BiCE Ristorante (or known simply as BiCE) was an Italian restaurant located in New York City. Opening in 1987, the restaurant was popular with an upscale New York City clientele. It was described, soon after opening, by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as being "too chic, too crowded, too self-consciously European—yet everyone wants to visit." The restaurant almost closed in 2011 due to financial troubles. ''

Crain's New York Business Crain Communications Inc. is an American publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 foreign subsidiaries. History Gustavus Dedman "G.D." Crain Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain Jr.; 1885–1973), previously the ci ...

'' called BiCE an "institution". The original BiCE closed in 2014, but has since returned to New York City under the name BiCE Cucina.

Background

BiCE was located in

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

and was founded, in 1987, by Roberto Ruggeri. Ruggeri was inspired by his mother's restaurant in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

which was founded in 1926, where he worked with his brother, Remo Ruggeri. Both brothers are still involved in BiCE today. The restaurant is the same name as their mother's restaurant, which was also her nickname, short for Beatrice Mungai Ruggeri. The restaurant, and its international sister restaurants, suffered greatly due to the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

. In 2011, the restaurant almost closed due to

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

. It was bought out by a family friend in January 2011 and remained under the Ruggeri name. The restaurant had its interior updated and a restaurant manager and a marketing executive were hired. Famous customers included

Bill Blass William Ralph Blass (June 22, 1922 – June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer. He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999). Ear ...

. Their head chef was Silverio Chavez, who was born in Mexico. BiCE closed permanently in 2014.

Cuisine

In January 2013, BiCE added a ''

prix fixe Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...

'' meal which cost patrons $2,013 to purchase, gratuity included, for the restaurants 25th anniversary. The meal comes with

calamari Squid is eaten in many cuisines; in English, the culinary name calamari is often used for squid dishes.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2002''s.v.''/ref> There are many ways to prepare and cook squid. Fried squid is common in the ...

, a

veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...

dish, and the main dish, which is set on a

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

designed plate and consists of

tagliolini ''Tagliolini'' () or taglioni is a type of ribbon pasta, long like spaghetti, roughly wide, cut from a sheet of dough similar to tagliatelle, but thin like capellini. It is a traditional recipe in the Molise and Piedmont regions of Italy. In Pi ...

, made in house, mushrooms, two pounds of lobster and

black truffle ''Tuber melanosporum'', called the black truffle, Périgord truffle or French black truffle, is a species of truffle native to Southern Europe. It is one of the most expensive edible fungi in the world. In 2013, the truffle cost between 1,000 a ...

Chocolate mousse A mousse (, ; ) is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savory. as early ...

was served for dessert. Customers were given the Versace plate as a take home gift, which sold at the time at retail for $350.

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...

used to dine at the Milan restaurant, and before his death in 1997, he created a

chinaware Chinese ceramics are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. They range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese ...

design for the restaurant. 800 plates were created and as of January 2013, 45 remained. The meal was sold for a limited time, until February 15, 2013.

References

External links

* 1987 establishments in New York City Defunct Italian restaurants in Manhattan Midtown Manhattan {{Restaurants in Manhattan

Background

Cuisine

See also

References

External links