adegiulio

Ok, so its me, Amy, and Tommy..who else??

Any new opinions on this restaurant? A favorite guitarist of mine is playing there Friday and it looks like an interesting place. I noticed on the menu they never mention the word "prime" when describing their meat. How are the steaks? Hope they are good...

Honestly, I can't see how it would matter what time he got there. Unless they told him, '"Markk, you are here kinda late, we are going to give you a 50% effort, please only pay us 50% of the bill" he should receive the same food and service as someone who got there at 6:30... For them to drop the ball at every stage of this meal reveals a systemic problem, not one of bad timing or luck. I hope I am wrong, and judging from my own experiences there, I am. Only time will tell if Rocca will go the way of Fascino or the place on French Hill Rd. in Wayne that renames itself every 18 months...

No, I have not had any bad experiences at Rocca, but I must admit that my opinion of Rocca is tarnished a bit after Markk's posts and Chef Levy's weak rebuttal. Assuming Markk isn't making any of his story up, I think the points he raised indicate deeper issues than Rocca "just having a bad day" It seems they dropped the ball at every checkpoint....I, of course, won't write them off until I have a bad experience on the level of Markk's, but in the back of my head I can't help think that they really f-ed up that night, as well as when the chef posted...

It's unfortunate to read that Trat. Fresco seems to be losing its focus after early success. I don't want to compare everything to Fascino, but it is interesting to me that Fascino is getting better in the face of terrific success, while a few other local restaurants seem to be struggling . Like Lou said, its tough keeping a restaurant open for a few years...we're seeing why at Rocca and Trat. Fresco. I, for one, hope they both turn themselves around...

Ohhhhh, now I remember escolar....the poop fish...

We had the white tuna dish a few weeks back and it was stupendous. Last weekend we went to Village Green and I ordered escolar (not knowing what it was, though the waiter happily compared it to tuna). Of course the two fish tasted the same, though the one prepared at Fascino was a little better as I recall. If I may cross-post here, the relevence of that meal at Fascino and your (markk's) recent meal at Rocca show how winning restaurants handle customer displeasure, as compared to their less learned competitors. One of the courses in our tasting was a double cut lamb chop served with some sauce and garnish I don't remember (it doesn't matter now). I quietly mentioned to my wife that this wasn't my favorite expression of Ryan's cooking, and the dish as a whole felt contrived and lacking polish. Our waiter picked up on this and we briefly discussed it. Of course he asked to replace it or if there was anything else he could do to make it better. I had already eaten almost all of it (hey, a bad Fascino meal is still pretty darn good), so I thanked him and said it was fine the way it was. Two minutes later, Ryan comes storming out of the kitchen with a cleaver in his hand, screaming "Get out of my restaurant before I cut your liver out and serve it with fava beans!!! Fvvvvt Fvvvvt Fvvvvt!!!" Oh wait, no, he came out and lightheartedly asked me how I liked the chops. I talked to him about it, he listened to my criticism, we laughed, and everything was fine. Point is, they cared enough to take the initiative to FIRST see that something was wrong, and SECOND try to rectify it and gain some feedback. A post started by Lreda recently asks what restaurants can do to be better. Listening to your customers is pretty high up on that list. Remembering that you are in business to serve them is pretty important. Forget that and your customers will forget you...

I thought the same thing when I saw the menu in the mail. Cold weather is here, time to break out those Rhones and start eating real food...

Added by Rosie 9/23/04 I would like to open a discussion about service in a restaurant. If there is a problem what is the patron's responsibility? What is the owner's responsibility? Some of the posts here were started in this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=46608 Also, this topic was merged with another one which was on the same topic. *************** Markk, your last two posts were spot on perfect. Though both of my meals at Rocca were good, the points you raise before and after Mr. Levy's post were well thought out and eloquently typed. If I were you, I wouldn't go back either. Good for you for sticking to your guns and saying what needed to be said in a polite, constructive manner. Be sure to join Tommy and me next time we go somewhere other than Rocca.

I went to Gelati's (Union Blvd, Totowa) for the first time today. Unimpressed to say the least. Its good (come on, it's ice cream!!) but I dont think its nearly as good as Ciao Bella...Tried the hazelnut and the Nutella...both were tasty, they just didnt have that gelato texture...

Wow, two astoundingly bad meals in one week. Sound like you've got a streak of bad luck...

I'm not making excuses for Rocca here, but it sounds like you got there on a bad day, and late to boot. I recall from my days at different restaurants, those orders placed after the kitchen already started breaking down their mis en place were always dreaded by us. Having to drag everything out of the walk-in to cook really was a pain (though we always did it conscientously, knowing late diners pay the same as early ones). Its no excuse to hastily prepare food for late diners, but I wouldnt judge them completely on this shortfall. As for the service, I hate most servers anyway, as they typically suck and put very little effort into their jobs. I guess thats why I'm so impressed with mediocre service. This guy sounds extra sucky after a long nights service. All I can say is that I think you should try them again. I've eaten there twice and both meals were better than most others at area restaurants. People who's opinion I trust have all had terrific things to say. Normally I'm with you, if I have a bad experience somewhere I never go back, I dont care what the circumstances are, but in this case I really think you should go again....

It stopped being good when I stopped going there!

In my opinion, Bellisimo's is a caricature of a high end New Jersey Italian restaurant. From the dealership of Mercedes out front to the Opus One crap on the wine list, it gives the impression that it must be great. Why else would all those rich people eat there?

Yeah, the bathroom is still up in a stairwell...at least I hope it is... This place is definately better than Blend, but with Village Green or even Zarole within a block's walking distance, its a tough sell...

I just noticed that Michael Cetrulo is the chef/owner. Is this the same Michael Cetrulo that owned La Campagna in Morristown? The same MC that I worked for briefly in high school in Morris Plains??

Hey, thanks Tommy for the recommendation!! Next time I want to eat dinner in a funeral home like atmosphere, this is THE place to go. I guess thats not totally fair, our service was quite nice. For those of you who may have missed it, 28 Oak St. in Ridgewood has changed owners. The menu is modern american. There was a decent selection of items, though I still had a tough time finding something I was interested in. I think I am just in a mood tonight...Anyway, the result were less than stellar, though better than most. To make this quick, Amy ordered mozzarella, prosciutto and arugala, I ordered salmon pastrami with a potato pancake. The mozz was ok, and the salad on top seemed quite fresh, but the prosciutto was the same stuff I buy in bulk by the pound. My salmon was tasty, though the pancake was clearly made ahead of time. I don't object to this , I just know there are better ways of serving it than just warming it up a bit. For main courses, Amy had a simple grilled salmon fillet, I had duck done two ways. Salmon was quite good, served with mixed veg and mashed potatoes, which were good. My duck consisted of a seared breast and a spring roll of shredded duck. The spring roll was tasty but doughy. The accompanying spinach was overly sandy. Service was nice, atmosphere was deathly. Would I go back?? Hows that Porto Leggero looking?? Ant

Yup...I'll be at Joel's...

From what I have read, the wine pairing they offer is very weak. Is that still the case? Does anybody here think the wine pairing was worth the money? We have reservations for our first anniversary, and the thought of trying to pair a bottle of wine to our entire meal seems tough.... Thanks for any input..

Did you wind up going to Top Notch??

Umm, I'm pretty sure Whole Foods across the street sells the items you are looking for...

My buddy's family is friends with Jeurgen. I have a feeling he would have heard about it if they did close. I like Top Notch, and wonder why I don't go more often...

Jeez, that makes amyanthony.com look downright amateurish.. Nice site...

I think this one is hilarious...You can make the logo a picture of a cow with a giant tongue drooling over a grilled cheese sandwich, slurring his speech while having his picture taken. Oh, and he should be drunk...and surly... Wait, drunk, surly, slurring speech...sounds like me anytime I go out with Tommy..

Trat. Fresco get a very good review in the Weekend NY Times this week. Congrats on a well deserved review!