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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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 multi-industry publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 non-US subsidiaries. History Gustavus Dedman (G.D.) Crain, Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain, Jr.; 1885–1973), pre ...

'' 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 and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

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

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

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 marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

. In 2011, the restaurant almost closed due to

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

. 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). Early ...

. 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 a ...

'' 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 Me ...

, a

veal Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, v ...

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 fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as w ...

designed plate and consists of

tagliolini Tagliolini () is a type of ribbon pasta, long like spaghetti, roughly wide, similar to tagliatelle, but thin like capellini. It is a traditional recipe in the Molise and Piedmont regions of Italy. In Piedmont it is called tajarin and made of eg ...

, 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 mushrooms in the world. Taxonomy Italian naturalist Carlo Vi ...

Chocolate mousse A mousse (; ; "foam") 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 e ...

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-u ...

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

chinaware Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construc ...

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 Italian-American culture in New York City Restaurants in Manhattan Italian restaurants in New York City Midtown Manhattan Defunct Italian restaurants in New York City {{Restaurants in Manhattan

Background

Cuisine

See also

References

External links