Dry rub for the tri-tip:
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 3 tbsp granulated garlic
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp dry basil
- 1 full tbsp chopped rosemary
Put tri-tip with a little water so dry ingredients will stick, turning over and pushing down so the tri-tip gets covered. Then place on grill, cooking time depends on covering or leaving grill open. One pound, on direct heat will take 10 minutes covered for medium rare, uncovered could take up to 15 minutes.
Jack Daniels Barbeque Sauce:
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup JD Whiskey
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1-1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 dark corn syrup
- 1 stick fresh rosemary
- 1/2 cup worchestershire
- 1 tbsp beef base
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- Big pinch fresh basil
- 1 tbsp sugar, cooked on high heat and then reduce to simmer.
Sautee a 1/2 cup walnuts in tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp butter, pinch of salt & pinch of sugar to caramelize the walnuts.
Salad ingredients
- Fresh spinach leaf
- red onion
- cherry tomato
- pears or apples
- crumbled blue cheese
- Walnuts (see above)
- Italian dressing
About Don Dial, Chef/Owner of Rocco's Café, South of Market
Don Dial grew up with Italian cooking in his blood. His mother was a typical Italian mom, always cooking or baking something from scratch, and both his grandfather and uncle ran successful Italian restaurants in San Francisco spanning over five decades. As a young boy, Don would spend many hours with his family rolling dough into little pillow shapes to make fresh Gnocchi pasta, picking fresh blackberries for blackberry pie, or canning peaches, pears and apples for winter.
By the age of 18, Don was ready to put this valuable experience to use and entered the restaurant business as a line cook for a very popular Italian restaurant in North Beach, quickly advancing to Night Manager. By this time, Don knew that some day he would own his own Italian restaurant in San Francisco.
Rocco's Cafe is named after Don's grandfather, Rocco Coscarelli, who ran Rocco's Fine Food restaurant for more than 20 years; the key ingredients were quality, quantity, and personality. This old-school Italian recipe for success was passed down to Don, who 17 years ago opened Rocco's Cafe in his honor.
Today, Rocco's enjoys a loyal following of regular customers who keep coming back to this South of Market neighborhood institution to experience the flavor of Italy with the feeling of Old North Beach. With Don as Chef everything is Special and each dish is an Original cooked with individual attention.
Web site: http://www.RoccosCafe.com
