We would visit Rocco now and then when we hankered for a checkered-table-cloth-candle-in-chianti-bottle-
red sauce joint. Imagine our amazement 23 years ago
to discover a new menu of brilliantly executed, sophisticated tuscan dishes created by a new chef from Seattle. We went back regularly for this great cooking, until after 6 months the menu reverted back to the
peasant dishes of the south. I asked the prop what happened. He said, “We had to let Mario go. Our regulars couldn’t stand his food.” That’s right, Mario Batalli.
—
Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York: Rocco Ristorante
One of my favorite small Italian places is closing…but what a great quote
