Some BDE for the BC.

Yes, we’re still talking about eating. No, we’re not being crude, this time. Gallo Nero legit means “Black Cock” in Italian, or so the manager informed us on our first visit a few months ago – we didn’t google it.  Why they went with that name, we don’t know.  We’ve been too lazy to ask on our countless trips back after that first one.  Maybe we’ll update you when we find out but, eh, probably not.  Solution: go check this place out and ask for yourself.  Tell them we sent you. It will mean nothing to them, but everything to us.

Also, order anything with the vodka sauce. Get a vodka drink to go with it. Actually, get three because why the fuck not? Boom. You’re feeling existential AF. Honestly, we’re not huge fans of Italian food in general (that’s actually just a lie we tell ourselves when the stretchy pants are a bit tighter than usual), but this place has us wishing carbs weren’t a thing because we are here almost every other week. The food is just so good.

Inside The Black Cock.

We also love that the portion sizes are ginormous. When your meal arrives your inner monologue will be all, “Damn! I’m taking at least half of this home. Leftovers for lunch!” Fast forward about 5 minutes (because you can’t eat at a socially acceptable pace due to the childhood trauma inflicted by your father taking your food after he was done with his own) and you are clawing for the last bread roll to soak up the remainder of the sauce like a pillow-y sponge of carbohydrate heaven designed to get every last drop of flavor into your over-stuffed mouth. You’ll have no regrets. Just know in advance that you’ll be rocking your control-top Spanx leggings (in black, duh) the following day, maybe two days.

Show us your muscles.

Menu favorites are the muscles, stromboli, grilled chicken, penne vodka, tortellini, shrimp scampi, & all garlic bread, obvi. Expect this list to grow quickly as we continue to eat our way through the menu. We’ve also ordered the stuffed mushrooms several times and we so desperately want to like them (they come in the freaking vodka sauce which we would bathe in if we could), but they’re just bread crumbs shoved into some under-cooked mushroom caps and a huge disappointment. The silver lining is you can push the mushrooms to the side and spoon-feed yourself the vodka sauce. 10/10 do recommend. We also recommend the cannoli and oh heyy day three in your control top pants. Insert drooling face emoji here.

The atmosphere is casual.  It’s very warm and welcoming when you walk in.  A crepe station is to the right and pure unadulterated magic happens there (we mean they make great crepes). Also magically, somehow we tend to drink an entire bottle of wine when we come here on weekdays. It’s so weird.

The staff is attentive but not intrusive, which is perfect for a weeknight when we don’t want to cook (which is all the time) but also don’t want to try too hard to pretend we don’t hate people. The wine list is also pretty on point (maybe too on point), and the bartender knows what she’s doing. We’ve ordered several classic cocktails (Old Fashions and Filthy Martinis are our go-to’s) and they come out solid every time. Moral of the story, Gallo Nero aka Black Cock has nailed the casual Italian scene.

Bonus tips: Don’t let them sit you in the back “private dinning” room. It is literally a closet with a booth, TV and fish tank in it. Why do restaurants have fish tanks? You have to slide in around the “private dinning” table because there is no standing room. A sliding door acts as one of the walls.  As we are writing this we realize you probably should ask for the private dinning room. It’s perfect.       

D-List’s Determination:

  • Dining: Five black roosters.
  • Drinks: 4 shots of vodka.
  • Dog friendly: One dog face emoji – if you sit on the front patio.
  • Deals: Ask someone who works there, duh. But also, Happy Hour M-F 5-7 pm. $5 Cocktails. $4 House Wine. $3 Beers.