Turn Up the Heat at La Rocca Rossa
From smoky Wagyu to the best lasagne in town, Morrison’s newest Italian steakhouse is a culinary experience worth the reservation
Photo Courtesy of Kevin Austin
Hello and welcome back my fellow foodies. Morrison CO is one of my favorite places to visit. Home to the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison also has a quaint historic downtown with shops, bars, restaurants, and plenty of sightseeing. La Rocca Rossa opened a few months ago on Bear Creek Avenue. The historic 150-year-old building sets the stage for Chef Rand G Packer and Tiffiani Packer’s new Italian steakhouse. I am no stranger to the spectacular food that the Packer’s turn out as I have written about their other fine dining restaurant, Evoke 1923 in Evergreen CO. Because the dining experience at Evoke 1923 was next level, I was more than excited to go check out their latest venture.
Photo Courtesy of Kevin Austin
Chef Rand loves open flame grilling, and La Rocca Rossa (The Red Rock) is a live fire restaurant celebrating his love of smoke, char, and fire. This grilling technique melds with rustic Italian traditions to create the innovative menu.
Photo Courtesy of Casey Wilson – La Rocca Rossa
La Rocca Rossa is a warm and inviting restaurant from the second you walk in. You can smell the wood burning fire used for cooking as soon as you enter and it brings a cozy atmosphere immediately. There is a large bar area, and comfy u-shaped booths to enjoy your dining experience with friends or family. We sat at the bar, where the bartender was mixing up some very interesting cocktails. We ordered a few of these artistic libations and settled in for our dinner experience, so as usual…let’s eat!
Photo Courtesy of Kevin Austin
Upon recommendations from many previous diners, we ordered the house made Focaccia Bread. Served with blue salt, and Citrus Jade Butter, it is really something not to be missed, and enough to share with up to 4 people. The Wild Porcini Mushroom Tartare was our appetizer of choice. I was so interested in this play on a tartare served with shallots, mustard seed caviar and yes, homemade potato chips and a quail egg. This picture worthy dish reinforced everything I truly love about earthy mushrooms. Paired with the chips, it was a great start to our dining experience. Another noteworthy starter is the Pistachio Basil Caprese. I absolutely love how different this is from traditional pesto. If you are a garlic lover, you will love this dish. The decisions for our main course were challenging, because everything on the menu looked amazing. We decided on the House Made Sausage Layered Lasagne, and the special, which will now be a staple on the menu, the Wagyu Beef. The Wagyu Beef is served with the paper-thin fingerling potatoes, and granola. It was hard for me to imagine granola with steak, but it really works, and I am so happy that this will become a regular on the menu. Now I must talk about the lasagne. It is one of my husband’s favorite foods, and mine as well. I have been all over the world and had it served in many different preparations. La Rocca Rossa gets my Caren’s Culinary Crown of Excellence 5 star standing ovation for their lasagne. Homemade sausage and pasta, mushrooms, duxelles, pesto and smoked fontina bechamel sauce made this perfectly cooked dish go down in my lasagne history book. It was so good, we were mentioning to other diners deciding on what to order to just get the lasagne and never look back. I am dreaming of it as I am writing this, it was just that spectacular.
Photo Courtesy of Kevin Austin
Morrison CO is so lucky to have a La Rocca Rossa in their town. Reservations are highly recommended they fill up quickly, and for good reason. I look forward to going back for another culinary journey very soon. Until next time my fellow foodies, eat well, drink well, and be well.
