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12/06/2017 11:00 PMJoe Flores was a bartender and server at an Italian restaurant that had seen better days in Waterbury, when he decided it was time to look for something new. He heard about this place in New Haven called Adriana's and went to check it out. He walked in, and he started talking with a girl named Lisa who was one of the servers there.
"I had no idea what I was getting myself into," he says. "It was all history from there."
That history includes about 10 years of working at Adriana's, getting married to Lisa Degenaro, a house in the suburbs, a 7-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, and now, a new Italian-French fusion restaurant they opened earlier this year called Rosso Vino tucked up into the quaint Short Beach neighborhood of Branford, just over the line from East Haven.
Flores says it was a tough decision, whether to stay in a job where he and Lisa were doing well, or to take the plunge into the uncertainty of a new business.
"I was sitting on that ledge for years," he says. "But I decided I was still young enough to take this on, and I told my wife it was time to start looking."
The space at 130 Shore Drive — which has served as a home to several Italian restaurants, an Argentinian restaurant, and a Venezuelan restaurant — became available just as he started to look. Flores tells us this while we are sitting at a table in his restaurant that has a view across Shore Drive straight down Pentecost Street and right out to Long Island Sound.
"They were just putting up the 'for lease' sign, and I stepped inside and I saw this view and I fell in love with the view," he says, looking out the window. "The risk factor is high, but we've put everything we have into this business."
If our visit was any indication, it should be a good bet for the young couple. Under the direction of Flores and Degenaro, Rosso Vino offers much more than just a great view. The decor is classic New England meets old school Italian with crisp white tablecloths and bright red napkins. Big unadorned windows make the space feel open and light. While the bar area features several televisions tuned to college football, the dining area is humming with the music of Billie Holiday, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra. The cuisine is not only Italian with a French influence, it has a few fresh and creative twists here and there, setting it apart from the typical neighborhood Italian joint.
In the kitchen is Chef Michael Achille, who has a reputation among foodies along the shoreline for his work at Cafe Allegre and Campagna in Madison, Delmonico's in New Haven, and Chester's Restaurant du Village.
Flores says they developed the menu by looking at what other similar restaurants were offering in the area, and then figuring out where they could excel.
"We spruce it up, plate it right, and price it right," he says. So far, it's going well with busy Fridays and Saturdays, and the weeknights pulling in a decent crowd as well.
The business got a boost over the summer when Madison resident and WTNH news anchor Darren Kramer stopped by and ordered that night's special, a long-simmered Sunday sauce, with a generous portion of meatball, braciole, and sausage over pasta. Kramer loved it, put it out on social media, and a bunch of people soon stopped in, saying they wanted what he had.
Flores walked us through the rest of the menu and we decide upon the Grigliata Vegetariana appetizer, an order of fresh roasted asparagus, hen of the woods mushrooms, a roasted organic egg, parmesan cheese, finished with white truffle oil; the Polenta Romagnol, grilled polenta with a Bolognese sauce; Tagliolini al Nero Di Seppia, squid ink tagliolini, seppia, rock shrimp, Prince Edward Island. mussels, San Marzano tomato with a hint of chili peppers, and the Capesante alla Rosso Vino, pan seared sea scallops sautéed in lemon, white wine, caper sauce served with potato puree and sautéed escarole.
As we tuck into the two appetizers, both delicious, we hear the waiter at the table behind us describe the specials. He starts to tell the table about the special, a Sunday sauce with braciole, sausage when one of the women interrupts him.
"That's the Darren," she tells her dining companions.
"I want the Darren," she tells the server.
"I want the Darren too," says her husband.
Honestly, the bolognese sauce is so good I just want to spend the rest of the week eating it, but we figure we should order a Darren too, so we do. When the scallops come, we're barely done with the generously portioned appetizers, and reluctantly move on from the Bolognese and perfectly cooked mushroom, asparagus, and egg. The scallops too are perfectly seared, and the lemony caper sauce brightens up the big mound of potato puree and escarole. The seafood tagliolini dish is so pretty it almost seems a shame to eat it, but we get over that pretty quickly and it too dazzles.
Finally, the Darren. We are almost too stuffed to look at the huge bowl of pure Italian goodness. It looks as though it could feed a hungry family of four. Still, we try it and it is everything we could have hoped for. That Darren. He knows news. And he knows Sunday sauce.
Flores wonders if we want any of the desserts, which include gelato, sorbet, apple tartlets, a lava chocolate cake, a ricotta cheesecake, and a creme brûlée, but we're too stuffed. We think next time we might start from dessert and work backwards. And we will be coming a next time.
For visitors who might be put off by the idea of trying to find a parking place in the neighborhood of winding streets with small cottages and million-dollar summer homes along the water, the restaurant provides valet parking.
Flores says he knows what it takes to go the distance and that is not just the view, not just the impressive menu, not just the great execution on the food itself, not just redoing the menu seasonally, which he is doing as of this writing, and not just the Darren. He knows it's all about consistency, providing patrons with the kind of experience, every time, that they will want to return to again and again. He's also offering a happy hour, a take-out menu, and is developing a special holiday menu.
"We know what we need to do to keep them coming back," he says. "And that's what we're going to do."
Rosso Vino is at 130 Shore Drive in Branford. For more information, visit www.rossovino.net or call 203-315-0005. See Rosso Vino's Facebook page for a look at specials.