Rocca Kitchen and Bar: A vegetarian's delight in Boston SoWa
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| Enjoying Rocca Kitchen & Bar |
One of my very good friends is a seafood-eating vegetarian. She's also the one who has to sacrifice her free time and freedom to drink by driving 90 minutes to dine with us in Boston once or twice a month. (She lives in Rhode Island.) So, in our monthly hunt for a great dining deal, Restaurant Week presented itself as a no-brainer. The least I could do was pick a restaurant that I thought she'd enjoy. Rocca worked out perfectly.
Below are the highlights of our three-course meals.
Setting: Rocca is tucked in off of a parking lot on Harrison Avenue. You'll find patio seating beside a decorative windmill outside, and floor-to-ceiling windows hugging the lounge area inside. The dining space is hidden up a flight of stairs in a warm loft with half-booth/half-armchair seating. It's comfortable and inviting for groups.
Drinks: A couple of us early arrivers started at the bar, where we met friendly bartenders and discovered the unique cocktail menu plus $5 bar bites (discounted bar food from 5-6:30 pm). Try the lightly salted zucchini fritti and the sangria with prosecco. Perfect for a summer's evening, though I wouldn't have minded a bit more bubbly. I'll revisit my cocktail experiences at dessert.
Bread: Rocca has soft, sliced bread that reminds me more of a fresh bread stick. I ate too much of it.
Appetizers: My selection was the handmade vegetable gnocchi with summer squash, corn, zucchini, peas, caciocavallo cheese and fresh herbs (top left). It arrived a bit on the warm side, like it may have sat for a minute or two before leaving the kitchen, but it was satisfying and delicious, and the cheese wasn't all that heavy, surprisingly. I loved my pick. After tasting everyone else's dishes, my second favorite was the handmade whole wheat cavatelle (bottom right) with clams, cherry tomatoes, pancetta and dandelion greens. This was a light, summery pasta dish. The other dishes were also tasty but I can't resist fresh made pasta.
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| Rocca Kitchen & Bar Appetizers Clockwise from top left: Handmade Vegetable Gnocchi; Sauteed Shrimp Scampi; Farinata (Chickpea Flatbread); Whole Wheat Cavatelli |
Entrees: Unfortunately, I wasn't as thrilled with my entree. I ordered the Burrida (top left), a Ligurian fish stew with fresh herbs, clams, shrimp, squid and white fish, served with pesto crostini. The fish was all fresh and well cooked, but the soup was lacking some kick, and I barely tasted the pesto on my crostini, which promptly dissolved into my soup. Not my best selection. The big winner of the night was the braised short ribs (bottom right) with garlic and parmigiano-mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, carrots, peas and salsa verde. My friends who ordered this raved about it, diners at other tables raved about it, and even the ladies in the bathroom raved about it. I took one bite and understood why. The delecate pork pulled apart easily and seemed to melt in your mouth. Great dish.
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| Rocca Kitchen & Bar Entrees Clockwise from top left: Burrida (Ligurian Fish Stew); Grilled Sirloin; Braised Short Rib; Sauteed Salmon |
Dessert: We had a belated birthday to celebrate so most ordered the chocolate cake, of course! (Is it still birthday month, Kimbers?) The Torta Santa Monica is a rich chocolate cake layered with ganache, caramel and fleur de sel, served with vanilla gelato topped with almonds. To be different, I ordered the Prosecco float with raspberry sorbetto. It was the perfect desserty cocktail for a hot evening, though the cake was dense and delicious -- only for true chocolate lovers. Pair the two together and you can't go wrong.
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| Rocca Kitchen & Bar Desserts From left: Torta Santa Monica; Prosecco Float |
That's all for Restaurant Week at Rocca. Stop by this trendy Italian restaurant if you're looking for some fresh, veggie-friendly dishes. Hopefully some of my other dinner guests will comment on their meals here. (No pressure, ladies!)
Happy dining!
Foodie Chick
Posted by Foodie Chick at 8/15/2009 9:06 PM 
Categories: Boston Dining Events,Italian,Restaurant Week
Tags: Northern Italian Boston Riviera South End
Categories: Boston Dining Events,Italian,Restaurant Week
Tags: Northern Italian Boston Riviera South End
As one of Foodie Chick’s “untouchable” friends (doesn’t that photo remind you of a scene from The Untouchables? -- http://theboxset.com/images/reviewcaptures/1298capture_untouchables02.jpg ), I’d like to add my two cents. This review is spot on, but I’d like to give an extra shout out to the stellar service of the staff (especially the bartender and the two adorable Brazilian servers who waited our table). Everyone was attentive and friendly. Of course it’s probably easy to be in great spirits when you work at a place that produces delicious and innovative food.
Foodie Chick has made Boston Restaurant Week a bi-annual event for us. I have to admit that the Rocca Kitchen & Bar experience rates at the top with my favorite restaurant week experience at Blu (http://foodiechick.com/2007/03/29/blu-at-the-sports-clubla.aspx). Rocca gave us so many options to choose from that I was glad we were able to order different items to share.
For the first course, I enjoyed the Sauteed Shrimp Scampi. Although I don’t normally like my food staring at me (oh those beady Shrimp eyes), it did bring back fond memories of Spain. I wholeheartedly agree that Foodie Chick’s handmade vegetable gnocchi was the standout appetizer. It was so hearty and satisfying that it could have been served as an entrée. I have to mention the Farinata, however, as being the surprise. It looks simple, but it was so delicious that when I return to Rocca, I will order it.
When entrees came to our table, I soon discovered that I won the food lottery. Of course I had the Braised Short Rib. I had no interest in tasting anyone else’s dishes because I was so thrilled with mine, but I did. They were all great, but the Short Rib was the Rock Star of the evening.
Although dessert was good and adequate (I had the Torta Santa Monica), I wasn’t blown away with it (or the Prosecco Float)as I was with the first two courses. That being said, I’d go back to Rocca in a heartbeat. I loved the ambiance, the service, the food, and of course, the company! ☺
P.S. It's a birthday SEASON, not a month, my dear Foodie Chick. LOL
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