Rocca, a new restaurant in Glen Rock

[fatcatbrew]

I just returned from dinner at Rocca. I spoke with the owner regarding the liquor license application. They have not even sent in a formal application at this time. They are meerly considering getting one.

He would be happy to host an egullet dinner and would put together a tasting menu for us. He would prefer to do this on a Thursday night in lieu of a weekend night.

I was thinking sometime after Labor Day..... What are your thoughts?

[Lreda]

Ahhh, a Thursday. Sue and I are in as long as it's the 1st two weeks in Sept. Get it together and we're there.

[Rosie]

Don't forget that the pig roast is Sept 12.

[Curlz]

Don't forget that the pig roast is Sept 12.

Rosie beat me to it! I was going to suggest the 23rd or 30th for that reason...

[amyd]

What's wrong with going out twice in one week? Anthony and I eat out at least as much every week. I'm sure whatever Thursday you choose, we'll be there!

[adegiulio]

Who is this Anthony person you are talking about? He sounds very nice, generous, handsome, smart, and funny...

[adegiulio]

Oh, and shouldn't you be doing the laundry instead of hanging out on eGullet??

[Curlz]

Down, boy! DOWN! Heehee

I don't object one bit to two eG outings in a week--just thought that some others might.

[steve2]

based on the egullet four of us went to roccas last night. our overall impresstion was excellant . it is tough to judge a new place on a saturday night but the food with two small exceptions was creative well executed and exciting.as recommened ihad the sicilian calamari which was terrific. the lemon cannoli for dessert blew me away.she who must be obeyed had the veal with porcini mushrooms which i tasted it was grilled and sophisticated-very good. we thought the cold antipasto served family stlye presented more as a salad than antipasto we said so to our server and the owner came right over listened to our criticism and comped us a supurb crap cake starter-classy and appreciated on a busy sat. night. we look forward to going back and were very impressed with the caring owner/chef.

[Rosie]

Welcome to eGullet steve2 and thanks for the report. Looking forward to reading about all the restaurants that you dine at in NJ.

[adegiulio]

We will be eating at Rocca tomorrow (thurs) night at 6 if anyone wants to join us or just bring us more wine...

[Curlz]

Had a delicious and fun time at Rocca last night...my first of what I'm sure will be many visits! Based on what I had read here, I knew that I was having the Spicy Calamari for dinner. I ordered it with the Sicilian Lifeguard on the side () but he never showed, now that I think about it... ANYWAY, it's a terrific dish, with a great balance of heat and flavor (even though Tommy says I'm a lightweight re: the heat), and the calamari were tender and cooked perfectly. LOVED it. Wish I hadn't been so full from the truffled mushrooms appetizer! Those were just a lovely way to start the meal, and I rounded it out with those gorgeous citrus cannoli--which really aren't cannoli, btw--the shell is more like a lace cookie wrapped to form the tube. And they're served on top of yummy raspberries--that's my idea of dessert!

Service was very attentive, and we did receive a plate of the famous truffles from the chef...not bad, even if they were full of all that chocolate.

Good eats for certain at Rocca (which, btw, is Italian for The Rock)...if you haven't made it there yet, what are you waiting for?!?

[Rosie]

"Service was very attentive, and we did receive a plate of the famous truffles from the chef...not bad,"

What can I do to get truffles the next time I visit this restaurant?? Everyone gets truffles but me!!!

[chefdavidrusso]

if you haven't made it there yet, what are you waiting for?!?

Babysitters

[Curlz]

What can I do to get truffles the next time I visit this restaurant?? Everyone gets truffles but me!!!

You probably have to tell your server exactly that, Rosie!!!

Fwiw, I thought you were the one who had received them, and we were talking about them at the table. My guess is that an attentive server overheard us and just brought them, but it may also have been the fact that we were there with Tommy. Sort of like having a secret weapon!!

[ghostrider]

It definately sounds like I am in the minority here, but I don't think it's such a big deal for a restaurant to have a wine list instead of being BYO.  Granted, BYO makes the experience that much less expensive.  But in a ceratin way it also makes it more limiting...you can't make a food and wine decision that is in concert.  You've already choosen your wine and are now stuck with it redardless of what you decide to eat.

Come dine in Rutherford (Corrado, La Reggia Bistro, Mignon, Eros Cafe)! You can walk around the corner & purchase your wine after you've ordered your dinner!

I can't speak for the selection at the corner wine store because I don't drink, but a lot of people follow this procedure & certainly seem happy.

Of course you may not find what sounds like the level of cuiisine that you'll find at Rocca, but we do have the advantage of convenience.

Edited August 20, 2004 by ghostrider (log)

[lalaland]

Was surfing and found their website on restaurantpassion.com. https://www.ardore.com/listing.asp?r=rocca02&c=All&m=c&u=all

We had dinner there on Saturday night and it was wonderful...the place was hoppin' too...I can't get enough of the ricotta gnocchi--that sauce! And we had a pumpkin cheesecake dessert special that was excellent. I love to taste an inkling of fall!

Isn't everyone else dying to start eating the tastes of fall?

[Curlz]

...And we had a pumpkin cheesecake dessert special that was excellent.  I love to taste an inkling of fall!

Isn't everyone else dying to start eating the tastes of fall?

←

You are speaking my language, lala!! Thanks for confirming that it's time for me to get back there...

[markk]

After reading all the hoopla about Rocca, we gave it a try last weekend and had a thoroughly mediocre meal, with hateful service to boot.

Admittedly we came late in the evening, but I had called ahead to ask about this and was told by two different people there that we were absolutely welcome to arrive right up until the last seating time. We are late diners, and in fact when we arrive for the last seatings at places like Epernay and Fascino we receive magnificent food and friendly, gracious service.

This was not to be the case here.

The waiter gave us the menus and then stood over us and asked us to place our order. Our questions about the menu items were certainly not answered in a friendly fashion, and he made it quite clear that he couldn’t care less. (Normally we’d have been out of there at that point, but it was late, and there was no way to get to any other restaurant in time, so we stayed and hoped for the best.)

I was in the mood for some hot soup to start, and had the daily special White Bean Soup. It arrived lukewarm at best, parts of it cool, and I had to send it back to be reheated. When it arrived hot, it was really just okay at best.

Another of my party had the Truffled Mushrooms, which were way, way (way) too salty to eat, and he just left them.

When the server came back with my hot soup and noticed the mushrooms sitting untouched, he didn’t ask if anything was wrong. When he came later to clear the plates and took away one totally untouched mushroom appetizer, again he didn’t say a word, nor did he ask if anything was wrong. At that point my friend commented that the mushrooms were much too salty to eat, and the served sort of grunted as he took the plate.

Next, the three of us had the Bucatini all’Amatriciana. It was not offensive, but it was mediocre at best. If anybody is comparing this to the show-stopping, standard-setting version served at Lupa, they need to rush right into New York! The similarity for sure is in name, only.

Main courses were equally disappointing. One of our party had the Halibut, which was an okay preparation, but again absolutely nothing special. Another of my party continued with the Three Cheese Ravioli as her main course. These were a little stiffer even than “al dente”, and their sauce was thoroughly unremarkable. I had the grilled veal, and what a strange choice of a cut of veal to grill !! It wasn’t a a chop (of course it wasn’t billed as one), but some pieces of what seemed to be scallopine meat that shouldn’t have been cooked that way at all. They were slightly pink inside, sort of tough, and tasted slightly livery, like undercooked veal tastes. The roasted tomato risotto that they were over was both undercooked (crunchy) and lukewarm at the same time.

This was a meal prepared with absolutely no regard as to how it was going to taste, or whether it would be enjoyed, and the pace at which we were rushed through out dinner was just disgraceful. And at no point in the meal were the servers ever what could be called friendly, helpful, cordial, or caring.

I’m just mystified by the postings here, actually. Admittedly this is not Montclair, but still, such places as Epernay and Fascino have raised the bar for New Jersey dining with their consistently superb food, cooking with obvious love and care and attention to detail, and in both these places the staff members treat the customers like visiting royalty.

I’ve been to all three places (Epernay, Fascino, and Rocca) within the last two weeks. The first two deliver culinary excellence, judged even by the strictest standards. What we got at Rocca was rushed, hateful service, and mediocre food, much of which had obviously been pre-cooked and not even fully reheated, by a chef who very clearly didn't care. I don’t get it.

[adegiulio]

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....

Edited September 18, 2004 by adegiulio (log)

[Mangia Mangia]

About "Rocca" We ate there last nite and also last Thursday ,I agree with "adeguilio", MarkK you should not judge this one late nite experience. I have had the mushroon apptizer and it was very good. I have been to Lupa and other NYC spots and have had medicore service and food. Last nite "Rocca " was very busy and the service was just fine. The food we ordered was hot and I could not have had a better meal .

[markk]

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.

MarkK you should not judge this one late nite experience.

Their handling of this was thoroughly unacceptable.

I called them at 8 pm to ask how late they accepted walk-ins, and was told that I was welcome to arrive up until 8:59. But I wasn't born yesterday, so I called a few minutes later and asked for directions, at which point the put somebody else on, and I asked again what time they accepted walk-ins, and the second person said that I was welcome to walk in as late as 8:59.

There's no excuse for cold, mediocre food. If they don't feel like serving this late on a Sunday, they should have said so, especially since I gave them two opportunities. They certainly could have told me that the kitchen closes at 9 and that I shouldn't arrive later than, let's say, 8, on a Sunday. In my early visits to places like Epernay and Fascino (to give two examples in New Jersey) I asked similarly if I could arrive late-ish, and was told that I could. And in both places I was served warmly and graciously, and I was served absolutely delicious food, at that hour.

The hateful, miserable service, and cold, mediocre food are, in my book anyway, serious marks against a chef and a restaurant that's positioned itself as this one has. It tells me that they don't care (and Anthony, I applaud your comment about knowing that late diners pay the same as early ones).

I won't be going back.

[lalaland]

"I won't be going back." (sorry, I don't know how to do the real quote apparently)

Anyway, that's pretty harsh and I can hardly believe you had that kind of experience. Of the multiple times I was there my experiences were totally to the contradictory--food so hot you couldn't eat it right away and as adeguilio said, better than all or most area restaurants. To me Rocca is a true gem.

We've all had our own negative restaurant experiences so I can (almost) respect your decision but, I love this place, and in the end that's more room for the rest of us .

Edited September 19, 2004 by lalaland (log)

[tommy]

this could get ugly. from my perspective, i will say that i don't have a hard time believing markk's experience as he's relayed it. i've met markk, he's an excellent guy, and he's serious about food. that said, i've had probably 10 or 12 meals at Rocca, and i've always enjoyed it. but i've always enjoyed it on my terms, which include it being a local place that i can pop into any time of the week to have a decent meal. i avoid comparing it to truly great restaurants that i frequent, and those might include babbo or lupa or any number of places that offer outstanding food and good to very good service consistently.

"rude" service to one person might come across as "dopey" to another, so i think that's subjective to an extent.

although if i were to receive rude service, i'd likely not return. i do think that the people at Rocca care about their customers, and they'd be interested in feedback. so if i'm wrong about my assumption that 1 or more of the posters on this thread aren't somehow related to Rocca, perhaps this thread could be forwarded by rosie or whomever to the chef or owner or manager. i bet they'd be grateful.

that's my story.

[Rosie]

Sorry--but I have no e-mail address to forward the notes to. I suggest that someone call the restaurant and tell them to read eGullet.