fifth look inside the rosetta stone

Had my first meal at the newly opened Rosetta Stone downtown over the weekend. Here is a tour of our table's plates that evening:

salad with strawberries and mandarin oranges:


mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil and balsamic vinaigrette salad:


I believe this was mushroom ravoli, with pears (maybe apples?)


steak:


salmon with subtle blue cheese sauce over a bed of angelhair:


A carrot cake upon first look I thought was mashed potatoes:


Creme caramel with fruit garnish and black coffee.


my next goal is to get there on Federal Street for their daily breakfast, and try things from their bakery.

fourth look at the rosetta stone

Because uploading all of my videos from First Night is taking a good bit of time, I'm just going to concentrate on the construction at the Rosetta Stone Cafe today - which was serving coffee, fruit, and cheese and crackers on New Year's Eve.

Walking through the main door, this chocolate sculpture greeted all the visitors:


wow.

The three figures carved in cocoa were very ornate, and held the wine bottles in place.


The floral arrangement was also made of sugar. A nice compliment to the mangoes and fromage.


The display cases have now been installed, which are right next to the ovens and will contain all the daily baked goods.


Leather couches and tables have been placed on the upper level.


From the street level, the wide open windows allow pedestrians to look all the way to the back mural. Compare this experience at the street level to the horribly designed Children's Services Building just two blocks away.

Just imagine if this vision continued down the street, all the way to the symphony!


The new booths have been installed, along with some chairs . . .


. . . and the bar looks to be finished, with lights and beer taps now installed.

third look inside the rosetta stone

A few days before Christmas, I snuck inside the Rosetta Stone Cafe to take a few more pictures. This post will provide an update of the construction, plus a sneak preview of the menu.

The full-service restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, as indicated in this article from the Business-Journal:

"The static portion [of the menu] will feature steaks, chicken and other entrees. The other will be “somewhat dynamic and change relatively frequently,” he continued. Among the selections will be Peruvian and Mediterranean dishes.

The chefs are Barry Karrh and Chuck Wolfcale. Karrh, who attended culinary school in France, comes from Mississippi and “brings a lot of French Creole and Cajun to the table.” Wolfcale has been a chef in the area more than 27 years."

Here is photo of the rapidly changing mural that runs along the back of the stage.


Now peeering towards the wine room,


when we look inside we can see the racks for all the bottles.


This section of the restaurant is now carpeted and ready for furniture.


Speaking of furniture, here are some seats being put in:


Ok, now back to the menu. Picking out some (but not all) items

For breakfast: bagels, croissants and muffins will be baked daily.

For appetizers: asiago stuffed mushrooms, spinach pies, and vichyssoise, etc.

For salads: goat cheese and fruits with baby greens, Chilean caeser salad, etc.

For meats: fillet, ribeye, ny strip, and surf and turf, etc.

Other main courses: trout almandine, butterflied shrimp in tumeric

For vegetarians: mushroon ravoli, ratatouille, etc.

For desserts: lemon souffle, mousse cake, etc.

Keep in mind there is a whole bunch of stuff from the menu that I did not include, including other entrees, soups and sandwiches. I just chose those things that jumped out at me and my palate.

second look inside the rosetta stone cafe

wow.

what a difference two weeks makes!

Following up from yesterday's post, here are some new photos from inside the rapidly changing Rosetta Stone Cafe. Looking around the interior, we find fresh coats of paint on the walls . . .


And the arched ceiling is now painted with a colorful mural. Created by one of the Rosetta Stone Cafe's chefs, the mural depicts some of the wonders of the ancient world, including the lighthouse of Alexandria.


Looking out from the stage, you can see the rest of the mural, going to the main part of the restaurant.


Moving over towards the bar, lots of work has been done here as well.


And peering down the length of the bar . . .


Finally, a photo from the beautiful medians along West Federal, which provided me shelter as I took this picture looking into the Rosetta Stone in the evening.


Seems to be progressing nicely . . .

first look inside the rosetta stone cafe

Over the past few weeks, local message boards and blogs have been buzzing about the opening of the Rosetta Stone Cafe in downtown youngstown. The Rosetta Stone Cafe will be a full service restaurant with an extensive seating area, bar, and even a bakery with pastries and other oven-fresh goods.

Three weekends ago just after Thanksgiving, one of the partners gave Shout Youngstown a tour of the building in which the Rosetta Stone Cafe will be housed. The building was at one point a Woolworth's department store, and its most recent commercial incarnation was a Rite Aid. Here is a photo of the front of the building at present, located at 110 West Federal Street:


Signs on the front windows show they are looking to hire employees in time for their grand opening. Check out this Craiglist ad for more details, or contact them at [info (at) rosettastonecafe (dot) com].


Here is a picture facing what will be the bar area:


From behind the bar, you can look across to the main entrance and out to Federal Street.


Next, in the center of the space towards the back, we have an arched ceiling where the stage will be.


Glancing around the main room, there are some various spaces for semi-private and private dining and meetings.


Into one of the bathrooms before the thrones are installed,


And finally, a quick peek at the kitchen area:


come back tomorrow to this blog, and we'll fast forward though more construction and another update. This one will be from a week ago, or about two weeks after the pictures in this post.

And again, if you or other you know would be interested in working at the Rosetta Stone, give em a call or shoot them an email.