This week, Besha Rodell is back, this time reviewing Jason Neroni's The Rose, which she describes as a "breezy fantasy of California living and eating." The expansive bakery, cafe, bar, and restaurant "feels effortless and beautiful and so very, very Venice. (New Venice, that is.)"
Neroni pulls from his from his "Cali-Italian wheelhouse that made Superba so irresistible" to churn out excellent charcuterie, beautiful entrees, and some of the best pastas in the city that show off his "particularly deft hand with the more pungent ocean creatures and their rightful relationship to noodles."
Of course, The Rose is an all-day eatery-type place, one that B-Rod describes as only getting better as the day progresses:
In the bakery, there's a more casual breakfast service, where you can get granola and yogurt or a bagel with lox. Lunch provides grain bowls, some pretty good pizzas and a saucy meatball sandwich that only suffers when you compare it to the one around the corner at Gjusta. I can't tell you what magic makes Gjusta's superior, just that it is. But on certain days I'd forgo the pull of Gjusta for Neroni's pastas, which appear on the lunch menu and are just as good in the middle of the day as they are at night. And if a small, $7 pineapple, ginger and cucumber juice sounds like your jam, they make a fine one here. Part of the allure of this place, especially in the daytime, is just how Venice-y it is. [LAW]
The Weekly critic concludes by stating, "Neroni is still cooking at the very top of his game, making the tough sell of gentrification a little more palatable," and awards the restaurant three glowing stars.
---
The Elsewhere: Food GPS slurps tonkotsu at Venice Ramen, The Offalo appreciates the solid execution at The Wallace, and Bill Esparza gives the Mexican seafood specialist behind Coni'Seafood and Mariscos Chente's his due.