Working on a new act

Into this environment comes Pazzo, an Italian restaurant led by chef Bill Bradley, formerly of Bricco, Carmen, Rustic Kitchen, and Incontro in Franklin. Pazzo opened in May in the space formerly occupied by Croma.

Bradley is an adept chef, yet the place feels as though it is still trying to get its footing, to figure out where it falls on the continuum between style (see: Cafeteria) and substance (see: La Voile). Indeed, by phone Bradley says they are still figuring out the Newbury Street balancing act.

Pazzo’s reasonably priced menu offers bar snacks, pizza, salads; bites light and heavy; the usual (veal parm), the less usual (chicken livers), and the in-between (wild boar Bolognese). It’s as wide-ranging as the restaurant itself, which starts with an outdoor patio, segues into a long room divided into corridorlike spaces, and ends with another big room downstairs. With so many seats it seems impossible to fill, and it’s often impossibly noisy, voices ricocheting off the brick walls. On a nice night, eating inside can feel a little lonely, even with the company of the lively waiters. It’s Newbury Street. Everyone is out on the patio.

When it comes to eating, substance always wins. Some of the restaurant’s best offerings are its least stylish, at least where looks are concerned. An antipasto of chicken livers is brown and lumpy, but these are some of the best chicken livers around, glazed in balsamic vinegar and served with polenta. The offal flavor of the gravy pairs perfectly with the creamy polenta, a magic trick: poor folks’ food alchemized into something luxurious. A friend who loves liver was so excited about trying the dish he dreamed about it the night before. It was even better in real life, he said.