Two appetizer specials were “a sublime lasagne with Bolognese sauce (left) and a seafood combination with shallots and a white wine reduction in puff pastry.” (Photos by Len Lear)

by LEN LEAR

It has never happened to me before. Within a period of a few weeks, I received a hand-written letter, a phone call and an email from three different people who did not appear to know each other, all urging me to visit and write about Primo Bacio, an Italian restaurant that opened recently in The Towers at Wyncote (formerly the Cedarbrook Apartments, Route 309 & Greenwood Avenue), Building One, just a few minutes from Chestnut Hill on the suburban side of Cheltenham Avenue.

First came the hand-written letter from James E. Barrett, of Wyndmoor. (Hand-written letters have become so rare in these internet-dominated times that I may try to sell Barrett’s letter on eBay or to a museum.) “Linda (his companion) and I have dined there three times so far and enjoyed it,” wrote Barrett in part. “The Italian-style food is very good … and the desserts are yummy … ”

Then came an email from Bob and Donna Smith of Chestnut Hill, who wrote, “My wife and I recently dined at Primo Bacio. We thought the food was superb and thought maybe you would do an article in the Local … (The owner) also has other places in Horsham and Montgomeryville. We have dined at the one in Montgomeryville (Ariana’s) numerous times, as we used to live there 11 years ago before moving to Chestnut Hill.”

Weeks later I received a phone call from Steve Segal, an accountant/investment banker with offices in Jenkintown whom we have known for about 45 years but who had previously recommended restaurants only about two times in all those years. “You have to eat at Primo Bacio,” he insisted. “We absolutely love the food and the ambience; prices are reasonable, and the owner could not be nicer. We have been back several times, bringing a bunch of friends, and every time has been great.”

As a result of these suggestions, I engaged in a little scholarly research and found out that Franco Federico, 48, who works seven days a week and has not had a vacation in three years, opened Primo Bacio last July in the location that had been vacant since its former resident, Plate, closed in October, 2007. The huge venue seats about 200, including a spacious bar and plush banquettes, not counting an outdoor patio which can seat dozens more. There are linens and fresh flowers on the tables, recessed lighting and beautiful Italian music in the background.

Owner Franco Federico has opened 19 restaurants since coming to the U.S. and still has four, the latest of which is the excellent Primo Bacio.

A native of Calabria, Italy, and former industrial chemist who is used to experimenting with combinations of compounds in a laboratory, Franco came to the U.S. 29 years ago and has opened 19 restaurants during that time. (One was the outstanding Marcello’s in the Chesterbrook Shopping Center, where we ate numerous times in the 1990s but which was then destroyed by fire.)

All others have been sold except for Primo Bacio (“First Kiss” in Italian, which is dedicated to his wife, Yvonne) and three others which Franco still owns — Fountainside, a pizza place with a wood-burning oven, and Giuliano’s (named for Franco’s son), both in Horsham, and the 16-year-old Ariana’s Ristorante (named for Franco’s daughter) in Montgomeryville.
The name “Fountainside” came from a time when Franco was walking with his then-five-year-old daughter (she is now 18) through the back streets of Rome when the hot, tired and thirsty pair came upon the world-famous Trevi Fountain, into which tourists throw coins to assure their return. “I vowed then,” he said, “that when I opened my next restaurant, I would call it Fountainside to pay tribute to this marvelous fountain and the feelings it evoked.”

Anthony Bourdain, famed TV chef, writes in his book, Kitchen Confidential, that diners should always order “specials” in a restaurant that offers them. “There’s a reason why they are called specials,” he insists. I mention this because the two special appetizers we tried at Primo Bacio truly were — a sublime lasagne with Bolognese sauce and a seafood combination with shallots and a white wine reduction in puff pastry. Delicioso!

Entrees are ample and come with a large house salad, so appetizers are not really necessary. (We wound up with substantial leftovers.) A filet of salmon was perfectly baked with a divine pomegranate, molasses and mustard glace ($23) and served with a healthy portion of al dente vegetables, and an entrée of shrimp, scallops and jumbo lump crab was sautéed in another first-rate (pepper vodka cream) sauce, served over fettucine ($25). If you have room left, you must have one of the desserts from Italy, like the pineapple ripieno sorbetto in a pineapple shell or the lemon gelato with limoncello. Very refreshing.

In my view, the only worm in the apple is the weak selection of wines by the glass. Nowadays there are enough good wines in the $8 to $12 range in wine stores (even in Pennsylvania with the “Chairman’s Selections”) to enable a mid-scale restaurant to offer a good selection at reasonable prices. The list at Primo Bacio needs work.

The executive chef at Primo Bacio, Benjamin Goldberg (not a typical Calabrian name), 46, is a second-generation American who was born in Olney and grew up in Levittown. Goldberg is a graduate of the Art Institute of Philadelphia who was unable to land a job in the commercial art field after graduation. Out of desperation, he took a job as a dishwasher/cook at Claire’s Cuisine and Café in Pennington, NJ, just to be able to pay the rent, but he fell in love with cooking and two years later enrolled in the Restaurant School of Philadelphia.
After graduation, Goldberg worked for numerous restaurants in the Delaware Valley and has been with Franco for 10 years. In his “spare time” (chefs don’t really have any), the father of three runs a web site, www.chefben.com, where he answers questions about cooking and the restaurant industry and offers some of his favorite recipes. “You absolutely have to have passion about food,” said Goldberg, “or there is no way you could do this work.”

Primo Bacio serves lunch and dinner seven days a week. There is also a bar menu (the bar is called Marilyn’s Bar in honor of Marilyn Monroe, obviously a favorite of Franco’s) with lots of great finger foods such as nachos ($8), burgers ($8), chicken wings ($6 for a dozen), nine-inch hand-tossed pizzas ($7.50), mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce ($5), a raw bar, etc.
Primo Bacio also does a brisk business in takeout gourmet pizzas, calzones and strombolis. It can be accessed from either Route 309 or Easton Road, turning into the complex at Greenwood Avenue.

For more information, takeout orders or reservations, call 215-884-2220 or visit www.primobacioristorante.com