Rocket Cafe Heeds Customers’ Call

Rocket Cafe
Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day
883 Whalley Ave.
New Haven

The newly opened Rocket Cafe in Westville‘s chef, Jaime Rua, offered me a pastry with queso blanco and sweet guava filling, which he calls simply palito de queso.

“It’s almost like pizza dough,” he said of the outer layer. The light sweetness of the guava complemented the cheese beautifully, a bite of heaven.

I also ate a Colombian buñuelo, a savory ball of dough and cheese. Here’s the thing: neither the palito de queso nor the buñuelo are on the current menu. The plan is to introduce them in the next one, a response to new customers’ requests.

Before the cafe’s official grand opening, Rua and his wife Adriana Orozco are fine-tuning the menu. At first, they were more focused on all-American food and the bar aspect of the restaurant. Now they are enjoying early morning hours and trying out more Colombian offerings. Right now, the cafe is open seven days a week as a chill, early-stages version from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with full hours up to 9 p.m. coming soon.

When I arrived around 11 a.m. Sunday, two customers were having breakfast and coffee, and gentle jazz played through the TV. It felt like a perfect cozy morning.

Rua works weekends at Rocket Cafe; his son, Diego Rua, cooks during the week. Soon, when the cafe will extend its hours until 9 p.m. daily, Diego will work mornings while Jaime works nights. Orozco handled the business side. The husband-and-wife duo has run My Little Colombia, a restaurant and bar in East Haven, for the past four years.

What’s it like working alongside his wife and son? “It’s awesome, I like it,” Rua said.

Diego graduated from culinary school in Colombia five years ago, honing his craft in an academic environment. When I asked the elder Rua how he learned to cook, he replied, “Just…watching.”

He spent over 20 years cooking at Woodwinds in Branford, learning from famed chef Silvio Suppa and making his way to head of kitchen. Cooking was Rua’s first job in the U.S. after coming from Colombia at age 27, and he realized he liked it.

Now “I’m very confident with my skills,” Rua said. One of his favorite parts is seeing people enjoy what he creates. “When they come to taste my food, they see it’s different.”

The Rocket Cafe team is aiming for a menu featuring a mix of Colombian and American dishes. Whether that ratio is more 50/50 or 80/20 will depend on the customers’ tastes. Rua said the cafe will “start with some dishes; see what people like.” If you want your opinion heard, it seems now is your chance to vote with your taste buds.

So far, the soft-opened spot’s best sellers have been omelettes and burgers. I noted the creativity of the “Macaroni Burger” on the menu, which includes mac-n-cheese in the burger itself, and Rua said he was thinking of the kids. “Kids, they love macaroni.”

Rua asked if I’ve had empanadas. “Yes, in general,” I said, not sure if he meant Rocket Cafe’s specifically. He replied without missing a beat, “But the empanadas here are different.” He likes to make empanadas how grandma makes them, he said.

First, he cooks the chicken and potatoes, seasoning them to perfection. Then he lets them cool for one day, and starts the next morning bright and early (6 a.m.!) boiling corn. He uses a specialized grinder to turn the corn into the beginnings of a fresh dough. The whole process takes two to three days.

“See how it’s crunchy?” Rua said as he cut open an empanada to cool, the knife making a satisfying, crispy sound. “It’s because of the corn.”

It was truly delicious, with a satisfyingly crunchy outer layer encasing a soft, flavorful potato and chicken interior. Rua paired it with a homemade hot sauce, made with a variety of peppers, spices, and vinegar.

As I talked to Rua and drank a cup of rich Colombian coffee, I noticed two different passersby standing in front of the menu in the cafe window, reading it. One pulled out his phone to take a picture. Rua said people have been doing that often, even stopping inside just to say hi and welcome them to the neighborhood. It wasn’t something he had experienced before.

One thing the new neighbors have been asking about is Colombian food. And it seems like their requests have made an impact. “We never knew” customers over in Westville would ask for the cuisine by name, Rua said. Now, palitos de queso, buñuelos, and empanadas are on their way.

The new menu items will go up this week, Rua said. He already told the guy who prints the menus.

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