Finally made it out to the Rose Cafe for dinner under Chef Jason Neroni formerly of Superba Snack bar among others.
The ambiance is nice and the patio shines at night as it does during the day, Even though there is loud pop music we didn’t have any problems talking with my guests but if you hate places with a lot of ‘energy’ you have been warned!
We had the ‘Foie Gras Hummus’ I don’t know what makes it ‘Hummus’ but it is ridiculously delicious whipped foie gras topped with a perfect mission fig and served with a fresh bread topped with za’atar. The 7 $ bread plate (I would have never gotten this but someone at the table insisted on bread) turned out to be a fantastic demi bagguette one of the best I’ve had in the city. served with a really nice ricotta and giant bowl of melted chicken fat! wOw.
New to the menu is a whole half or a Wieser farms melon stuffed with some cheese and bruleed! then topped with prosciutto. Damn, now that’s how you put a twist on a classic. Al Pastor Hanger steak with padron peppers, fresh tortillas, salsa was perfectly executed but maybe not as exciting as some of the other dishes. Hanger is one of my favorite cuts.
Chef Neroni was pretty well know for his pastas at Superba and we tried the Wakame which was good but didn’t seem as refined as the Superba version. OTOH The Artichoke flower ravioli is a stunner in both looks and taste. The pasta is shaped like an artichoke opening up to flower, and stuffed with braised pork with brown butter and truffles. definitely a winner.
Here for brunch. New chef so I guess it’s Rose Cafe 3.0? Took one bite of the banana bread and spit it out. No flavor, no moisture, bad texture. Atrocious. Has it always been this bad or do we need to slap on a downhill alert label?
I always liked it when Neroni was there. It was always pricy but good. Disappointed to hear, I’ll still check it out for myself one of these days. Have to get back to Gjusta as well haven’t been in a while either
Reporting back post-brunch. Everything else - steak & eggs, breakfast burrito, bacon, really solid. Just as good as I remember it all to be. Perhaps the banana bread is just an aberration.
I recall Rose used to be one of the hotter weekend brunch spots, and while it was relatively busy, I rolled up with a group of 5 at prime time and got seated right away.
I have been back a couple times since Ray Garcia took over, albeit early and his full influence on the future menu probably wasn’t set. I loved Neroni’s Rose and Garcia’s Broken Spanish but I only really liked this but I’ll be back some night when we don’t feel like cooking. Will also check out Neroni at Paloma some time soon.
Jason Neroni is only consulting at Paloma, so his influence depends on what they want to accept and what they choose to reject, so it can ebb and flow for reasons he cannot control.