Rosso Pizzeria and Wine Bar
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Though it may be in a less-than-convenient location, Rosso Pizzeria offers an oasis of great food at reasonable prices in a city not exactly bursting with top restaurants. The portions are conservative, and the pizzas are light, but the flavors are all there, and the fare is definitely fresh. If you're lucky enough to go on a Sunday, make sure someone at the table gets the roast pork, and be prepared to go somewhere else for dessert. Try the Pizza and Roast Pig.
Atmosphere
Too bad about the mini-mall location, yet once inside it hardly matters. A cavernous, box-like room with stained cement floors and thumping pop tunes give the atmosphere an upbeat vibe, but it could certainly benefit from the softness of dimmed lights, or candles. Huge, colorful Italian posters add charm, and an open kitchen with a a visible pizza oven and a chalkboard of specials are welcome, homey touches.
Service
Service is casual and quick, helpful but not clingy.
Food
If one were to judge solely on location, décor, and achingly loud music (it did subside later, thank Heavens) Rosso Pizzeria would not be a place that I would return to, ever. That said, it is the promise of great food that drew us in, and it is that same food that will keep us coming back.
We ventured in on a fairly busy Sunday night, 3 of us, not very hungry, or so we thought, and looking for a simple, light, and inexpensive meal. Just a few years ago, a server would have scowled at us for ordering lightly and saving a few pennies, but now, since the economy has tanked, and frugality is the new black, so to speak, our server simply chuckled as we ordered the least expensive $13 bottle of wine (which came in a box) and one pizza and one entree to split between us.
To begin, a Moto Guzzi Pizza ($16) was large, but not really hefty, the crust yeasty and light, with spicy Italian sausage, smoked mozzarella, and Swiss chard. Between the three of us it was basically an appetizer. Similarly, a plate of Roast Pig (a specialty on Sunday) ($22) was not very large, but had the most delicate, melt-in-your-mouth meat, with rich intense flavor, accompanied by chunky, creamy chive-smashed potatoes.
After the pizza and the pork we still found ourselves hungry, so we decided to work backwards and order a starter plate of vegetable and calamari Frito Misto with spicy green chili aioli ($9.75) but the dish seemed too heavy and greasy after the first two dishes and, so, was not as enjoyable as the others.
Rosso does not offer dessert or, as our server said, only the drinkable kind. We're not sure exactly what that means, but it's too bad, a nice polenta cake or fruit crostini would have hit the spot.
We ventured in on a fairly busy Sunday night, 3 of us, not very hungry, or so we thought, and looking for a simple, light, and inexpensive meal. Just a few years ago, a server would have scowled at us for ordering lightly and saving a few pennies, but now, since the economy has tanked, and frugality is the new black, so to speak, our server simply chuckled as we ordered the least expensive $13 bottle of wine (which came in a box) and one pizza and one entree to split between us.
To begin, a Moto Guzzi Pizza ($16) was large, but not really hefty, the crust yeasty and light, with spicy Italian sausage, smoked mozzarella, and Swiss chard. Between the three of us it was basically an appetizer. Similarly, a plate of Roast Pig (a specialty on Sunday) ($22) was not very large, but had the most delicate, melt-in-your-mouth meat, with rich intense flavor, accompanied by chunky, creamy chive-smashed potatoes.
After the pizza and the pork we still found ourselves hungry, so we decided to work backwards and order a starter plate of vegetable and calamari Frito Misto with spicy green chili aioli ($9.75) but the dish seemed too heavy and greasy after the first two dishes and, so, was not as enjoyable as the others.
Rosso does not offer dessert or, as our server said, only the drinkable kind. We're not sure exactly what that means, but it's too bad, a nice polenta cake or fruit crostini would have hit the spot.
Cleanliness
Clean like a shiny new penny.
Pros
Great food and pleasant service.
Cons
Room very bright and music loud, portions are small, no desserts.
