Old restaurant space never dies; it just gets revived (unless the wrecking ball gets to it first). So what was once Ranalli's is now Rocco's Cafe & Pizzeria.
The restaurant's address is North Lincoln Avenue, but it sprawls out to where it almost runs over to North Clark Street. It has one of the largest outdoor dining areas anywhere, which was one of the big draws when the place was Ranalli's. There was a lot of al fresco dining going on there, especially late at night. I know this because I used to live in the area. There are a lot of seats to fill (including more seats inside, dining room after dining room, than outside), which could become an issue unless somebody gets a grip on the food here.
A grip, for example, on the red sauce with the spaghetti and meatballs. Woe is me. The sauce was watery to the point of being soup and had zero flavor. Probably the worst red sauce I have had -- ever. And the meatballs were not too far behind. I don't get it. What's so hard about making a decent red sauce?
A better bet when it comes to sauces would be the spaghetti aglio e olio. Yes, spaghetti with garlic and oil. Not much can go wrong there (provided the kitchen doesn't go garlic crazy, and it didn't). This dish had a good balance of flavors, and the broccoli added interest and enjoyment.
I don't usually make a big deal about salads because, most of the time, greens are greens. However, the house salad that preceded the spaghetti and meatballs had something going on. The greens were romaine, the tomatoes were dead-ripe cherry halves, and the vinaigrette dressing (nicely tagged with oregano) was excellent.
I also kind of liked an appetizer of Italian sausage and roasted peppers. I would have liked it more had the sausage been cut into chunks instead of sliced on the bias (the flavor goes south when you slice sausage that way). The silky cuttings of red and green bell peppers and red onions mingling with the sausage added the flavor this rustic dish cries out for.
The fried calamari was very good. The rings of squid weren't breaded to death, so they were light, tender, enjoyable. Forget about the wishy-washy marinara sauce with the calamari.
Rocco's tags its name with "Pizzeria." Good idea. Because of the dishes tried here, the pizza was the best thing. This is an Italian restaurant (circa 1960s) pizza -- not Neapolitan, not New York, not California. The kind of pizza that was served on Harlem Avenue in its Italian restaurant heyday. Order the thin-crust (not the double-dough). It has crispy and flavorful crust and a nice balance of toppings: tomatoes, cheese, crumbles of sausage.
An entree with merit was the chicken limone (and the $12.25 price made it even better). Two chunky chicken breasts were flavored with a lemon/white wine sauce that was nicely crafted. The chicken came with slices of roasted potatoes, standard for this style of dish, that were quite good.
Desserts are but three: chocolate lava cake, tiramisu and panna cotta. Not a great tiramisu, but not the worst I've ever had, either. It was stacked, fluffy and creamy, with a garnish of thin ribbons of chocolate sauce.
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