Terrific Takeout: Rafele Ristorante by Raffaele Ronca Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Our friend Raffaele Ronca, Executive Chef and Owner of Rafele
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It's quite a happy day at Whom You Know when we discover a restaurant worthy of joining the ranks of the fantastic venues we've previously featured, and to that end we are thrilled to tell you about Rafele, by Raffaele Ronca. We love love love alliteration. An authentic Italian restaurant downtown, Rafele reflects the great culinary tradition of Raffaele's hometown of Napoli, Italy. And before any of you roll your eyes at Peachy and say she always features Italian and here's one more Italian place, here's how this one's amazing food is different. Raffaele Ronca just won Chopped on the Food Network (he tells us-we have not seen. We are interested in what wins our stomach for food...and you can see television we approve of in Small Screen Scenes. Turn is Peachy's favorite show) and not only was he the best but also he's the nicest as he donated his $10,000 to St. Elizabeth's Children Foundation in Yonkers because he has a friend with special needs.
Everyone knows that green salads are a very good idea nutritionally, and they are also a delicious idea at Rafele. We began with the Insalata di Carciofi: Shaved artichoke and Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon and extra virgin olive oil. This salad proves that less is more and it was a beacon of freshness on a cold winter night in Manhattan. Of course, they put the dressing on the side for the extremely picky one here, but it is wearing dressing for the picture.
Open since June 6, 2012, Rafele is the first restaurant Raffaele has owned, although he has been a chef for many years. If you are a director or casting director reading us, you should know that he once had acting dreams so maybe you should cast him as a chef. Leo if you are reading, Raffaele was pulling for you and predicted your win. Here's some homemade focaccia and caponata, which is quite welcoming.
One of the best things to eat on a subzero night here is the epitome of Italian comfort food: meatballs. We absolutely loved the Polpettine: pan seared veal and beef meatballs in a light tomato sauce announce that simplicity done well rules. Both the beef and the veal are grass fed and compose these winners at 50% each and are sourced from Ottomanelli on Bleecker.
They are all smiles and very sociable until you devour them.
mmmmmmmmmm Meatballs!
No fillers in these winners!
We picked them as an appetizer, and their life was short.
One column that is not in print but is a component in Peachy's mind is game food, particularly since we love sports. What you eat matters when you are watching a game. Raffaele surprised us with one of the best things we've had this winter: Schiacciata. Essentially, it is the ferrari of grilled cheese: home made flat bread with mortadella and robiolina cheese and, drum roll please, TRUFFLES. We would like Yankee Stadium to have this during the soccer games please. The day we visited this was on the specials menu and they have 5-7 specials every day.
These are happily addictive and probably habit forming.
Remember that commercial about where's the beef? No one is saying where's the truffles at Rafele! The culinary fireworks continued with the pasta selection chosen by Peachy:
Tagliolini ai Funghi!!!! Mere words belittle this great dish so we will zoom in:
You will be in a culinary trance eating the exquisite house made pasta with mixed mushrooms and black truffle pate. It boasts superb density and great flavor.
Arriving from Meat without Feet from Hunts Point is the majestic Branzino alla Griglia with Italian herbs and white wine! During the season of Lent, we are looking for great fish in particular though we eat it often throughout the year. The freshness, size and sublime preparation and taste of this poisson was highly laudable, and this is fantastic any time of year.
The carnivorous entree we tried was suggested by Raffaele- and it should be at the top of your list when you visit: Costoletta di Maiale. Roasted black Hampshire Pork Chop-grassfed from Long Island, is joined by green peppers, sun dried tomatoes and escarole and is the epitome of the word flavorful.
Marinated in a wonderful rosemary thyme sage blend for 24 hours, this little piggy is fresh, bright and healthy and should be your next dinner. We loved it.
A lovely ending is of course chocolate: meet the chocolate espresso budino with cherries cured in Grand Marnier for six months.
Rafele is Terrific Takeout and we look forward to seeing what they do next.
