MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Il Baretto will be reopening it's doors on Tuesday the 17th of January 2012.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

XXX

MENUS.

For those of you interested in booking your last minute christmas parties we'd like to remind you that we do indeed take bookings for lunch and here are a couple of copies of our lunch/dinner time menus. Thanx!

SPECIALS.

'Suppli' - Italian snacks consisting of a ball of rice (generally risotto) with tomato sauce and raw egg around a piece of mozzarella; the whole morsel is soaked in egg, coated with breadcrumbsand then deep fried. ($10)

'Pork Belly & Ribs' - Slow oven roasted pork belly & ribs cooked in a vegetable stock and with garlic and rosemary. Served with apple, potatoes and suedes. ($28)

'Mezze Maniche' - Short tube pasta cooked in chilli, garlic, white wine, fresh diced tomatoes and served with baby prawns and mussels. ($26)

DINNER SPECIALS

'Caprese' - Insalata Caprese is a simple salad from the Italian region of Campania, made of sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil. ($15)

'Calamari' - Fried squid (fried calamari) is a dish in Mediterranean cuisine. It consists of batter-coated, deep fried squid, fried for less than two minutes to prevent toughness. It is served plain, with salt and lemon on the side. ($15)

'Rigatoni with sausage and broccolini' - Large tubular pasta with pork & fennel sausage, pan fried bitter greens and topped off with pecorino cheese. ($26)

'Pork Chop' - Pork pan fried in beer and honey served with large coutons, wilted baby spinach, parmesan cheese and fresh rosemary ($28)

DINNER SPECIALS

'Scamorza' - Scamorza is an Italian cow's milk cheese, similar to mozzarella. In Italy, scamorza is more commonly made in the south rather than the north. Technically, scamorza is a product of Puglia, where it is made throughout Bari province. Our scamorza is served grilled and with pad fried radicchio. ($13)

'Tuna crocchette' - Deep fried balls of goodness made with tuna, breadcrumbs, egg, parmesan, lemon zest, parsley, olives & capers. This delicious appetizer is surpringly light and to be eaten with your fingers. ($14)

'Fettuccine alla norma' - This stunning pasta dish is one of the most traditional Sicilian recipes. The fettuccine are served with a rich tomato based sauce with chilli, garlic, fresh basil and topped off with ricotta salata. ($26)

'Straccetti alla romana' - This is a typical dish of the Lazio region in Italy. Thin strips of veal pan fried with rosemary and garlic. The veal is served with a rocket and crouton salad and caramelised onion. ($28)

LUNCH SPECIALS

Spaghetti with anchovies, capers, parsley, parmesan, fresh lemon juice, white wine, chilli & garlic. ($18)

Spaghetti with baby prawns in a light napoli sauce with rocket, chilli & garlic. ($22)

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

il baretto is taking part in an iphone application which gives people an opportunity to find great hidden eateries around the Surry Hills area. We're very excited about this and it will be airing on TV next sunday. Here are some shots from the commercial shoot, doesn't Patricia look amazing in her first acting gig ever?!

STRACCIAFAVE

The stracciafave is certainly one of our most popular dishes and consistently manages to sell out. My Nonna would be very proud to know that a speciality dish she used to cook has now been passed along to share with our customers. I love watching the chef individually plate up each delicate sheet of pasta and place it on to the broad bean puree. The flavour of the cured pork cheek absorbs into the pasta and with a little bit of onion and pecorino cheese to top it off you're left with the perfect dish.

DINNER SPECIALS

'Pomodori Ripieni di Riso' - Oven roasted whole tomatoes stuffed with rice & basil and served with wedges of potato. ($12)

This dish is a typical summertime antipasto. A very Roman addition is to serve the tomatos with some wedges of potato as they will soak up the excess juice and oil and become crunchy around the edges making a great accompaniment to the tomatoes.

'Crostoni con salsiccia '- Toasted italian bread with melted stracchino cheese, pork & fennel sausage and topped off with shaved raddichio. ($12)

This typical Tuscan appetizer is hugely popular throughout Italy. The combination of sausage and stracchino is incredible and the radicchio adds a touch of freshness to the dish.

*Stracchino is a fresh, soft, creamy and lightly salted cheese from Lombardy

'Stracciafave' - Rag pasta (small sheets of lasanga) cooked with broad beans, guanciale (cured pork cheek), onion and placed on a broad bean puree topped off with pecorino cheese. ($26)

This is one of my all time favourite dishes and was a specialty cooked by my nonna for many years.

'Lamb Shanks' - Slow cooked lamb shanks served with a chunky tomato salsa, warm red bean salad and roasted potatoes. ($28)

There is nothing better than a well cooked lamb shank with the meat tender and almost falling off the bone in a rich sauce. If you like the sound of that we promise you won't be leaving us disappointed.

BARETTO FAMILY

Sebastian

Erin & Bernard

Gabby & Dirk

Biaggio, Gabby & Patricia

DINNER SPECIALS

'Prawn Carpaccio' - Is a dish of raw meat or fish, thinly sliced or pounded thin and served as an appetizer. Our prawn carpaccio is served with rocket, asparagus and a wedge of lemon. ($16)

Carpaccio was invented at Harry's Bar in Venice, where it was first served to the countess Amalia Nani Mocenigo in 1950 when she informed the bar's owner that her doctor had recommended she eat only raw meat. It consisted of thin slices of raw beef dressed with a mustard sauce. The dish was named Carpaccio by the owner of the bar, Giuseppe Cipriani, in reference to the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio, because the colors of the dish reminded him of paintings by Carpaccio.

'Suppli' - Supplì are Italian snacks consisting of a ball of rice (generally risotto) with tomato sauce and raw egg around a piece of mozzarella; the whole morsel is soaked in egg, coated with breadcrumbs and then deep fried. ($10)

The dish is native to Rome from the region of Lazio in Italy. When the supplì are eaten in pieces, the mozzarella becomes drawn out in a string somewhat resembling the cord connecting atelephone handset to the hook. This has led to these dishes being known as supplì al telefono.

'Zuppa di Pesce' - Every region of Italy with a coastline has a characteristic fish soup. Our zuppa is based on a roman-style fish soup substituting some fish for others. Our seafood consists of Mussels, Prawns, Monkfish, Calamari, Mackerel and leather jacket. We use a Prawn bisque as our base along with tomato, garlic and chilli. Served with garlic bread. ($28)

'Gnocchi with stracchino' - Our homemade gnocchi are served with stracchino cheese, parmesan, burnt butter and sage. ($26)

The word gnocchi derives from the Italian word nocchio, meaning a knot in wood. It was introduced by the Roman Legions during the enormous expansion of the empire into the countries of the European continent.

Stracchino also known as crescenza is a type of Italian cow’s-milk cheese, typical of Lombardy, Piedmont, and Veneto. It is eaten very young, has no rind and a very soft, creamy texture and normally a mild and delicate flavour.

SPRING SPECIALS

'Passatelli' - A pasta formed of bread crumbs, eggs, grated Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and nutmeg. ($26)

It is typically found in the Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy. Our homemade passatelli are cooked with fresh tomatoes, chilli, garlic, rocket and prawn bisque.

'Pork belly and ribs' - Oven roasted with garlic and rosemerry and served with roasted apples, swedes, potatoes and drizzled with a reduced balsamic. ($28) Something for the pork lovers!

'Cup mushrooms' - Grilled with garlic, chilli, parsley and lemon. ($12) Cups are richer in colour and taste are wonderful grilled on their own.

'Whiting' - Whole red spot whiting, lightly floured and fried. Served with lemon mayo.

($14)

DINNER SPECIALS.

'Calamari fritti' - Fried calamari is one of the most classic summer seafood dishes in Italy: Golden rings people eagerly squeeze lemon wedges over, and eat quickly for fear that they'll get less than their share of. ($15)

'Rotolo' - This is a typical Tuscan dish coming from an old peasant tradition. This pasta roll is very popular in Tuscany due to the high quality of ricotta they produce. The Lasagna sheet is filled with pumpkin, spinach and ricotta which is then rolled, sliced and lightly pan fried with burnt butter, sage and topped off with a sprinkle of parmesan. A perfect vegetarian option. ($15)

'Bucatini all'Amatriciana' - This is a zesty pasta dish commonly associated with Lazio and Rome, but is actually from the town of Amatrice, which used to be just over the border into the Abruzzo. It's a

hollow spaghetti made with a rich tomato based sauce, chilli, garlic, onion, crispy pancetta and pecorino cheese. ($24)

'Pollo alla Cacciatore' - The caccia in cacciatore means "hunt," so this is chicken hunter's-style. The chicken is oven cooked with fresh tomatoes and mushrooms. It's later then pan fried with red wine vinegar, garlic, herbs and served with our roasted potatoes. The perfect winters dish! ($28)