Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Northern Italian in the South End
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Rocca Kitchen & Bar, the South End’s new Harrison Avenue cornerstone, is a testament to the power of tunnel vision. Partners Michela Larson, Gary Sullivan, and Karen Haskell have taken a spot in Italy – Liguria – and storyboarded it from a thrilling Italian culinary and travel experience to a new and exciting restaurant that felt like a classic from the moment it opened.
“The Rocca Poem,” the December 11, 2006 Rocca Rundown from the blog written by Larson, captures the story and the food in snippets of their vision. “Rocca is a reflection of Liguria as a polychromatic rainbow: blue of the sea, lighter blue of the sky, golden yellow sand, gray-black rocks, green, silver, olive…” writes Larson, and you see all this when you enter the two-story U-shaped bar with a dramatic cork façade behind it. Shimmering silk large-format fishnet frames the tall windows, allowing you to see outside to the courtyard dining.
Designer Dennis Duffy totally got his clients’ vision. Upstairs, slate tables, bronzed mirrors, rifted oak from New Hampshire, honey oak Italian chairs with butter cream leather seats, with curves and lines that convey the feel of the ocean’s movement, all mix with dramatic and thoughtful lighting. And this is just the backdrop for the diners and the food.
The Rocca Poem continues, “neighborhood kitchen & bar,” “relaxed – but lively,” “beautiful but rugged,” “no rules about ordering.” The list goes on, and Rocca is true to these desires. Even in the early evening, the first-floor bar is a lively scene, changing character over the course of the night. A must-have drink is the Ligurian Lemonade ($9), shaken and served with a little lemon zest, a lemon wheel, and a touch of honeyed syrup. This drink will take you where the owners want you to go – to the aromatic, simple flavors of Liguria and a menu that captures the essence as well.
“This is the food I love to eat,” exclaims Larson, who conceptualized the menu during an intense and studied stay in this part of Italy with partner Sullivan. Back in Boston Larson and her team – which included chef Tom Fosnot, formerly of blu, his wife Ruth-Anne Adams, and a select few who gathered for a series of tasting dinners – began to recreate the dishes and flavors of the ingredients that spill from the steep, terraced hills of Liguria or jump from the sea.
The food is beguiling and unfussy. There are tastes, appetizers, pastas, entrees – and desserts that should not be overlooked. You can eat a little or a lot, order in the bar or the restaurant, and stay as long as you like. Twice-cooked artichokes with garlic mayonnaise ($6) are mere slivers of fresh hearts, enough to make you murmur, not enough to satisfy more than a taste, an appropriate tease. Farinata ($7), a chickpea flat bread with caramelized onions, mushrooms & sage; insalata tre colore ($8), a salad of escarole, radicchio, and romaine; and veal-stuffed zucchini with fresh tomato sauce ($7) are appetizers that you can share if you want, and leave room for more to come. Hand-rolled trofie ($10) is bound to become a signature dish. These labor-intensive, hand-shaped squiggles of fresh pasta are wondrous, toothsome bites dressed in pesto. The burrida, Ligurian fish stew ($21), over toasted ciabatta, captures the flavors of the region. And smashed almond bark ($7), which doesn’t even come from Liguria, is a crumbly almond meringue that’s a memorable ending, especially when paired with vin santo.
Gary Sullivan has put together an awesome, accessible, and all-Italian wine list that’s affordable, and he has trained his staff to steer customers toward varietals that they may not know but will make them happy. With 65 percent of the selections under $40 per bottle, it’s much easier to order that second bottle of wine.
Last but not least is the parking – 65 free spaces, as well as valet parking, and attendants who will suggest what to order as you walk in. With enthusiasm and access like this, you can’t resist.
Rocca was conceived and created with a passion that’s infectious. Veteran restaurateur Larson says, “I get up and I think, `I’m going to work.’ I’m 56 – how goofy is that?” Not goofy at all, just great.
Ligurian Lemonade
Makes 1 drink
Gary Sullivan says, “If Justin Timberlake can bring sexy back, we’re going to bring Campari back.” When he placed his first Campari order, his purveyor thought four cases was excessive, and reminded Sullivan that no one even knows Campari these days. Well, they do now. Rocca had only been open less than a week when the second order for Campari was placed. This drink is all alcohol, so one will do just fine.
1 1/2 ounces Belvedere Cytrus Vodka
3/4 ounce Campari
3/4 ounce Limoncella
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce simple syrup, with honey*
2 thinly sliced lemon wheels
Splash of 7-Up
1 pre-chilled pilsner glass
1. In an ice-filled mixing glass, add Cytrus Vodka, Campari, Limoncella, lemon juice, and simple syrup; shake until well-blended.
2. Prepare a chilled pilsner by filling it with ice and packing the lemon wheels inside so they appear to be floating against the sides of the glass. Strain the drink into the pilsner glass, then add a splash of 7-Up.
*To make simple syrup, combine 1 cup water and 1/2 cup honey in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil until mixture reduces by half. Allow to cool completely before using.
Recipe adapted from Rocca
Photographs by Gary Sullivan
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