Bocca Coal Fired Bistro - Margate, NJ

Bocca means mouth.  Naming a restaurant "Mouth" in another language makes it sound exotic, but imagine if the owners used the English word?

We went to Bocca Coal Fired Bistro on a rainy night during our beach vacation.  I had made a reservation earlier and was quite thankful they were able to accommodate us.  It was a bit crowded and hectic.

I settled down with a smooth and perfectly made Cosmopolitan.

The Mr. loves a good crock of French Onion soup and this is how Bocca does it:

 

We have never seen nor tasted soup with deep fried onions as the top layer.  It was dramatic and the taste was ok, but, we (well the Mr. especially) are a bit traditional when it comes to our favorite food and drink.

 

Mommy had a Caesar salad that still was not as good as my sister's.

A cup of the chicken taco soup was warming in both temperature and flavor.  The typical seasonings one would expect in a taco, particularly cumin, were present in this fun cup of culinary sunshine.  I could thoroughly appreciate the creative touch in this dish.

Our mother's both ordered the personal pizza which turned out to be maybe 3 millimeters smaller than a regular pizza and 1 could have easily been shared.

Can't say we weren't happy to take almost a whole pizza home to enjoy as lunch left-overs.  It was a well made and delicious pie.

Chicken and Crab Limon

 

The Mr. is always quite proud of himself when he orders something new and acts as though he is doing it for me.  I love that he never quite goes out of a certain food circle. Chicken is almost always a safe bet though he does eat other meats at home (the one we never buy or prepare is veal) and is in fact a hunter willing to try many game meats and fowl.

 

 

For me, the crab ravioli.  I love the sauce, the pasta dough is just the right texture and firmness, the filling is identifiably crab.  Very nice plate.

 

 

The atmosphere at Bocca did not scream vacation restaurant.  I think the crowd was a comfortable mix of travellers and locals or at least regulars.  We were well taken care of, the food was plentiful and my drink was fabulous.

 

We talk about the rest of our planned adventures while at the shore and decide what we will do and see over the next few days.  A family of Fed Well tourists leave feeling full and fulfilled.