THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Rococo

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Rococo Restaurant Review:

The sky-lit, soaring ceiling, painted a heavenly blue with scudding clouds, may be one of the reasons for the high-decibel noise level. Or it could be the crowds at the up-lit bar, either way, it’s a happening in Old City. When they built Rococo, in one half of the former Corn Exchange Bank building, they wisely retained the original Corinthian columns and ornate plaster festoons, but vibrant colors and towering floral arrangements give it a more contemporary feel. In the big open kitchen at the rear, you can see the wood-burning oven and the executive chef Mustapha Rouissiya at work. He, and owner Albert Paris (Guru) call the food ingredient-driven and multi-ethnic. We might call it dramatic food in a dramatic background. That sums it up for spicy chili-crisped fried calamari and its garlic-remoulade dipping sauce, or the incendiary chicken drummets, or the seared salmon sashimi, crusted with nori, and spiked with wasabi and soy. One salad that stands out is of limestone lettuce, Belgian endive, tat-soi, Gorgonzola, and strawberries, tossed with a poppyseed dressing. Paris and partner Philippe Daouphars have built up quite a wine collection as well, with many reasonable bottles to go with panko-crusted crabcakes or rack of lamb with mint vinaigrette. They have a fine sirloin strip too, that can be had with a Roquefort cheese topping. If you are partial to gooey desserts, there’s the Big Easy bread pudding made with chocolate chip challah bread, and served with a whiskey sauce, a bittersweet chocolate torte, and a banana dream torte, to just name a few.