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The Foodie Report
Ruminations on food, cooking in and eating out in our area.


It's entirely possible to be a vegetarian in Porkopolis. Pop culture reporter Lauren Bishop blogs about products, recipes and restaurants she's tried for others who eat meat-free. E-mail her at lbishop@enquirer.com.


Nicci King is an unabashed foodie and the Lifestyle/Food editor in The Enquirer's features department. She loves to discover new food faves, and she's on a daily quest to answer one burning question: What's for dinner? E-mail her at nking@enquirer.com.


Enquirer Weekend editor Julie Gaw tends to order the same dish every time she eats at a restaurant, but periodically ventures out to discover something new and fabulous. After living in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand for more than 8 years, she craves tasty Asian food. E-mail her at jgaw@enquirer.com.


Food/dining writer Polly Campbell loves every quirk and secret of Cincinnati's food personality, and is on a constant lookout for something good to eat. Keep an eye out for her restaurant picks, or see how she's progressing toward becoming famous for her apple pie. E-mail her at pcampbell@enquirer.com.


Communities reporter Rachel Richardson is on a mission to prove vegetarians eat more than lettuce. She shares both her graduate work on American food culture and food-related news.. E-mail her at rrichardson@enquirer.com.

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Friday, May 09, 2008

Boca

I reviewed Boca today. Perhaps you can tell, I love the place. Not everyone does--I get emails and calls from people who think it's a lot of hype, too expensive, and the portions are too small. As I said in the review, I think the portions could be a little larger, myself--especially the pasta. But one thing to note is that the dishes are sized to be part of a three-course (plus dessert) meal. In which case, the size makes sense. If you do that, the price does go up. But if you just look at entree prices, it's not outrageously different than other restaurants of its class in the city.
Lamb's $29, filet's $39. It's not a huge porterhouse, but the price here is for flavor and refinement, not size.

One thing about the size of the dishes: it makes it hard to share. You give your friend a ravioli (raviolo?) and you only have two left! So I suggest a moratorium on the practice if you eat at Boca--I think people overdo it, anyway. Just eat your own dish--it's been created and sized for that. (That doesn't apply to me, of course. All food on the table is up for my grabs)

BTW, they know me there, so that probably affects my experience. But in this case, I don't think you could fake the service, or just put it on for one person. Good service like this has to do with the whole system and philosophy, not just attention paid to one person.

Your experiences?


4 Comments:

at 2:23 PM Blogger Amber said...

Boca was the place we had decided to go with my Dad when he was in town on Monday BUT Mondays are the ONLY day when they are not open! Oh well....

What other restaurants have you given 5 stars to, Polly?

 
at 2:44 PM Blogger Polly Campbell said...

Pigall's and Orchids. And at least one of the Jeff Ruby places. The Steakhouse, I think. I haven't always had five stars to work with--it was added on maybe five years ago.

 
at 4:14 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

The vibe was much cooler when it was in Northside. More hip yet urbane with a dash of grit. It was a place I could take someone from NY or Chicago and would feel more than comfortable doing so. They really lost that in the move up in the income brackets. The food is excellent but I really don't care for that atmosphere. Now it feels more like a high-end restaurant in a typically upscale suburban neighborhood.

I'm sure a lot of people prefer it that way...just a personal preference.

 
at 8:40 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree w/ Polly; I looooove Boca, and it's my go-to place whenever we're lucky enough to get a babysitter.

Oh, and I love the vibe. It's sophisticated without being stuffy, and the staff is so knowledgable and down-to-earth!

 
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