If you’ve ever worked downtown, you know that options for grabbing something to eat are limited. If you’re looking for a drink after work with your co-workers, the choices are even fewer. And while there are plans (and many construction vehicles) in place to breathe new life into downtown, it’s hard to picture what it […]
Italian
Posted inCulture
Nouveau Italian 101
The name Del Monte has long been synonymous with hospitality in Rochester, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they have opened a restaurant in College Town in the new Hilton Garden Inn. Grappa (30 Celebration Drive) opened on June 30 and features “upscale, casual, modern, Italian cuisine,” according to Erica Standish, the restaurant’s director […]
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Red sauce done right
There is something about the sauce at Antonetta’s that grabbed me right from the first bite of the slow braised pork ($6). The pork was cooked in the house red sauce and the combination led to a fantastically simple dish with a surprising amount of depth. That’s not to say that I had low expectations […]
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Veramente bello
Even on a Wednesday night, the parking lot at Branca is packed. Waiting for my friend to arrive, I watch the lot’s traffic from my car — for every car that pulls out, another zips in. By the time my friend and I go inside, it’s 7:45 p.m. The hostess apologetically says there are no […]
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Aunt Rosie’s
I think for every person that enjoys food, there is a restaurant that fits them in a specific way; an eatery that makes them feel at home with dishes on the menu that seem like they were tailor made. For me, that place is now Aunt Rosie’s, and that chef is Paul Vroman. From the […]
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DINING REVIEW: Avvino
Avvino has been slightly overshadowed by the other restaurant openings of the last year or so. In my opinion, this is due to the higher profile locations, flashier concepts, and splashy interiors of the other new entrants and not on the quality of the restaurant itself. Purely based on the level of food and service […]
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DINING REVIEW: Lucca Wood-Fire Bistro
The modern pizza originated, as you probably know, in Naples, Italy. There’s a long, global history of flat breads, but the story goes that it was in Naples that flat breads were first topped with tomatoes — and later buffalo-milk mozzarella — giving birth to what we now think of as pizza. You’ll still find […]
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CHOW HOUND: Like family
The enthusiasm that Tom Joy has for his new business is contagious. Walking through the door of Park Ave Paninoteca, my friend and I were greeted like family — which makes sense because if you wander in on any given day, you’ll see Joy’s brother, sister, wife, or another member of the family helping out. […]
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DINING REVIEW: Osteria Rocco
In a few months, winter will be a fading memory. The cold, biting winds will be replaced with gentle spring breezes; snow will have melted and made way for verdant grass; shoes will be stained with mud, not sidewalk salt. Until the thaw, I won’t mind warming my bones and spirit at Osteria Rocco, the […]
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ROUND UP: The ground round
As much as we may not want to admit it, Rochester is pretty well known for its meats. We have the Garbage Plate (can’t escape that one), white hots, BBQ joints, and pretty decent chicken wings. But the city is not typically known for its meatballs — but maybe it should be. From traditional Italian-style […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
“Another Christmas with the Calamari Sisters”
“Another Christmas With the Calamari Sisters: Feast of the Seven Fishes” is the latest in the series of campy, irreverent musical-comedy shows featuring bickering (but loving) sisters Carmela and Delphine Calamari, hosts of Brooklyn public-access-television cooking program, “Mangia Italiano.” The characters, created by Jay Falzone, Dan Lavender, and Stephen Smith, have been charming audiences over […]
