Cacciucco at The Union Square Cafe

Some people are haunted by ghosts, others are haunted by a sense of meaninglessness in a vast, expanding universe; but me? I'm haunted by food.

Restaurant dishes, dishes I make I home: it doesn't matter. I crave them, I want them. Lately, I've been haunted by a dish I ate two weeks ago with my friend Lauren who kindly agreed to cat-sit for me when I was in Seattle. As a reward for her cat-sitting, I took her to The Union Square Cafe for lunch and it was there that I encountered the dish that'd haunt me for weeks to come: the cacciucco you see in the picture above.

Let's start with pronunciation: according to Wikipedia, Cacciucco is pronounced: "/katʃuk:o/" Wait, say WHAT Wikipedia? There's a "t" sound in a word with no "t"? You must jest. Italian readers, tell me Wikipedia is jesting.

The waitress clearly didn't think Wikipedia was jesting, she corrected me when I ordered it from the menu; I pronounced it "CATCHY UCCO." She instantly corrected me--she had a haughty Austrian accent and an off-putting aggressive personality--so I felt thoroughly chastised. I still can't remember, though, if she pronounced it with a "t."

Anyway, Cacciucco is a fish stew that comes from Livorno. It's cooked with wine, tomatoes and chiles and that alone should make you crave it. But what I loved about The Union Square Cafe's version was how artfully it was put together.

The menu describes it as: "Cacciucco of Branzino, Mussels, Octopus and Shrimp with Fregola, Gigante Beans and Cappezzana Olive Oil." (Did I ever tell you about the time I ate dinner with a daughter of the Cappezzana Olive Oil estate? I didn't? Maybe some other time!)

I imagined a robust stew with shells and eyes and fins and all the gunk you normally see in a fish stew (well it depends where you are). Here, everything was done for you: the mussels were out of their shell, the shrimp was out of its shell, the branzino was seared so the skin was crispy and laid on top.

More importantly, though--almost like a great pasta dish--all of these elements were unified by both the flavor (the wine, the tomatoes, the spice) and the other textures involved: the beans (which balanced the meatiness of the fish), the fregola (which gave more of a bite and absorbed the sauce) and some kind of greens that were also thrown in that gave the dish depth and color.

In many ways, and I think you might agree just looking at the picture, this dish is a mini-masterpiece. It's also one of the most expensive dishes on the lunch menu at $26; but if you're splurging anyway, and you're craving something hardy yet light enough that you won't feel weighed down the rest of the day: this is your dish.

Bravo to the Union Square Cafe for making a Cacciucco fan out of me: now if I could only say it, all would be well.