Boca Restaurant-Bar   

The crowd was better than the food. Lots of 50 something divorcees looking for a hookup and lots of boy toys looking for sugar. worth the show

We had dinner Friday night and sat in the trattoria. We'd never sat in the room before, but found it much more comfortable and less cramped than the main dining room. The ambience of the fireplace and our perfect view of the open kitchen was a plus. We had the three course dinner with dessert. Our server was lovely - knowledgable, gracious, and friendly. For our first course, she recommended the beet salad for me and the sea scallop with brussel sprouts for my husband. I don't usually like beets but the salad was excellent and fresh-tasting. When we asked about wine, she sent the wine steward over to recommend wine for each dish (a really nice touch). His dish was deliciously rich. The touch of blue cheese sauce worked beautifully with my dish. Next, I had the seafood stew with pasta in tomato broth and my husband tried the lasagna. Both far exceeded our expectations. The lasagna was meaty and hearty; I especially enjoyed my stew which was delightfully spicy on such a cold ngiht. Our server recommended the braised short rib and risotto chicken. Both were terrific; subtly flavored with recognizable spices, but far too complex to recreate at home. Dessert was OK, but maybe we were just too full to enjoy it. A wonderful experience - we will definitely go back!

Reading these reviews I'm not sure what these people expected. Boca is an upscale restaurant, with upscale food and upscale prices. It is more of an experience than a dinner. My wife and I ordered the 3 course. Each course was small but absolutely excellent. Her hand caught sea scallops and my crisp green bean salad with poached egg were a great start. Next up we she had squid ink dyed ravioli and I had white asparagus pasta with chanterelle mushrooms. For the final course I opted for the extra few dollars and got the lamb chop served over a Tuscan bean soup. I'm not sure what she had, I was so happy with mine. The wine was reasonably priced and the only let down was the dessert. If you have ever been to Pho Paris you know a dessert. Sadly Boca's were mundane and pedantic that evening. It hardly mattered, I was stuffed so full by that time anyway. It is a place to see and be seen. With at least a week wait for prime weekend times, this isn't a run of the mill dinner. How could someone go to Boca and only write one sentence? Its plenty of $ to go, but worth every penny.

I savored every bite. You have to try the diver sea scallop. It's wonderful!