Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch.

Published September 27, 2018.

Where are you originally from? How did you end up in Rochester at this time in your life?

I’m from Cicero, outside of Syracuse. I came to Rochester to attend Nazareth College, where I studied Music Business with a minor in Web Design. My primary instrument is voice, but I also play guitar and taught myself to play the mandolin. I was planning to move to Boston with a friend, but they ended up moving to Ohio instead. I stayed in Rochester and started stumbling upon things to do really easily, so I decided to stick around.

What is your favorite part of living in Rochester?

Fringe Festival is my favorite time of year. I’ll volunteered at it this year and will be blogging about it too. When I attended Fringe for the first time, I just thought, wow, this is my kind of festival.

What are some of your favorite/secret Rochester spots? 

Vesper. It’s in such a cool spot, right around the corner from St. Mary’s. Their cocktails are amazing, and they have a great beer list—anything for anyone’s palate. They serve a lot of seafood and have good Taco Tuesdays. The interior is so cute. It’s like a friend’s apartment in NYC type vibe. Eclectic, with framed nutcrackers on the wall, a glass hutch for the bar, a grandma’s house kind of vibe.

What is the most unique or interesting event you've attended in Rochester? 

Roc the Taste. It’s a new event, and I’m from Syracuse, so I thought it would be just like Taste of Syracuse, but it was different and really cool. There were tons of tacos, ice cream, and music. Parcel 5 is an enjoyable events space. This festival is my newest favorite. It’s a little offbeat. As a food lover, I really loved it. Where else can you try all these different dishes from different restaurants? If you really loved a particular sample, they also had it available in the full size.

What are some of your favorite local nonprofits to support? 

WallByrd Theatre. I try to go to their shows to support them. They hire actors of different levels of experience, young and old alike. They also do blind auditions, so race and gender don’t matter. I saw Macbeth by them and both MacDuff and Lady MacDuff were played by women. It was well acted. They also feature lots of students.

If you had $100 and two hours to kill in Rochester, how would you spend the time/money? 

I’d go to New York Kitchen, formerly the Wine & Culinary Center. I went to a cocktail making class there recently. I’d love to go to Chef’s Table there, where you get to cook a huge, five course meal. I’m a lifelong learner so I think I’d really love that.

What's your favorite neighborhood? 

Brighton. Some side streets there are really cute, and I like to visit estate sales in that area. Right off Monroe they have these rustic houses and old street lamps. Plus, Brownstein’s has the best sandwiches. They’re so stacked! I get the turkey pastrami, and there’s so much meat on it. And it’s only like $5! It’s a real hidden gem of Rochester.

Favorite coffee shop? 

Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters in Pittsford Plaza is my absolute favorite. It’s cozy, it smells good, and the coffee is less than $2 and is delicious. Their espresso is my favorite too. I like to get coffee from there to go and then walk around Pittsford Wegmans. Fuego Coffee is also great if you’re going out with friends and need some caffeine beforehand. Their espresso tastes a little unusual, but the texture is perfect.

Best place to get a garbage plate? 

Hungry’s. I get a cheeseburger plate (sometimes a double, depending on how hungry I am), with home fries (each side is perfectly browned and crispy, and they make them with fresh potatoes, not frozen), mac salad (there’s not too much mayo or onion), and top it with mustard, onion, and meat sauce. They have less cinnamon in the meat sauce, and that’s what makes it for me. I like to have half as my meal and warm up the second half later.

The other contenders I tried before arriving at this conclusion were: Jeremiah’s, Nick Tahou’s, Fairport Hots, Henrietta Hots, Dogtown, and Red Fern.

What is your personal coping mechanism for cold/gray weather? 

Definitely concerts. Rochester does well with indie concerts in the winter. I think it’s because we don’t have to compete with CMAC. Anthology, the Bug Jar, and Montage are ones I keep my eye on. Such good bands come through. I also love visiting the libraries around here, especially the Pittsford Library.

What is your favorite Rochester memory? 

When I saw Bandaloop at Fringe Festival, rappelling off the side of the Xerox building. I laid on the sidewalk and watched. I felt so small and so inspired that our city loves the arts so much that we just let people dance on the side of a building.

Seeing Spiderman being filmed in Rochester was inspiring to me too—we have more places downtown that look like a real city, especially compared to Syracuse, where I’m from.

What makes Rochester unique? 

I think we emphasize the arts more than other cities. Arts and maker festivals drive small business purchasing for Christmas gifts, instead of buying from big retailers. Having so many festivals drives people out into the community. Plus, more and more places are opening for every palate. Our craft beer scene is booming. Awhile back, there was a Gilmore Girls pop-up at Ugly Duck, and we were one of the only pop-up events held in Upstate NY! We reach out and try to be part of pop culture trends.

What do you think could be improved? 

So many deluxe apartments keep popping up. We have all these apartments with no one to live in them. We’re struggling to keep businesses in the city. We need to get more bids for big businesses to come here. We have to help small businesses become bigger. We need to drive more employment here rather than putting the cart before the horse.

If Rochester was an animal, what would it be?

It would be a horse. Our city had a big boom when horse and carriages were big. The old parts of our city still have the foundations of where you’d “park” a horse. We have little links to the past everywhere. We’re also like a horse because we’re very hardworking. I’ve never met a Rochesterian who doesn’t work hard or try their best. People here are very honest.

Tell me a little bit about your blog, Fortissimona.

I was interviewing for a job at the RPO, and they asked me if I had blogging experience. I didn’t at the time, so I started my own blog so I could get that experience. I go out with my roommate and try different cocktails and restaurants. It’s a way of recordkeeping for me too, so we can remember where we’ve been. We’ve tried various garbage plates, sushi night at nosh, Native, Vesper, and just frolic around. It’s helped me sharpen my editing skills. I even coded and designed my own site. The name, Fortissimona, came from the musical term to get very loud. It also means strong and mighty, and I’m Italian, so it just seemed like a good fit.

What advice would you give to someone who is new to Rochester and looking to get to know the area?

Start with City Newspaper. They have a great events listing both in paper and on the web. Lots of it is based on citizen input. Through their events calendar, I found out about a concert at Wicked Squid, right in their studio. It was so chill! You can definitely find something offbeat.