After opening in 2019, Rose’s Daughter swiftly amassed a loyal following. Chef-owner Suzanne Perrotto had already spent a decade establishing herself as a respected chef and local with her first restaurant, Brulé Bistro. Where Brulé focuses on global dishes, Rose’s Daughter is an ode to Perrotto’s mother, Linda Rose, the family’s Italian roots and its beloved recipes.
The cozy restaurant has a front patio, a perfect perch for pairing pasta and people watching, and its back patio is a spacious space to enjoy a shaded al fresco aperitivo and meal.
We started with the house-made burrata and heirloom tomato salad ($18) and the recommended spinach dumplings ($12). Visually, the burrata salad was underwhelming, with only five small tranches of tomato among the arugula. The menu also mentioned a basil and walnut pesto that we couldn’t pinpoint.
With the spinach dumplings, we expected traditional dumpling dough stuffed with spinach, but instead, a ceramic oval gratin dish overflowing with pecorino cream sauce arrived. When we spooned into the dish, we found what seemed more like ricotta and spinach balls that were overpowered by black pepper.
When I expressed my confusion to the waiter, he acknowledged the concern and confessed it wasn’t the first time he’d heard similar feedback about the dish’s misleading name.
However, Rose’s Daughter shines with its housemade pizza and pasta. The mushroom and Galloni Prosciutto pizza ($19) in a Neapolitan-inspired crust was fluffy with a slightly toasted rim. It was topped with a hearty amount of arugula and drizzled with aged balsamic, bringing all the flavors together.
All the house-made pasta looked delicious, so our attentive waiter suggested we try Perrotto’s famous short rib pappardelle ($30), featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in 2023. The short rib is cooked for 18 hours before the uber-tender meat is mixed with fresh pasta, truffle paste, peas and an indulgent Parmesan bechamel sauce. Topped with Grana Padano cheese, the dish was al dente, perfectly seasoned, and a noteworthy standout that I’d happily order again and again.
There are plenty of great end-of-meal spirits to sip on, and it was hard to pick just one house-made dessert to share. We opted for the Nutella cheesecake ($12), which provided an excellent, sweet and chocolatey way to end the evening.
Rose’s Daughter, as Pineapple Grove’s neighborhood restaurant, brings our community together through its well-executed pizzas and pasta, and for that, we’re much better for it.
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