Fire is everything at Rosy, Akron native Vinnie Cimino’s newest restaurant in the Hingetown area of Ohio City in Cleveland.
The new restaurant, which will open Feb. 26, specializes in shareable, fire-cooked dishes as well as a rotating offering of 12 a la carte plates, inspired by dishes from the Istrian Peninsula along the Adriatic Sea.
Rosy, located at 2912 Church Ave., is the second restaurant owned by James Beard Award-nominated chef Cimino and Andrew Watts, who opened the popular Cordelia on downtown Cleveland’s East 4th Street in 2022.
The new eatery is the partners’ take on European backyard barbecue, inspired by old-world Slovenian, Croatian and Italian dishes. It will be open for dinner service Thursdays through Mondays, with hours from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sunday and Monday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
“Cooking over open fire is something that’s just so carnal and innate” as well as familiar and romantic, Cimino said Feb. 13. “It’s just something that’s always been a joy to be able to do.”
Cimino said he has long been inspired by fire. This year will be the 10th that he will be doing open-fire cooking at the annual “Outstanding in the Field” at the Thaxton farm in Hudson. The idea of cooking that way regularly has been his dream.
“I’m just incredibly excited for the opportunity now to do it every day (at Rosy),” he said. “We love this style of cooking and feeding folks.”
Rosy is located in the space that formerly housed the Mediterranean-inspired Alea. Cimino and Watts inherited Alea’s grill, which they have rebuilt.
Cooking with fire isn’t something you master, Cimino stressed.
“You’re always constantly changing and evolving with it because fire is a living, breathing thing,” he said.
The concept for Cordelia is a modern grandma, Midwest approach to food. With Rosy, Cimino and Watts are focusing on the foods of their grandparents’ grandparents, exploring ancestral European flavors in a fresh way.
Cimino’s ethnic background includes Slovenian, Slovakian, Sicilian and Northern Italian. Rosy’s Istrian Peninsula dishes are also a reflection of Cleveland’s melting pot of people, the chef said.
At a recent friends and family night, the vibe at Rosy was both cozy and lively. The 50-seat restaurant features just five communal tables as well as stools at the front window and at the kitchen counter, which provides the best view of the open-fire cooking.
Dining at a 12-seat table with candlelight turned the preview night into a fun opportunity to chat with diners on both sides. Cimino and Watts’ goal is to create community with the communal tables and shared dishes.
“Eating is a very communal experience and it brings you joy to share it with others,” Cimino said. “We want people to have that sense of gathering.”
The restaurant offers 12 a la carte plates listed on the wall, which change seasonally based on local ingredients. Rosy sources those ingredients from farms within a 200-mile radius.
The small restaurant is able to be nimble by buying smaller amounts of ingredients from local farmers, switching the plates it offers often. Rosy also is partnering with local millers to bring in Ohio grains to make all of the restaurant’s breads and pastas.
On a preview night Feb. 16, Rosy’s 12 a la carte plates ranged from $12 to $25. They included everything from pljukanci Croatian pasta served with smoky provolone to spicy Italian cotechino sausage with anchovy and brovada pickled turnips.
In addition, the Rosy Boy is an 80% Wagyu beef burger offered on Mondays, with just 20 to 25 of them offered each Monday.
Rosy also offers a communal, three-course menu. That started with a platter of salata and bread, featuring two homemade breads with seven dips, spreads and salads.
That plate featured thick, grilled ciabatta as well as flatbread. Dips were ajvar smoky red pepper (a Balkan relish); fermented, spicy beans; house cheese; carrot nduja; pickles; an Italian bagna cauda “anchovy bomb” and coal-grilled, spiced eggplant.
The bread and salata plate was an adventure with every dip taste. And it comes with a handy key to let diners know what each dip is.
The next course is a communal protein or vegetable dish, featuring either “lamb pasticada-ish” or harissa roasted eggplant. The lamb communal meal is priced at $50 per person and the eggplant at $43 per person.
“Nothing that we’re doing is new. All these things are old world and have been around for millennia. We’re bringing them back in and putting them into these modern lights,” Cimino said.
The communal meal ends with a gourmet soft-serve dessert, made in-house; the featured flavor will change often. Rosy’s first soft serve featured brown butter bread candy crumb with olive oil and sea salt, which was both sweet and savory.
“We get excited about food and that just allows us to do so many fun, cool, unique things,” Cimino said.
Beverages at Rosy
Wines at Rosy include those from Italy, Bosnia and Herzogovina, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and more. Vermuth and several specialty cocktails also are offered.
Cimino said he and Watts are excited to be a part of the busy Hingetown neighborhood, which has a lot of foot traffic. Rosy is located across the square from Larder Delicatessen and Bakery and close to Jukebox restaurant and bar, as well as Doug Katz’s Amba restaurant.
“There’s not a better feeling than being able to continue to add to an already really just incredible neighborhood community by opening up something else,” Cimino said.
Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron’s Vinnie Cimino opens Rosy fire-cooked restaurant in Ohio City
Reporting by Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
