Ask the Foodie - Rocco's

Dear Ms Foodie

A few night back I was watching a reality show called The Restaurant. The place was called Rocco's 22.

Have you ever heard of them or eaten there? Don't ever recall doing a write-up on them.

An avid reader

Dear Avid,

Thanks to my friend Cortez, a self-professed reality show junkie, I have been to Rocco's 22. He was a big fan of "The Restaurant" and was convinced that I was going to go ga-ga over Mama's meatballs. I have not reviewed the restaurant since this was before this blog was created.

Let's just say that the short-lived restaurant (opened in June 2003) had bigger problems than the well-publicized feud between celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and restaurateur Jeffery Chodorow. The food was just plain awful. I mean sub par Olive Garden Italian awful. The meatballs were gross. The service was abysmal. Just plain nasty.

Speaking of nasty, after Rocco's closed, Chodorow opened Caviar and Bananas in the same space and then tried again with Wild Salmon. Both restaurants received pans by New York food critics and began a very entertaining feud between Chodorow and New York Times food critic Frank Bruni. As a response to the unflattering review of his latest venture, Mr. Chodorow began a blog which was quite entertaining.

Check it out it you need a good laugh and keep those questions coming!

Ms. Foodie