Exquisite Italian small plates at Barbacco in San Francisco

Who doesn't feel fiercely proud when a younger sibling shines? Such is the case with Barbacco in San Francisco, the new sibling to the ever-popular Perbacco in San Francisco, both just a short hop from the Mandarin Oriental. The chef is Sarah Burchard, who was a protege of Perbacco Executive Chef Staffan Terje for three years. In this day and age of macho men butchering their own animals for major bragging rights, Burchard is right in there with them -- the petite chef regularly broke down whole pigs just like the guys.

Opened in January, this sleek Cass Calder Smith-designed restaurant rocks a decidedly New York vibe. The narrow 66-seat restaurant has brushed stainless steel columns, exposed pipes, a brick wall, and seating at a long counter stacked with jars of olives. The bare wood tables are at just-below-bar-stool-height with chairs that have comfy rests for your feet. A couple of large flat screen TVs add buzz without being too distracting.

The lively restaurant is a perfect spot to stop in for a glass of wine and something to nosh on. At lunch, there are to-go items, with the menu displayed on the TV screen at the front counter. Or take your time at dinner, and wind your way through the extensive menu of mostly shared plates. The fried olives, a personal favorite, come stuffed with pork. The $5 "ascolane'' are large, meaty green olives with a serious crunch on the outside. Sure, they're bad for you, but it's hard to stop yourself.

Like Perbacco, the house-made salumi continues to be outstanding at Barbacco. Standouts on the small chef's selection ($11 or $18, depending upon the size of the platter) include the mortadella, which tastes like the most exquisite baloney, and the 'nduja, a crock of spicy, spreadable smoked Calabrian salame dolloped with a bit of sweet marmalade.

While Perbacco's pork sugo ragu uses ground pork, Barbacco's is full of shredded pork instead. Thick, rich, spicy and with that unforgettable cooked-for-hours complexity, the Barbacco ragu tops toothsome paccheri (wide, tubular pasta).

Desserts are fairly simple, with a selection of housemade gelato and sorbettos, as well as citrus curd tart and espresso panna cotta. A scoop of the butterscotch-chocolate crunch ($2) is a fitting finale -- sweet, dreamy and memorable.

- Photos and post by Carolyn Jung of FoodGal