Mediterranean Food is by far my idea of a perfect meal. With so many fresh, wonderful ingredients used to make dishes that range from complex fare to simple, sublime dishes....this is the food I could live on for the rest of my life. With that said, here is a restaurant I just heard about, located in Philadelphia called Barbuzzo. The brainchild of Chef Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, who own and operate six restaurants and boutiques on 13th Street in Philly, these two entrepreneurs have transformed a once desolate neighborhood into a trendy downtown village.

A modern Mediterranean bar and restaurant, located on 13th Street between Chestnut and Sansom, Barbuzzo prides itself on making homemade charcuterie, sausage and pasta. They have a wood-burning stove so you know the pizzas are outstanding. And Barbuzzo is a semi-finalist in the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards Restaurant and Chef Award. Barbuzzo is a play on a Tuscan word for "full belly". Definitely on my list of restaurants to visit next time I am in Philadelphia. And an added plus--the kitchen is open until midnight!

A Sampling of the Barbuzzo Menu

Barbuzzo "Pig Popcorn"
Yes...Pig Popcorn! That would be pork skins boiled for four hours in aromatic broth, scraped of excess fat, smoked and dehydrated, and then fried to perfectly puff up the best rinds you'll ever dip in horseradish aioli.

Sheep's Milk Ricotta & Fett' Unta
With fresh figs, extra virgin olive oil, vin cotto, herbs, sea salt & grilled bread

Chicken Liver & Foie Gras Mousse
With Brandied Cherry, pistachio salt & radish sprouts

Burrata fro Pulglia
With bartlett pear, arugula, extra virgin olive oil, saba & candied hazlenuts

Barbuzzo Uovo Pizza
Brussel Leaves, Guanicale, Caciocavallo, House Stretched Fior Di Latte, Truffle, and Farm Egg

Pacherri Pasta
With Sunday supper pork ragu, greens, burrata & basil

Grilled Spanish Rock Octopus
With housemade chorizo, potato confit, lemon & Pimeton

Fideua, My Way
With smoked chourico sausage, calamari, shrimp, mussels, greens, roasted shrimp noodle & aioli

Meet Chef Marci Turney as she prepares
Beet Ravioli with Hazelnut Brown Butter