Please excuse the tardiness in my posting. It has been many weekends since Danielle, Shane and I started this blog and I have let time get away from me. Believe me, there have been many things to write about, such as English bacon flavored potato chips, hot sauces with names that are too explicit to record, and new local eateries.
First things first, Shane, Danielle and I went to a new place in town called La Bocca. Its tag line is that it is authentic Italian cuisine. With there also being an opening of a new artsy craft store this past Saturday, we all decided to make a night of it. The new store, The Dandy Lion, was very cute and had many unique wares that the younger crowd would enjoy; especially since the downtown area is re-inventing itself. La Bocca, however, was less inspirational to me.
I hate to be so persnickety, but I did not care for the service. It is not that the staff was not polite, it was that they did not seem experienced from seating guests to bringing a check. Danielle and I both had spaghetti and meatballs, which were good. The marinara was very light in taste and not overpowered by excessive herbs. The marinara barely covered the pasta, which made it easy to see that La Bocca knows how to make a good al dente. I also enjoyed the meatballs as they were plentiful on my plate and firm. Danielle and I do suggest that they do need to make their meatballs with a fattier meat and perhaps diversifying the ingredients in them. Nonetheless, I finished my meal.
Shane on the other hand had a lovely looking baked ziti. Everything looked wonderful on the outside, but I am sorry to report that it had no taste. When I tried it all I could taste were the noodles (which were cooked perfectly). This is sad as the dish has great potential. La Bocca has some great sounding dishes and their shortfalls can be easily fixed, so no worries.
I would try La Bocca again and I encourage others to do so also. This place is new and needs the community's support to make it a great staple in the downtown area. Perhaps our suggestions will help us become a part of it and shape it into a step away from Italy.
