Small Bites

Tony Spiritoso, restaurateur of a few Italian eateries and native of Calabria — located at the toe of Italy’s boot, placed La Bocca Ristorante in the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week line-up. The menu was straight forward offering a choice of three appetizers followed by a main course, then dessert.

We selected two of the three appetizers. First, I was intrigued by the idea of a chickpea puree with crispy mushrooms and rosemary olive oil. The puree came in a bowl, steaming. The color was burnt Sienna. Atop, in the center, was a thinly sliced mound of crisped funghi. This textured soup was very nice, smooth yet like creamy morning grits. There was a complementary smokiness on the tongue. The rosemary olive oil wasn’t so present and left me searching for it. Overall, the soup was a welcome reprieve on a rainy night.

At one point, I looked at the person I figured to be the owner and asked him in Italian about the elements of the dish. Well, having found his paesano (my mother is Italian), he quickly rushed to the back and emerged with a jar of a spiced eggplant/chili mixture which just brought the heat profile to the right level. Needless to say, the “bomba” (bomb in Italian), was so perfect that I asked to buy a jar. It turns out that owner Tony Spiritoso imports and sells some Italian products as well. This condiment will be accompanying eggs on an upcoming weekend morning.

The Caprese salad consisted of Parma ham and fresh mozzarella.  There was a generous shaving of artfully placed ham next to tomatoes under one-half inch thick slices of creamy, milky mozzarella. A single basil leaf adorned the plate, I could have had one leaf per tomato/mozzarella tower. Considering tomatoes are not in season, the color was right and unlike so many restaurants, they were not icy cold, therefore leaving them with a nice essence.

There were five main courses to choose from on the dinner menu. Of course at most places you can go for the linguine, pappardelle, or chicken.  We chose the final two.  The first was an encrusted baramundi fillet with black olives over leek infused cream. Baramundi is similar to a halibut in texture but a bit fattier, and we know what that means: More flavor! It came as a fillet which was flaky and tender.  The crust was very lightly browned and was placed over the light  infusion.  The fish on its own, was nice. The sauce, although a nice color-addition to the plate, lacked structure and fell flat – – very little sense of leek. On the side, were slices of onions, matchstick-style, crisply fried. Think onion potato chip. How bad can that be!?

Then there were seared scallops with a couple of steamed shrimp over a risotto which was made with prosecco and fennel.  The scallops were nicely seared and fork friendly. The shrimp were plump, but just shrimp, nothing special. The real flavor hits your tongue with the aggressive sense of anise rising from the fennel. The nice complement comes from prosecco.  The acid cuts through the strong flavors therefore creating an interesting balance. Very flavorful and served on a plate with some streaks of balsamic reduction.

Dessert was not the star of the evening. The St. Joseph Zeppole with custard cream, was a bit chewy and the pastry cream, a mite gummy, didn’t do it for me. It was topped with a maraschino cherry.

The tiramisu didn’t “pick me up” as the name means in Italian.  It was a bit watery and yet still retained some traditional flavor.  The moisture element made it less than pleasing. What I did love were the pistachio crumbles scattered about the plate.  So good!

La Bocca is easy to access with reasonable street parking. The crowd is very Italian – – from Italy!  Italian television and music are seen and heard, and the Italian conversations around you while dining only serve to heighten the experience. Italians know and love good food and have found their local eatery. The restaurant itself is a nice size, and not too big.  Warm colors bring a sense of calm. Decent wine offerings as well.

Tony and his chef developed an enjoyable menu for Hudson Valley Restaurant Week and you should give it a whirl.

Below I will include some photos of dishes from the regular menu, as well.  This will hopefully provide you with a sense of what to expect daily.

Salute a tutti!

Todd

Estiva Salad with fennel, orange sections, shrimp and pitted black olives

Orecchiette (little Italian ears) with lima beans

Spiedini alla Romana: Fried cheese in bread with an anchovy/caper sauce

The 411 on La Bocca Ristorante.

Photo Caption: chickpeapureeFINAL