For years, there was a Glory Days Grill in our neck of the woods. It was a decent enough place to grab a quick dinner before our weekly Tuesday trip to the grocery store, but it always seemed practically empty. Eventually, Glory Days closed, and the space was taken over by Rocco's, billed as an old school Italian restaurant and wine bar. The new owners clearly spent a substantial amount of money renovating the place, because you'd never know it had once been a sports bar. The new place feels upscale without being stuffy, and the dark colors and vintage style advertising posters for Italian booze make the interior surprisingly cozy for such a large space.
When we stopped in for our first visit, we were told that without a reservation, we'd have to sit at the bar. Though there seemed to be plenty of open booths, we took ourselves over to the large oval bar and grabbed two seats on the shorter end.
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| shrimp, flatbread, octopus |
Mr Minx is usually inclined to order pasta whenever we visit an Italian restaurant, but I wanted to try some smaller dishes first, to get a feel of the place. So we started with the Mediterranean Grilled Octopus ($20), which came with a warm potato and vegetable hash and a Bobby Flay-esque drizzle of basil and Calabrian chili olive oils. The octopus was beautifully tender and flavorful, with a nice char, and the portion was generous. Really enjoyed the hash, too. Next came the Shrimp Scampi Toast ($17), four jumbo shrimp perched atop slices of toasted ciabatta like they were pool floaties, surrounded by a lovely lake of lemony garlic butter. Picking up a toast and taking a bite wasn't really an option, as the shrimp still had their tails on and were somewhat precariously perched on their little bread seats--which were damp with garlic butter. I felt this was one of those ideas that seemed cute but could have been presented better. Perhaps as larger slices of garlic bread with several smaller shrimp--sans tails--arranged on top. And without the moat of sauce. Don't get me wrong; it was delicious, but there was far more sauce than bread. Those who know me know I hate food waste.
Thankfully, our third appetizer was the Truffle Mushroom Flatbread ($17), a long oval of crisp crust topped with mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, Gorgonzola, mushrooms, black truffle spread, and truffle-infused olive oil. It was a lot of cheese and a lot of truffle, but I loved it. And I employed the crusts to sop up some of that excess lemony garlic butter from the shrimp dish.
A month or so later we returned to celebrate the publication of hubby's first novel. This time, we had a reservation and were seated at a table, where we received excellent service from a waitress who was attentive without hovering. She checked on us regularly, made sure everything arrived as expected, and, perhaps most importantly, didn't leave us for dead when we were ready to pay the check. (Not sure why that seems to be a thing these days, but I don't appreciate having to wait longer for the check than it did for me to eat my food.)
This time, we started with cocktails. Mr Minx ordered the La Contessa, a floral concoction featuring Hendrick's Flora Adora gin, fresh lemon juice, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, lavender-honey syrup, and a botanical sugar rim. He was surprised by how much he enjoyed the lavender component, which can go soapy if not used judiciously. I chose the Stork Club Spritz, a refreshing combination of Giffard white peach liqueur, Amaro Montenegro, Prosecco, white peach purée, and club soda. It was fizzy and delicious, and both drinks were excellent choices for a summer evening.
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| calamari 'n friends |
For our appetizer, we chose Calamari 'n Friends, a cheerful name for a plate of fried calamari, zucchini, and hot cherry peppers. It came with two dipping sauces, a spicy red sauce and a lemony mayo-based one. Personally, I would have liked more zucchini than the few tiny strips, but felt everything was nicely cooked and flavorful.
Time for pasta. At least for Mr Minx. He ordered the Fettuccine Genovese ($24), featuring braised beef and caramelized onion ragù, finished with a Gorgonzola cream drizzle and Parmesan cheese. It was a rich, creamy, beefy dish, with plenty of flavor and a generous portion of pasta. Neal, who has never met a plate of pasta he didn't want to finish, polished off the entire thing. I tasted it, of course, and understood why.
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| Fettuccine Genovese |
I ordered the Chicken Parmesan ($22). Now, I've eaten a lot of chicken Parmesan over the years, and I've encountered versions that were variations on the popular themes of overcooked, over-breaded, or over-buried with cheese, or some hellish combination of all three. Happily, Rocco's has someone in the kitchen who actually knows how to cook a damn chicken breast, a qualification that is surprisingly uncommon in professional restaurants. My plate arrived looking like the late, great, Queen Dolly Parton herself: two enormous, whole, boneless chicken breasts, lightly breaded and pan-fried, topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Not the usual thick comforter of rubbery mozz, either, but a lightweight summer blanket that was just the right amount. As someone who is lactose intolerant, I appreciate a restaurant that understands how to use cheese with some subtlety. (Marta, take note.) There was a modest amount of spaghetti, maybe a cup and a half, with my mountain of chicken. I managed to eat perhaps a third of my meal before admitting defeat.
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| chicken parm |
Never fear--nothing went to waste! The leftovers provided two additional meals, one for Neal and another for me. Three meals from a $22 entrée is an extraordinary value these days, especially when the food is this good.
In fact, the pricing at Rocco's is a little curious. The appetizers aren't exactly cheap. Seventeen dollars for four shrimp on toast seems a bit steep, even if they're jumbo shrimp swimming in delicious garlic butter. But $22 for that mountain of chicken Parmesan? That's almost absurdly reasonable. The eggplant Parmesan is also $22, which makes me wonder about the economics of chicken versus eggplant. I'm not complaining, mind you. If Rocco's wants to keep serving enough chicken to feed a small family for twenty-two bucks, I'm certainly not going to discourage them.
We didn't order dessert on either visit, mostly because we'd already eaten quite enough. Maybe someday.
When I originally saw that Glory Days was becoming an Italian restaurant, my first thought was, "Oh great. Yet another Italian restaurant." Don't get me wrong--I love well-prepared Italian food, and we go to Il Basilico in Timonium fairly regularly. But I'd rather have another great Asian restaurant close to home. Or maybe a Georgian restaurant, like Tbiliso, which was so freaking good but couldn't last in its nearly-hidden location in a random shopping center in Cockeysville. But I was happy to give Rocco's a try, mostly because Mr Minx is also Mr Pasta. And wouldn't you know it--I love Rocco's, and can't wait to go back to eat there again.
Rocco's Old School Italian1220 E Joppa Rd,
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 337-6748
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