Looking for a great, inexpensive V-Day meal this weekend? Head on down to Bacaro. They earn my award for the best little wine bar that could. What’s not to like? Well prepared, affordable food, a unique wine selection, great atmosphere, and friendly service. Situated on the outskirts of University Park near USC, is owned by Santos Uy (former A.O.C. sommelier) and Daniel Kronfli (former alcohol sales rep and bar manager). On Sat enjoy a three course dinner for thirty-five dollars per person, throw in an extra $15 for the wine pairing.

First course includes choice of lamb stuffed dates with yogurt mint sauce or deviled little-neck clams. 2nd course is choice of roasted crispy chicken with balsamic mushroom farro, beet & cumin emulsion, and zucchini dill salad or grilled filet mignon with parsley shallot butter, parmesan risotto cakes, & asparagus or for those looking for a non meat option, stuffed bell pepper with quinoa, sundried tomato pesto, and puff pastry sticks. For dessert enjoy a trio of fillo dough cups, milk chocolate, cardamom and hazelnut, white chocolate orange zest and coconut, dark chocolate raspberry.

Presidents Day Bonus:
On Monday, February 16, to honor our presidents we’re offering 15% off your bill if you pay with your dead presidents, i.e. cash.

Coming soon:
Starting March 2nd, they are offering $1 off all glasses of wine, all day long, every Monday. Think about it, for every 100 glasses you drink, you’ll be $100 richer.

Residents around USC now have a brunch option beyond breakfast burritos. The small plates wine bar Bacaro has started serving brunch on Sundays. Bacaro is located on the outskirts of University Park near USC and is owned by Santos Uy (former A.O.C. sommelier) and Daniel Kronfli (former alcohol sales rep and bar manager).

Bacaro is a cozy neighborhood joint, a traditional Italian bacaro, with a rustic-urban feel. Small tables are situated along the chalkboard walls, which display their selection of wines. It’s never too early for wine, but we start off with a Bellini ($6), which seemed to be missing the sparkling wine part of the drink. Oh well, on to the menu.

Prepared by Chef de Cuisine, Lior Hillel, the menu is light and refreshing, butternut squash soup, organic free range eggs with Niman Ranch bacon, a 1/3 lb open faced burger, a house made tart with black forest ham, a vegan (and non vegan) panini, braised beef cheeks (all served with a side salad and a house made lemon vinaigrette), and a warm honey polenta. All running in a range of $10-$12.

Bacaro, now open for brunch.

Gratuitous salad shot

The house-made tart is just the thing I needed for this Sunday morning, a light, warm, crispy pastry filled with large chunks of ham, the perfect amount of zippy onion flavor from the shallots, and a wonderful ricotta custard. The Estancia beef 1/3 pound Bacaro Burger is served open faced, on thick piece toasted brioche, with heirloom tomatoes, caramelized onions, a special “Bacaro Sauce”, and topped with a fried organic egg (ours was minus the egg per the gf). The burger was a little lean and dry for my liking, but was full of that amazing grass fed beef flavor. The sauce was tangy, with what seemed like a concoction of mayo, mustard, and maybe a little Worcestershire.

House made tart with cheese, cheese, and ham

The open face Bacaro Burger with Estancia grass fed beef, mooo!

The warm honey polenta was heavenly. It comes with a choice of three toppings, so we got blackberries, blueberries and pine nuts. It was like eating a liquefied, fresh out of the oven corn bread muffin. Oozing with butter and honey, topped with the fresh berries and pine nuts was a real treat.

Liquid gold honey

They will be serving brunch every Sunday starting at 11am, expect the 1st Sunday of every month when they do their $25 pre-fix beefsteak dinners (all you can eat steak and wine!) Regular hours are Mon-Thu 5-10pm, Fri-Sat 5-11pm, with a $5 Cichetti happy hour from 5-7pm. Call 213-748-7205 or bacaro_la@yahoo.com for reservations.