Barresi's
Popular Deer Park restaurant serves up old-school Italian
JULIE FITZGERALD | CIN WEEKLY
This isn’t just another Italian restaurant. Barresi’s has been a fixture in Deer Park for more than 30 years.
So when the original owners, Sal and Odessa Barresi, sold their eatery to family friend and former employee Sarah Wagner nearly one year ago, they weren’t simply handing over the keys. They were passing down tradition. And Wagner has worked hard to keep nearly every one of them.
The marinara is still homemade. The bread basket contains warm, doughy zeppoles – a definite highlight! The servers wear traditional “Italian restaurant” uniforms: black pants with white dress shirts and gold name tags. Wagner has even held off on painting over a wall mural of a seaside Italian village despite her feelings about its kitsch factor.
These are the things that have made Barresi’s a popular neighborhood spot. Recently, a friend and I went for a taste of Barresi’s “old-school” Italian.
SETTLING IN WITH STARTERS
Dressed in our casual finest, we were seated in the dimly lit main dining room. Tables are close together, which doesn’t offer much privacy, but we liked the intimate, almost romantic feel of the small separate dining areas.
The menu features plenty of Italian-American fare. Nothing is too exotic – minestrone soup, Caesar salad, steak and plenty of pasta. We started with an Italian classic, bufala mozzarella caprese ($9.95). The buffalo-milk mozzarella was served with thick slices of tomato topped with fresh basil and olive oil. The portion is sizable, yet light enough to allow room for upcoming main courses.
Our appetizer was accompanied by a bread basket containing one of Barresi’s specialties: zeppoles. These small, chewy pieces of fried dough are served warm and tossed with salt. The health-conscious side of me knew better, but I ate five of them. I couldn’t help it – they were delicious.
TRADITIONAL DISHES
My dining partner for the night was vegetarian. Since most categories are defined by meat or fish, he decided to sample the spaghetti marinara ($15.95). He liked the thick, tomato-y texture and homemade quality of the sauce, but noted that it had a very sweet aftertaste. (So, consider balancing it with a wine that’s “drier.”)
After indulging in so many zeppoles, I wanted to stray from heavier cream-based sauces that seem to accompany a good portion of the dishes. (But, I was tempted to try the Seafood Cardinale with scallops, prawns and lump crabmeat served in lobster cream sauce for $38.)
After our server listed the specials for the night, I went with her final suggestion of a seafood/veal dish served in garlic and olive oil. It arrived with three huge prawns, a lobster tail, a tender piece of veal … and a side of sticker shock. The special turned out to be $52. Yikes!
I can’t deny; it was a great entree (maybe a tad too much olive oil). Next time I would ask for the price of the evening specials before jumping in.
But, in all fairness, the majority of the entrees range between $20-$35, and we found that all our courses were large and could be suitable for sharing if on a budget.
We finished with tiramisu ($6.50) and warm peach cobbler ($7.50), both made in-house. The desserts, like our whole evening, offered just what we expected: a very traditional, yet satisfying experience.
