the menu and the Italian wine list, and we observed much enthusiasm with the wait staff in general as they discussed the menu, the wines or the desserts with their patrons.

If our Delizia Al Limone ($5) is any indicator, the desserts should be to "die for." Tiramisu, a flourless chocolate cake, a ricotta cheesecake, creme brulee and affogato are made in-house.

We ended on the lemon grace notes we began with, a sponge cake plumped with lemon syrup and gilded with a Limoncello creme Anglaise - a culinary witness to the French occupation of Campania (Naples) and a sweet finish to our meal.

Bacco is a restaurant that demonstrates one need not be fancy or fussy to be good.

It is the kind of place you will want to call your own. Bacco does not disappoint, but delights.