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| - Well, I had not gone to La Bocca in some time (at least all summer) and wow, what a pleasent surprise this Thursday evening. The establishment, if anything, continues to get better, and not just the food. Going into La Bocca on a Thursday night sort of feels like stepping into an episode of the hills with all the stylish folk around (glad I could be there to represent the older, less attractive, but have lots of discretionary income group).
I went about 7 pm and the place was well filled and out and management seems to have everything humming from an operational standpoint. My friend from Germany and I were quickly seated and the waiter, to his credit, started out by saying that he was going to get us some ice water and would then be back to get things started. It was a nice way to ease us into the evening. One thing I do recommend at this point La Bocca, get on the cucumber in the water trend. It is more refreshing than a lemon slice and right in alignment with the ambiance of the establishment.
Now, on to food, we started out with the bruschetta. The bread is basic baguette slices (might be a nice idea to toast them a bit folks) and they nicely cut them in half so my companion and I could each have a taste (at La Bocca you pick 4 of the eight toppings off the menu). The roasted garlic, goat chease, and balsalmic arugula was good but the mozz, basil, and roma tomate topping was even better. I was not a big fan of the artichoke, spinach and roasted pepper though the final topping, of prosciutto, fig, and mascarpone (think sweet ricotta cheese) made up for it. The one thing I would like to see is just a simple topping of chopped roma tomatoes, olive oil and garlic, like they have up the street at Cafe Boa. Well, they have eight choices so I guess something for everyone.
For the main course I had the sicily pizze with local "sicily" sausage (no idea what that means), along with sun dried tomatoes, goat and parmesan cheese, some shallots, and other herbs. The toppings tasted good but a little busy. In other words, a little too much going on, but the crust, oh wow, write home on that one because it has only gotten better! I could have eaten the crust, with this crispy bubbles of crust, and its crunchy but chewy texture, and skipped everything else. I am surprised that the pepperoni with cave creek chili oil is no longer a standard on the menu. I think that simplistic pie is still my favorite though now I guess I have to do it from the "make your own pie" option.
For desert my German friend (well, an American expat in Germany), at the recommendation of the waiter, had the mint and chocolate chip ice cream. He said the mint tasted fresh picked and wow, it was fresh! The scoop is large so a good split for two people and the mint is a good way to freshen the breath at the end of a date if one is preparing for any sort of canoodaling later in the evening or just enjoy really good mint ice cream.
Finally, I had an espresso (my friend ordered the ice cream, I just tasted it) and the waiter told me they are working on getting their coffee supplies from Cartel Coffee Lab, which is a coffee roaster just down the street off Farmer and University. The coffee there is the best so a good idea and one more way to locally source what they offer, which is always a wonderful idea.
In summary, I can see why they got voted one of the top 25 restaurants in Phoenix and who would have thought it, right on Mill avenue. As that folk singer dude whose name I can't remember says, the times, they are a changing. :-)
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