Rocky & Carlo's
Rocky's is as intense and unreconstructed a piece of whereyaat culture as exists. It's an old bar and cafeteria-style restaurant serving poor boys (both familiar and unspeakable varieties) and ridiculously overloaded homestyle platters, without a hint of delicacy. Watch other diners carefully, and see some offbeat but quintessentially local tastes express themselves. (Example: baked macaroni and cheese drenched with brown gravy.) This is not brilliant food. But it's hard to imagine New Orleans without Rocky & Carlo's.
Backstory
Restaurants very much like this existed in St. Bernard Parish long before Rocky Tommaseo and Carlo Gioe opened their restaurant in 1965. It has not changed much over the years, and most of those changes were results of disasters (fires, hurricanes, etc.). Nothing has ever knocked the place out permanently--a condition that is unimaginable to most St. Bernard people.
Dining Room
It looks a lot nicer since the most recent renovation (about seven years ago). But it's the most casual of the casual places. Noisy and unintentionally entertaining.
Why It's Essential
Rocky's is as intense and unreconstructed a piece of whereyaat culture as exists. It's an old bar and cafeteria-style restaurant serving poor boys (both familiar and unspeakable varieties) and ridiculously overloaded homestyle platters, without a hint of delicacy. Watch other diners carefully, and see some offbeat but quintessentially local tastes express themselves. (Example: baked macaroni and cheese drenched with brown gravy.) This is not brilliant food. But it's hard to imagine New Orleans without Rocky & Carlo's.
Why It's Good
Operating like a cafeteria, Rocky & Carlo's does most if its business in the platters of the day, poor boy sandwiches, and latter-day New Orleans-Sicilian pasta dishes. The most outstanding quality of the place is the massive size of the portions. Few people can eat a whole entree, although many try.
Most Interesting Dishes
<em><strong>Starters</strong></em> Onion rings Stuffed or fried artichokes Garlic bread (fresh garlic & parsley) Eggplant sticks Wop salad <em><strong>Entrees</strong></em> Baked ham Baked, broiled or barbecue chicken Barbecue ribs Fried fish Fried chicken "Bruciloni" (braciolone) Meatballs & spaghetti Veal parmesan Red beans & rice Fried oysters, shrimp, crab cakes, or combo Ribeye or T-bone steak <em><strong>Sandwiches</strong></em> Hamburgers Ham Meatball Salami Veal cutlet Fried seafood Muffuletta <em><strong>Sides</strong></em> Green beans, tomato sauce, smoked sausage Jambalaya Lasagna Macaroni & cheese Onion rings <em><strong>Desserts</strong></em> Lemon berry mascarpone cake Chocolate mousse cake Spumone cheese cake
Deficiencies
It always seems to me that the food isn't quite hot enough.
For Best Results
You only need half an order of anything here.
Bonus Ratings
1
Environment
2
Local Color