Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

A Pasta Party: Bricco celebrates 10 years in downtown Harrisburg.

Screenshot 2016-04-28 13.06.20Restaurant years are similar to dog years—their age measured in a special way that goes beyond a mere accounting of time.

So, a restaurant that lasts five years? A success. 10 years? It must be doing something special that people are responding to.

This year, Bricco hits the decade mark, observing an anniversary that only a small number of restaurants reach. The Tuscan-style trattoria set up in a redeveloping area of downtown Harrisburg in 2006 and has patiently stayed as the area improved and hesitant first-timers became regulars.

“The Harrisburg restaurant landscape seems to be in a constant state of flux, with big names closing and new and interesting alternatives popping up on a regular basis,” said Bill Collier, executive chef and general manager. “So, Bricco’s ability to not only survive, but thrive, for 10 years is an accomplishment worth celebrating with all of our patrons.”

One of those regular patrons is Rosemary Ruggieri Baer, TheBurg’s food writer and lover of all things Italian. She and her husband, John, visit Bricco often for a range of pasta, pizza and meat dishes.

“Bricco really is a unique place that has many faces,” she said. “It’s a special occasion restaurant, but also a place where you can sit at the bar, have a great martini and a gourmet pizza on a Friday night.”

Bricco began its three-month-long anniversary celebration in February, featuring a series of promotions and special events, such as “Shuckin Special Oyster Night” and “Mixologist Monday: Italian Aperitifs.” Although most anniversary festivities have concluded, diners still can enjoy a spring menu that was introduced last month, said Collier.

“Our diners can expect an eclectic mix of local products displayed in an upscale fashion,” he said. “We use quality ingredients displayed in great flavors.”

The restaurant changes its menu four times each year to match the seasons. Collier said he especially enjoys this time of the year, when he’s able to prepare dishes with fresh spring ingredients like fiddlehead ferns, spring onions and mushrooms.

“Spring doesn’t last long in Pennsylvania,” he said. “We have a little bit of it in April and May and then—bam—it’s hot.”

Collier himself is a local product. His interest in cooking took root watching his mother and grandmother make Sunday dinner for 20 each week while he was growing up in Elizabethville. He then attended the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh “right out of high school.” He’s been at Bricco since 2008 and took over the top job in 2014 after the departure of long-time executive chef Jason Viscount.

Bricco, he said, is Harrisburg’s only DiRoNa, meaning it’s listed in the “Distinguished Restaurants of North America” guide to fine dining across the United States and Canada. With a wine list of more than 175 varieties, it’s also been recognized by Santé and Wine Spectator magazines.

“We have great selections of wine and Pennsylvania brews at our bar,” Collier said.

Originally owned locally, Bricco became part of the Denver-based Greenwood Hospitality Group in 2012 in a sale that included the Hilton Harrisburg. Bricco also is a partner of the Olewine School of Culinary Arts at Harrisburg Area Community College. Since 2006, dozens of students have worked alongside Bricco’s full-time chefs each semester.

“It’s a good environment for them to learn in,” Collier said.

 

Ciao Baby

In addition to the flagship restaurant, Bricco is closely affiliated with two other entities in the same building complex: Table at Bricco and Ciao! Bakery.

Table at Bricco is an intimate dining room for 10 to 14 people. It offers tasting menus of six small courses with wine pairings. Diners can watch their food prepared by one chef, usually Collier.

“It’s a private setting where you don’t have the hustle and bustle of the restaurant,” Collier noted.

Ciao! is a full-service bakery serving a variety of breads and sweets, as well as soups, sandwiches and gourmet coffees.

Veteran pastry chef Cassandra Callahan, who’s been with Bricco from the start, oversees the operation. She said that, for May, Ciao! will offer a line of spring items such as key lime pie, coconut pie and iced coffees. Every month brings a new special sandwich, as well as lemon or pecan bars, peanut butter truffles, honey wheat or rosemary and olive oil baguettes—and, hopefully, plenty of chocolate chip cookies.

“Everyone gets mad when there are no chocolate chip cookies or our bread,” she said. “There are not many places in Harrisburg that have fresh bread every day like we do.”

Now that the weather has warmed, the outdoor tables at both Ciao! and Bricco have become popular again. Baer says that she and her husband love to claim a sidewalk spot outside Bricco, order a pizza and take in the increasingly vibrant neighborhood that continues to change and develop.

“It is a unique location unlike any other restaurant area in the city,” she said. “At Bricco, there is something for everyone, and you don’t have to spend a bundle.”

Bricco is located at 31 S. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For reservations, call 717-745-1531 or visit www.briccopa.com. Bricco also offers cooking classes on occasion for the general public.

 Table at Bricco is located at 306 Chestnut St., Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-724-0222 or visit or www.briccopa.com.

Ciao! Bakery is located at 304 Chestnut St., Harrisburg. Ciao! can be reached at 717-724-0236 and at www.briccopa.com.

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