Boka Not So Loca

Today's topic is Boka (http://www.bokachicago.com/). A friend suggested this restaurant for a Friday night outing and after googling it and seeing mostly positive reviews on the LTH Forum http://lthforum.com/bb/index.php - I figured why not? I was up for something more upscale than my last try, Spoon Thai. And I was not disappointed in the decor - nothing stunning, but certainly attractive. We got a table by the window and that is something I always welcome as I do like to people watch. Again I was pleasantly surprised by the large spaces between the tables; I am still trying to get used to the idea of all this available space after the crampish style of NYC.

Our waiter was amiable, but was a bit taken aback I think by the calmness of our demeanor. I think he expected more excitement. I've noticed waiters around here usually do. It must be a Chicago thing. Perhaps people here are friendlier, livelier, less subdued than NYers?

But on to the food. All dishes were beautifully presented, which for me is an important aesthetic of the meal. My eyes need to like what they see before the taste buds take over. The first appetizer, and I think the best dish of the meal, was the wild mushroom risotto with two simply excellent pieces of chicken. They had a delicious earthiness to them, were soft, a little chewy, with truffle-like sauce making me wish there were more of them on the plate. The restaurant's on-line menu doesn't have this dish for some reason. If this is seasonal (although I don't know why it would be considering lack of seasonal ingredients), the chef should certainly make it a permanent highlight. I, for one, would love to have it as an entree.

Our other appetizer was not great. We had the Baby Octopus with celery, purple peruvian potato, barbecued eel, granny smith apple, mussels and yogurt horseradish creme. The octopus was undercooked, rubbery and with a fishy aftertaste, but the mussels were quite pleasant. I don't remember the barbecued eel. If it was there, it was not noticeable. B says he tasted something porkish.

For the entree I had the Angus Strip Loin and Short Ribs. Angus Strip Loin not so great, but the Ribs were excellent. They were off the bone, in a small mound, juicy and stringy but in a good way. I got the same sort of an earthy satisfaction from them as I did from the chicken in the risotto. And again I wished there had been more of them on the plate. Alas, it was not to be. B and our friend both ordered the grilled Trout. I tried it, but didn't think it was anything special. A bit of a blah really and certainly not worth the price ($28). Overall, the restaurant is a bit pricey with appetizers running somewhere in the $12 to $16 range and the entrees in the $28 to $36 range. I would have expected more of a bang from the dishes for those prices. The only one I thought was really worth the price was the risotto/chicken dish.

Oh and B just reminded me that we had dessert, which fact completely skipped my mind - that's how good and memorable it was. We chose the restaurant's version of beignettes, which came in the form of 3 small, deep fried, brown, almost tasteless doughnuts. There was a sauce, but frankly, I can't remember what it was.

So there it is - Boka. I'm looking forward to my further explorations of Chicago's best and yummiest.