RESTAURANT REVIEW: Rocco

Rochosteria

By James Leach on January 28, 2009

When the Olive Tree closed last year, there were a lot of very disappointed fans sorry to see the Rochester institution end its almost 30-year run. But there were a few who saw the opportunity to remake one of the city's most venerable restaurants into something new, exciting, and, yes, even sexy. Originally conceived as a pizza and gelato bar, the restaurant that recently opened as Rocco has been more than a year and a half in the making. Partners Mark Cupolo (most recently of Max Chophouse), Jeff Traphagen, and Dan Richards considered locations all over the downtown area before falling in love with the Olive Tree's tiny dining room, a perfect setting for the intimate osteria they planned to create.

Osteria, like "bistro", is a relatively loose term embracing anything from a snack bar that serves wine to a full-service restaurant. Rocco can be anything you want it to be. Although the menu is tightly focused, there is something there to make everyone smile and sigh with appreciation - house-marinated olives ($5), pizzas, and appetizers for those with small appetites (and potentially small budgets), pastas for those with a vigorous appetite, and lush entrees that beg to be swapped around the table. While you could pop in for a quick bite, this is not a "drop in" sort of place: with only 13 tables and perhaps 10 or so seats at the bar, reservations are an absolute requirement, even early in the week when other restaurants are closed or virtually empty.

That said, if you do show up without a reservation, as I did recently, Rocco's friendly and efficient staff will do everything they can to accommodate you. For my companion and I they freed up the only remaining stool at the bar and suggested that we order pizza and drinks while we waited. Although the hostess confided that the prospect for a table looked grim, within 15 minutes we were ushered into the dining room bearing our drinks, with a runner carrying our first course, a pizza with crimini mushrooms, fontina cheese, and white truffle oil ($15), behind us.

I've been pretty hard on Rochester pizza, so I'm happy to report that chefs Cupolo and Traphagen have got it right: their pizzas are perfect objects. The crust on this first pizza that we had at Rocco (we tried three over the course of two long visits and one brief drop-in for a late-night snack) was a delight. Flavorful, dense, and chewy, it straddled that very narrow line between done and burned as all good pizza does. Abundant bubbles and hot spots lined the edge of the crust, which, although wonderfully thin, still had enough backbone to stand up to the three-finger fold that is the sin qua non of good pizza. The combination of creamy and nutty fontina with earthy crimini mushrooms is itself brilliant, but dressing the pie with white truffle oil is sublime. The char of the crust along with the interplay between fruity, creamy, and pungent elements made for the best pizza I've had recently, and perhaps ever.

Struck dumb with joy by our pizza and rendered deeply agreeable with wine, my companion and I were easily swayed by the suggestions of our server, who steered us toward the happy combination of chef Cupolo's all-day roasted pork with fennel and rapini ($18) and a plate of cavaturi (a slightly larger version of cavatelli) tossed with garlic, black pepper, and parmesan cheese ($12). We also selected an appetizer of grilled octopus with salsa verde ($9) to share. Two artfully grilled skewers of tender tentacles were dressed with a spicy salsa vibrant with basil and parsley, and served over a nice salad of bitter greens. A punchy citrus vinaigrette tied the whole thing together and threw the smoke-accented cephalopod into high relief.

Taste buds tingling, we were eager for the entrees. The all-day roasted pork with fennel, a masterpiece in its own right, is so much better with a side of creamy, rich cavaturi that to miss out on the pairing may render your life fractionally less good. Chef Cupolo uses humble pork butt as the base for the dish, seasoning it with garlic and black pepper and then roasting it until it nearly dissolves into fragrant shreds. Balanced atop braised fennel and accompanied with deeply green-tasting rapini tossed with garlic, this is not the prettiest pork roast that you will ever see, but the savor will linger in your memory for days to come (and you'll be very grateful that it is so abundant that leftovers are more or less certain to come home with you).

We allowed our server to suggest another pairing on our second visit as well, settling on lemon-roasted chicken with a mushroom panzanella ($21) along with a risotto with greens and sausage ($16). Like the pork before it, the risotto had a distinctly rustic cast, but the flavor was quite good and the texture of the rice in its creamy sauce was just right, neither too mushy nor too hard. The rice, though, was really just a side-dish to the chicken next door. At first glance, I wondered whether the nearly black breast topped with a half a grilled lemon was some sort of mistake. And then I cut into it, releasing a puff of steam scented with rosemary, garlic, and lemon oil. Chicken breasts can tend toward the dry, but this was moist and tender, the meat near the bone sweet and garlicky in a way that encouraged indiscreet gnawing. The skin - especially with that grilled lemon squeezed over it - combined fat, smoke, and citrus in a wholly satisfying way. The panzanella became a convenient and savory sponge for the flavorful juices and bits that accumulated on the plate.

At Max Chophouse, Cupolo offered homemade butterscotch pudding. Here at Rocco, he offers a butterscotch buddino ($6). Looking very much like a cup of dark coffee with roasted almonds floating on top of it, the buddino is a layered dessert - silky custard on the bottom, a layer of butterscotch caramel, and a handful of toasted almonds. With the nuts bringing a tiny bit of salt and depth to both the sugar and butter goodness of the sauce and the custard underneath, this dessert is almost too good to share, and definitely too good to keep to yourself.

Rocco

165 Monroe Avenue | 454-3510

Monday-Thursday 5-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 5-10 p.m.

Comments for "RESTAURANT REVIEW: Rocco" (17)

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Ned Corman said on Jan. 28, 2009 at 12:09pm

I read your food reviews, weekly, with anticipation, none more so than Rocco. Linda and I've eaten there four times. Regardless, your review made my mouth water, and me wonder why we've not bee there more. Mark and Jeff have created a gem. Although we've long admired Mark's cooking, we've followed Jeff more closely. My only disappointment in your review was that there wasn't more ink for Jeff.

Saying that. Keep it up. You are an invaluable part of CITY and our community.

Ned Corman

Cindy said on Jan. 29, 2009 at 6:38pm

Thank you for a most comprehensive and descriptive review. Your written record of the visits to Rocco's was as wide-ranging, assertive and multi-layered as my party of four found our dinners to be last week. Chicken, lamb, steak, lobster - four plates all completely devoured; sides gobbled up. I hope that more attention will be given to the desserts which I found so-so and shockingly lacking in finish and presentation after the stunningly flavorful dinners. p.s. 3rd paragraph grammar correction: for my companion and ME ---object of preposition.

Phil said on Jan. 29, 2009 at 11:09pm

Rocco sports easily the best chefs and food I've ever had in Rochberg - and I've eaten EVERYWHERE. Light food with incredible depth and amazing flavor combinations - you've totally got the experience nailed in your review. My taste buds were pegged in the red zone for every bite.

Thomas V. Rotolo said on Jan. 31, 2009 at 11:28am

A group of four of us ate there last night. As you say it is truly a gem and will be a big success for Mark, Jeff and Dan. I tell all my friends who are looking for something new, and exciting in the restaurant scene about Rocco, the very first restaurant at the start of Monroe Avenue. Excellent prepared food with a friendly staff and terrific atmosphere.

carolyn said on Jan. 31, 2009 at 8:09pm

I am so happy Cindy took the writer to task about the I and me thing...everyone gets it wrong and no one cares...good for you Cindy...as for Roccos, I'm going next week and I have heard good things....more to come....

dave jenkins said on Feb. 03, 2009 at 7:11pm

been waiting for this...ever since victor grilling co. mark cupolo keeps uping the bar.. ate there twice last week and muahhh ill be back a lot .. great job mark..... also its just good to see mark in paper as he is rochesters finest chef...somone should tell ned corman all about the 'talent' of the place ..oh thats rite just read the paper ned ..

Les said on Feb. 04, 2009 at 9:29am

Eight of us had a wonderful evening at Rocco on 1/31. The food and wine were wonderful, and our server, Sarah, was terrific. We will be back ... soon.

cynthia said on Feb. 04, 2009 at 10:32pm

for the past 18 years i have lived in rochester and been in the food industry on all levels of service. most importantly as a diner. growing up in the d.c. area, and exposed at a young age the joys of all sorts of dining, i am proud to say rochester has come a long way! from stores, ethnic diversity, food writing and reviewing, diner's education and business people who take the chance to open their own doors, the upgrade is a true sign on how we stay on track on improving our city. on that note, using the internet as a forum of communication when it comes to responding to food reviews is a personal way to exploit your own opinions and i find it to be too much like "facebook" especially when customers start to use it to communicate it to other customers. maybe city paper wants to have this rattle, but to me, do it on your own time. i believe that in this case of a fantastic review we should be joyful of the success of a new business that has opened in a tough economical time and people are enjoying it for many reasons (service, mark, jeff, dan, location, food)! the three owners and the people who work there have laid their lives on a platter for us to enjoy and i will keep going back for years to come for all different reasons! if you truly are a fan, show up, eat well, and say to everyone "thanks- it was great"!

Carolyn said on Feb. 06, 2009 at 9:00pm

Cynthia, are you saying that we should never leave any negative comments for the restauranteurs to peruse, and hopefully learn from....uh oh... I forgot, no comments to other customers...anyway...why have comments if they are all going to be positive unless you live in la la land.

Sharon Garofanello said on Feb. 25, 2009 at 10:49am

My husband and I ate at Rocco's on Feb. 13th and it was a wonderful experience. I have been living in NYC for the past 12 years and Rocco's rates amoung a restaurant you would find there. I saw a few "Mario" influences which I loved as I am a fan! We tried everything from an appetizer to dessert. The arancini were wonderful and made to perfection. I had tried the mushroom pizza and my husband had the steak entree with the "frites". Again the best in the world. Keep doing what you're doing. Your staff was very accomodating (we were lucky to get seating without a reservation). We ended the evening with the Olive Oil cake with anise gelato which was so good. Thank you for opening and keep doing what you're doing.

DAA said on Feb. 27, 2009 at 8:51pm

I'm sorry, but even though the ambience is just right for an intimate Italian inspired eatery, the food was a huge let-down. Almost everything was too salty. Two high points: octopus salad, char-grilled and reminiscent of a summer treat, and the homemade ricotta.

BNA said on Feb. 27, 2009 at 9:01pm

Dear Cynthia from Feb 4,

Why shelter a business from the truth if a customer feels the need to express their experience. Especially being a new business, how can they improve unless they know that can be improved upon. No restaurant is perfect. If there was no criticism, then no one would strive to do better. If this restaurant or any other for that matter, doesn't take into consideration both their accomplishments as well as their faults, then they are not in the right business. In the end, it is all about making the patrons happy. And as for the public discussion "exploiting opinions", have you ever read The New York Times restaurant reviews online? A leading culinary city and acclaimed publication is seeming to do just fine with such "banter".

Paige said on Feb. 28, 2009 at 6:18pm

This new restaurant in the old Olive Tree location has a reputation that has spread like wildfire, requiring reservations weeks in advance. My family made a reservation 3 weeks ago for today, the only date when we would all be in town. When we called to confirm the time of our reservation, we were rudely told that there was no reservation for this date--clearly we were bumped off the list. Not only that, when we pressed the issue further, we were condescendingly told by the host that "there is nothing we can do about it" and that WE have "ruined the early part of my evening" So sorry to ruin your evening!!! You have ruined ours!! They have lost our family and many friends as customers and outraged us at the arrogance of a restaurant employee who would have the audacity to not only disappoint a customer but to outright and rudely throw away their patronage because of the recent success of their restaurant. Their food may be good, but wit this kind of attitude, this restaurant will not last for long.

Michele said on Mar. 03, 2009 at 1:22pm

Food and service excellent...Though, the restaurant is LOUD LOUD! Either expect it and or wear ear plugs!!

John Bernunzio said on Apr. 06, 2009 at 4:45pm

Having read all the great reviews I was quite anxious to try this restaurant. I went there on Thursday night and arrived at 8:50. Someone was setting a table for a party of two who were waiting at the bar. The server looked at us and said, "We are closing at nine so you are out of luck." With so many great restaurants in Rochester, WE are not the ones "out of luck". Needless to say, we won't frequent this place no matter how good it is.

Greg said on Aug. 29, 2009 at 8:19pm

I could not disagree more about them being accommodating without a reservation. I was just told by the owner jeff, to get a drink and h e would see if he had something.
If a restaurantuer tells you that you assume that they are setting up a table. 2 drinks and 25 minutes later my wife and I observed Jeff whispering to his bartender. Immediately following the bartender told us that we could be seated at 9 ( it was 730!) Moral of the story is, don't tell a patron to take a seat if you cannot seat them. That will be our first and last roccos experience and will tell all our friends about owner Jeffs shotty treatment.

Ballymorrow said on Nov. 25, 2009 at 7:45am

We chose Rocco's for dinner last night, having been there when it first opened, and having had a great experience, this was an easy decision to come to. We specifically wanted a unique Rochester dining experience to share with our daughter in from Seattle (where 'real' Italian food is scarce at best). A reservation was easily obtained at the time we requested, so we were off to a fine start. Arriving for a bit of wine before our appointed time we settled into the intimate bar and found selections to our taste (4-guests, 4 wines) and an atmosphere that is simply stated casually upscale. Our bartender was on her game, and our maitre d' was vigilant yet well settled into the background, he was attentive but certainly let us set the pace. We were seated on time as-requested, and greeted by our spot-on server Liz who deftly determined our desired pace then went about her business of supporting us as if we were well regarded regulars (remember this was only visit two for us since they opened). This place has got it on! The bar and restaurant were at capacity when we started this adventure and before we were done we were the last to exit the dining area ... we took our time, they gave us the free reign we desired, we couldn't have been happier. And the food, it was excellent! The lasagna was deftly built and it featured uniquely tender (perfectly prepared) pasta, our Seattle visitor was most pleased. Two of us had the evenings beef special, a rib-eye steak, which were needed medium for one and medium-well for the other for our tastes - they came from the grill exactly as ordered, and the flavor & tenderness - well we agreed that there have never been better steaks served in Rochester, the flavor added by the chef's seasonings of choice were to die for. Ah, then there was the pulled pork house specialty as our last entree, it was fine, it was as described, but oh my it was not what will bring us back again. We chose to share two desserts, each turned out to be better than the next, and the cappuccino & coffees proved that Seattle Girl is right to think that that West Coast coffee Mecca has nothing over on our local brews. Look, the evening was quite perfect (what in life is), however when a hiccup occurred it was easily and promptly handled. Recognize that we dined on a week-night, that the place is small physically, that the sound level is significant when the house if full, and that onsite parking is scarce - all that said these conditions helped shape our experience �" this is a trendy NYC style bistro in the heart of our hometown. We can't wait for an event to move us to venture into the heart of the city once again, and our expectation is that visit three will once again offer complete fulfillment.

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