Roberto's in da Bronx (off Arthur Ave.)

[Josh]

So I finally made it to Roberto's off Arthur Avenue in the Bronx last Friday night, and it was a truly wonderful dining experience.

The three of us arrived around 9:15pm and were seated about a half hour or so later. As we began to peruse the menus, Roberto himself pulled up a chair and, well, let's just say that was the end of the menus...

We wound up ordering family style, with a mixta seafood appetizer, a gnocci with toasted almonds and ground lamb with a light white sauce pasta dish, a radiatore with cherry tomatoes also in a white sauce pasta dish, and a veal topped with slices of tomato, some sort of thin sliced meat (sausage, ham... not sure, but it was tasty!) and smothered with mozarella. These were all from the Roberto's extensive blackboard of specials, I believe. Some glasses of various red wines accompanied, and dessert was a shared tiramisu.

The seafood appy was warm and wonderful. Of the two pasta dishes that followed together, the gnocci was clearly our favorite. The gnocci themselves were perfectly done, and the well-complimented by the lamb flavor and crunchy paper-thin almond slices. While the radiatore were incredibly fresh, we found the cheese sauce to be a bit too salty. Perhaps if they were served successively instead of simultaneously the distinctive flavor of the radiatore dish would have been better appreciated. Pretty full already, we were nervous about the main course yet to come, but the portions were just right. The veal was cooked to perfection and the entire combination simply worked. Of course we couldn't refuse dessert, and the freshly made-on-the-premises tiramisu didn't disappoint.

As we were finishing off our dessert, a very gracious Roberto popped back to see how things were and insisted on taking us downstairs to see his wine cellar and the adjoining private dining room. This guy is quite the wine aficionado...

The bill? Quite reasonable, at about $40 a head with one drink each. Most of the dishes are in the 14-22 range, with some specials and seafood going maybe another few dollars higher.

All in all, a really relaxing and enjoyable dining experience with that special personal touch and quite worth the schlep to the neighborhood.

Josh

Edited April 3, 2005 by Josh (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

After visiting the Bronx Zoo we hit Roberto's @ 632 E. 186th Street (on Belmont). Altogether a different vibe than Dominick's. Dominick's is more a casual, local cafe/hangout while Roberto's is fancier and somewhat more expensive restaurant.

We arrived at the restaurant at 5:30 PM and had to wait thirty minutes to be seated.  After we ordered it took about thirty minutes for the main course to reach the table. In the meantime we ate fantastic bread (like Dominick's from the Madonia bakery) and olive oil (alla Roberto's) that were on the table. Even on Sunday evening Roberto's was extremely busy. Despite the wait, service was very professional.

She ordered the Fusilli Terracotta. This was a great pasta dish that had grilled eggplant among other ingredients. I had the Veal alla Chef--a thin slice of veal served with prosciutto, provolone, fresh spinach, and a sauce of garlic, butter and finely grated romano cheese. Both dishes were winners and we did not leave feeling as heavy as we had from Dominick's. These two main courses along with a glass of house red and a soda came to about forty bucks before tip.

Roberto's will be moving at the end of August to 603 Crescent Avenue.

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Rachel and I had an excellent dinner last night at Roberto's new digs on Crescent Avenue.

We started off with a bucatini with a creamy zucchini sauce that featured slices of fried zucchini in it -- phenomenal. Then a special of small shrimps and scallops sauteed with garlic and a puree of broccoli rabe with cannelini beans over raddichio leaves -- this would almost be a Spanish or Portuguese dish had it not be for the cannelini and broccoli rabe, the garlic was very aggressive but it was wonderful.

Rachel had an osso bucco in a tomato-based sauce (huge portion) which she enjoyed and I had a really good veal scallopine dish.

Afterwards we went to Pompeii, next to Dominicks on Arthur Ave, for dessert and coffee, and a shot of Sambuca. The place has gone way downhill (and its changed owners and names more times than I can count). I wanted to go to to Arthur Avenue Cafe but it was closed.

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These posts were in another Arthur Avenue thread, and I thought they should be added to a thread devoted to Roberto's.

[gaf]

Authenticitology New York City Entry #94 Roberto's

Before my recent lunch at Roberto's, the Zagat's 27 restaurant near Arthur Avenue, I imagined that my review would write itself. I could stick it to Mario. Here in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx was an exquisitely authentic Italian cuisine, unavailable in the boot of Manhattan. Sometimes reality sticks its Roman nose in one's plot.

Italian restaurants come in two flavors: not the red South verse white North, but those that trade on the inspiration of the chef and those whose inspiration is from tradition. Some Italian restaurants are marketed through celebrity, others through legend. Roberto's, something of a hybrid, slants towards the latter.

It is not that Executive Chef Roberto Paciullo is an unknown, and Roberto's is known for its creative daily specials, hardly the mark of a red-gravy Sicilian (Chef Roberto hails from south of Naples). Roberto's is a more adventurous enterprise than most of its neighbors, such as the down-home Dominicks. Roberto's is a stylish, white-tablecloth place with exposed brick walls, decorated in tones of gray and yellow, even if it wishes to trade in hominess by its stout refusal to take reservations and keeps a chalkboard for its specials.

To be fair, some fine restaurants falter at lunch, when the evening crew - and sometimes the chef - are away. And the meal was hardly distressing, but the main course specials were undistinguished. Our meal was on a different order than the satisfactions of Dominicks, but not so impressive to demand a visit on a busy Saturday night without reservations.

Our appetizer was the comfortable zenith of our lunch: Insalata di Bocconcini: Bite-size Mozzarella, Roasted Pepper, Sundried Tomatoes, Sopressata, and Spiedini alla Romano (thin wedges of baked cheese sandwich) over Mixed Greens. Quality ingredients, carefully prepared and presented. However, with the exception of the buttery Spiedini, the plate didn't require the fire's touch.

We chose a daily pasta special, Mezzanelli with Fava Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, and Pecorino. The Mezzanelli, a thick rod, was properly cooked, although the exploded cherry tomatoes did not stand the heat well, providing a squishiness in what otherwise might have been a sturdy dish with excellent al dente favas.

Entrees were moist flubs. My companion ordered Soft-Shell Crabs with Spinach. But rather than lightly and crispy fried, the crabs were sodden, a failure that the soggy spinach did not hide. Veal Scallopine with Mortadella, Peppers, and Scamorza (a curd cheese from cow's milk) was a casual mistake. I recognized and appreciated the quality of the ingredients, but the plate edged toward the sloppy and gloppy. As with the crab, the dish had a watery excess. The veal was a high-quality product, as was the cheese and mortadella. The problem was preparation, perhaps a novice dishwasher was filling in this weekday lunch.

Many excuses can be made for this beloved restaurant. And I am tempted to embrace all to preserve my ardor for authenticity. But considering our entrees, Roberto's is not our fantasies. As in so much of the Bronx, what IS nips the heels of what MIGHT BE.

Roberto's

603 Crescent Avenue (near Arthur Avenue)

Bronx (Belmont)

718-733-9503

My Webpage: Vealcheeks

[Jason Perlow]

You ordered wrong. Period. This is the type of stuff they excel in:

Edited May 21, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[docsconz]

I have never been to Robertos so I have no idea of what they do or don't excel in besides what has been presented here. Many restaurants present much more than they are good at preparing. It is useful to have discussions like this to inform subsequent diners of relative dos and don'ts at these places. Nevertheless, I am surprised that a restaurant like this wouldn't be good at whatever they had on the menu. I much prefer to go places where I can order anything from the menu and be pleased.

[gaf]

Jason,

Interesting point. But by showing three images, you don't really answer your own point about the "type" of food in which Roberto's excels. I would be curious if, when faced with a specials board with many dishes, what decision rules would you use to make a choice.

For an Italian restuarant not to excell in Veal Scallopine sets the bar somewhat low, but as you can see from the photo, this was not a success.

Roberto's certainly has its fans, and the ingrediants were superior, but at this lunch, the mains didn't hold up. I'm not sure what rules would have predicted that soft shell crabs would be soggy.

gaf

Edited May 21, 2006 by gaf (log)

[TrishCT]

I think it can be hit or miss.

[Jason Perlow]

Jason,

Interesting point. But by showing three images, you don't really answer your own point about the "type" of food in which Roberto's excels. I would be curious if, when faced with a specials board with many dishes, what decision rules would you use to make a choice.

For an Italian restuarant not to excell in Veal Scallopine sets the bar somewhat low, but as you can see from the photo, this was not a success.

Roberto's certainly has its fans, and the ingrediants were superior, but at this lunch, the mains didn't hold up. I'm not sure what rules would have predicted that soft shell crabs would be soggy.

gaf

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The restaurant excells at fresh pastas and risottos, and overall I would say their appetizers are very strong. Their sauteed scallopine type things in my opinion are decent but they do not showcase the restaurant. I drive over the GW Bridge from Jersey for their pastas -- I can get scallopine of the same quality locally at any average Italian restaurant. What they do exceptionally well is seafood pastas and risottos -- veal and chicken sauteed dishes are not their forte.

Weekday lunch would not have been the time I would have chosen to visit the place either.

Your comment about the exploded cherry tomatoes being in poor contrast to the favas and the fresh pasta doesn't seem to make sense to me if the purpose of the ruptured tomatoes in the first place was to provide the sauce for the pasta. I mean if you cook a cherry tomato in a saute pan, isn't that what happens, pretty much all the time, unless you are cutting them in half and tossing them with cooked pasta a la minute?

Edited May 21, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Sneakeater]

I don't want to try to start a fight, but what is there in this thread that suggests the secondi at Roberto's aren't worthwhile, and that you should just stick to the pastas and risottos?

Indeed, what is there to suggest that in your own previous review, quoted above?

How would anyone visiting Roberto's for the first time know that?

So how can anyone be accused of "ordering wrong" ("period") if they go beyond the pastas and risottos, as if it's their fault they had a mediocre meal?

Edited May 21, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Jason Perlow]

I don't want to try to start a fight...

Shields Up!

I didn't say the secondi weren't worthwhile. It just isn't what they excel at.

[Sneakeater]

OK, how would anybody know that?

[Sneakeater]

Again, it's not that I want to start a fight. But to go beyond the precise subject of this thread, and to elaborate on some of the implications of gaf's last post here:

You commonly see exchanges here, where someone says something negative about a restaurant that's other people's favorites, and the proponents of the restaurant tell the critic that he "ordered wrong," in a way that implies that his disappointing experience was his own fault.

In some cases, I think that's clearly correct. When people order Cantonese dishes at Grand Sichuan International, I think it's clearly their own fault for not heeding the place's obvious specialization.

This is a bit less obvious, but when you're somewhere that seems best equipped to handle simple dishes, it's perhaps your own fault if you're disappointed by a more elaborate preparation. For example, experienced diners would probably -- not definitely; that's why this is a harder case -- be able to intuit that you do better not ordering off the "cooked fish" menu at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Or, to use a friend's favorite example, if you're at one of the multitude of Serbian-run Italian pasta places in the Village, you probably deserve what you get if you order the $14 salmon dish off the menu that mainly features $10-$12 pasta dishes. After all, $14 would hardly cover the cost of a decent piece of salmon plus mark-up.

But then you run into what I'd call the "Babbo Problem". Babbo is touted as one of the best restaurants in New York, if not the country. But then people go there, complain about the main dishes, and are told they "ordered wrong" -- they should have stuck with the pastas. How is anyone supposed to intuit that one of the nations' premier dining spots has a hole in its menu; that you can't order any of the secondi? How is anyone supposed to know that, at a restaurant touted for its general excellence, there's a whole portion of the menu that can't be expected to be satisfactory? That the restaurant really isn't any different than an upscale version of one of the Serbian-run pasta places?

So, too, here. People say all sorts of good things about Roberto's. You'd think it's a restaurant that's good they way most good restaurants are good: you can order anything on the menu that sounds appealing, and have some expectation that it will be well-prepared. Gaf in fact did that -- and then is catigated for complaining, because he somehow should have known that only the pastas and risottos excel here.

If that's the case, this is a seriously flawed restaurant. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. You can have very good experiences at seriously flawed places, if you know about their flaws and how to navigate around them. But places like that should be presented as what they are: seriously flawed restaurants that have to be approached with care. They shouldn't be touted as generally good restaurants, without any warning about their limitations. And when diners run aground on their limitations, they shouldn't be castigated, as if it's their fault they had a poor experience. At least not when they weren't warned.

From the reviews I've read, I'd have thought that Roberto's was a generally good restaurant, whose entire menu could be ordered from with confidence. Now, I know that isn't true. I'm glad I found that out before I schlepped up to the Bronx to eat there.

But I think I'd be justifiably resentful if one of the people who induced me to schlepp up to the Bronx castigated me for "ordering wrong" if his reviews didn't do anything to warn me of the place's limitations.

Edited May 22, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Sneakeater, if Roberto's had never been documented in any way on eG, with no precise dish reccomendations to order, you'd be very correct. However, since there's been a lot of discussion about Roberto's and a lot of reccomendations about what they do well and what they don't, I find it somewhat strange that gaf didn't order any of their signature items.

As to Babbo, I've never eaten anything other than pasta there either. Because I know that's what they do well. There's just no point at ordering what they don't do well. I don't think that neccessarily makes Babbo flawed either.

Edited May 22, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Sneakeater]

In this thread, first this:

a veal topped with slices of tomato, some sort of thin sliced meat (sausage, ham... not sure, but it was tasty!) and smothered with mozarella.  These were all from the Roberto's extensive blackboard of specials, I believe. . . .

. . . . The veal was cooked to perfection and the entire combination simply worked. 

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Edited May 22, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

Then, these:

I had the Veal alla Chef--a thin slice of veal served with prosciutto, provolone, fresh spinach, and a sauce of garlic, butter and finely grated romano cheese. Both dishes were winners and we did not leave feeling as heavy as we had from Dominick's.

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Rachel had an osso bucco in a tomato-based sauce (huge portion) which she enjoyed and I had a really good veal scallopine dish.

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Edited May 22, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

Again, I'm really not trying to start a fight, but how is it "well documented" that gaf should have known not to order anything beyond pastas and risottos?

[Jason Perlow]

Touche', you caught me with the scallopine. I was in the mood for it, and I saw one come out the pass that looked good before I ordered it. But it was a simple one, and I liked it. So sue me!

Edited May 22, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Sneakeater]

As for Babbo, I've already had this discussion in the Babbo thread, so I'll refer to that.

I'll just say here that, on this website, you often see people saying they intend to visit New York, and asking for recommendations. Babbo is often suggested as one of the best, if not THE best, Italian restaurants in the City. With no caveat that you shouldn't order anything beyond the pasta.

Indeed, you often see people posting that they are about the visit New York and stating specifically that they want to visit Babbo, the famous Mario Batalli flagship and the celebrated best Italian restaurant in NYC. You don't don't see people warning them not to order anything beyond the pasta.

You frequently see people posting here that Babbo was a great restaurant experience, one of the best they've ever eaten in. With no warning not to order anything beyond the pasta.

When Frank Bruni's review of Babbo was published, there was a lot of discussion here about whether it was unfair of Bruni to deny Babbo four stars because of the kind of music they play there. No one questioned whether a restaurant deserves even three stars if the only way to have a first-rate meal there is to avoid an entire segment of the menu.

In other words, it's true that you might get the idea, from SOME people's comments, that perhaps you should avoid the secondi at Babbo. But nevertheless, the general impression you get about Babbo here is that it's an excellent, first-rate restaurant. I think it's completely misleading to present Babbo as a first-rate restaurant if you have to avoid an entire segment of the menu to get a good meal there. And I think that anyone who points out that the secondi at Babbo don't work deserves to be applauded for their honesty and discernment, rather than criticized for "ordering wrong", as if it's their fault that they followed the menu, as you would at any first-rate restaurant.

Edited May 22, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

Touche', you caught me with the scallopine. I was in the mood for it, and I saw one come out the pass that looked good before I ordered it. But it was a simple one, and I liked it. So sue me!

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But the thing is, I'm not trying to play "gotcha". I just think it's unfair to criticize someone like gaf for giving his honest impressions of a place on the ground that he should have known better than to treat it like a normal restaurant, when in fact the extant reviews present the place as a normal first-rate restaurant.

[Jason Perlow]

What can I say. I've never had a poor meal at Robertos. Not everyone can have my omniscient superpowers of menu data processing, I guess.

Edited May 22, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Sneakeater]

Not everyone can have my omniscient superpowers of menu data processing, I guess.

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Well, now I'm just gonna follow you around and order whatever you order, I guess.

[Pan]

One of the really useful things we can do for prospective diners is write lists of recommended dishes. We've had several of those for Grand Sichuan, for example. We can also help prospective diners by warning them what to skip. On the whole, the more places we do this for, the better.

[Sneakeater]

I hope it's clear that I agree with that COMPLETELY.

[Rachel Perlow]

Things I like at Roberto's:

Osso Bucco

Wild Boar Chop (occasional special) or Pork Chops

In general, things that are braised are really good. I think I've even had rabbit, mmm bunny.

Fish, espcially whole fish and marichara (scant tomato sauce, clams)

We like to order a pasta to split as an appetizer, espcially the bowties with cauliflower, or a risotto. While the pastas are really good here, if you want a secondi that is not a pasta, then you really can't order a pasta as a primi without sharing it or just planning on not eating the whole thing.

I like the eggplant napolean appetizer. Oh, and get the broccoli rabe with sausage and white beans, even if you think you don't like broccoli rabe. Roberto's is the only place in the universe where I've ever had broccoli rabe and liked it. He works some kind of magic over it and all the bitterness is gone. He says that it's because he blanches it first, but I've tried that, and have been to other restaurans that claim the same, and it is just better at Roberto's.

The grilled sardines over salad appetizer, but only if you like sardines. Don't order it then complain that they tasted like sardines!

There is usually a Pasta in Cartochio (sp?) special that is not the regular Seafood Pasta in Cartochio, order that. The Seafood Pasta in Cartochio is good, in theory, but I usually find the seafood is overcooked (from being sealed in the foil). The "other" Cartochio pasta special is frequently vegetarian. One I particularly like has eggplant, cherry tomatoes and boccacini mozz. The veg can stand the pressure of being sealed and therefore pressure steamed, better than delicate seafood.

Frankly, most of these dishes are rather large portions, and are easy to share, which if you want to order three courses is easy to do at Roberto's (they are happy to portion out shared orders). What I don't like is that some of the more delicate dishes seem to be served in much smaller portions, which I suspect is to keep them in line with price points. The veal scallopini dishes come to mind. I order osso buco and get a honking veal shank with risotto or polenta (can't remember, probably both at different times). Jason orders the scallopini and gets this delicate dish with three little scallops of veal. I guess that's fine if you expect it. Now you know.

Now, no excuses for not knowing what to order!

PS - we've never had dessert at Roberto's. Usually, we walk back to Arthur Ave for something at the Arthur Avenue Cafe.

[Sneakeater]

What about what NOT to order? Say you're presented with a big blackboard full of specials. What kind of thing should you avoid? What kind of thing don't they do well here?

Edited May 22, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)