We stumbled onto this place in the old city. It was nestled in an archway opening to a courtyard. Our server was a young Barese woman who was extremely helpful even though she spoke no English. We enjoyed three typical Barese dishes, a fava bean terrine with mussels, grilled vegetables (wafer thin slices of eggplant and zucchini grilled) and the highlight, tiedda Barese (a paella-like baked dish with potatoes, rice and mussels). We have had fava bean purée many times, but usually with cicoria, never with mussels. There was also a little garlic in it which is unusual. That said, it was delicious and opened new avenues for our own cooking. The grilled vegetables were enhanced by a very tasty EVOO. The tiedda (which some spell tiella) was the big surprise. It was outstanding and had a quality of a Barese comfort food. We paired everything with a house white from Puglia. Not only did we have great food, excellent service and a lovely setting, but also, it was not that expensive. read more
