Bocci's: Charleston, SC
May 2010
A thought occurred to me recently: writing about all these fabulous restaurants might give the impression that Tom and I go out to eat all the time and that we're either loaded or really wasteful with our money. Let me assure you, neither one is the case. I guess eating out has just become sort of our hobby as a couple, and people spend money on hobbies like knitting and hiking, so why not for this? Plus, like the above description says, we've just been blessed. We're as careful with money as the next couple, and once in awhile we just find ourselves with a little extra to do something fun. Take this outing, for example. One day we found a Visa gift card that my boss and his wife had given us as a wedding present. Since we had already been married about 9 months at that point, it was a nice surprise...! We also had a coupon for Bocci's, a nice Italian place in downtown Charleston, so we decided we'd combine them and have a date night there sometime. Well, one Friday night we both came home at the end of a pretty crummy week and agreed that it was the perfect opportunity.
Appetizer: Artichoke Gorgonzola
Now, we've all seen stuffed mushrooms on an appetizer menu, but I don't know that stuffed artichokes are quite so common. I was on a big artichoke kick around that time, so we ordered these, and they were absolutely delicious. They're served on a bed of mixed greens and lightly drizzled with a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. What a great combination: the artichokes were nice and juicy, the gorgonzola cheese was creamy and gooey, and the vinaigrette balanced it with just the right amount of acidity and sweetness. In fact, the vinaigrette was so good, we ate some of the greens too, even though they were probably just supposed to be there for presentation. (Hello, complimentary salad!)
Tom's Entree: Shrimp Tortellini
This item might sound like your basic, run-of-the-mill pasta dish, but don't be fooled: it has so much more personality than just cheese tortellini and shrimp tossed in alfredo sauce (not that there's anything wrong with that!). It also has prosciutto ham, black olives, artichokes, and tomatoes. The colors from these extra ingredients make this dish as visually appealing as it is delicious. I think the addition of some veggies also really helped to lighten up the whole thing. Don't get me wrong; the alfredo sauce was still rich and creamy, but it didn't feel heavy like other ones I've had. It was just a little thinner without sacrificing that unmistakable alfredo flavor. Tastes great and is possibly even just slightly better for your waistline? Two thumbs up in my book.
My Entree: Ravioli Arrabiata
This was hearty as all get-out. The ravioli is stuffed with spinach and, get this, walnuts. Intriguing, right? At first, I was afraid it might feel crunchy or lumpy in my mouth, but the ravioli was actually nice and smooth. It almost felt like the walnuts were ground into a paste; even though they weren't actually broken down that much, they were still really soft and wonderful. The sauce is a spicy marinara with Italian sausage and more spinach. And when they say "spicy," they mean it. Our server was nice enough to volunteer this information when I ordered it, and he added that the chef could tone it down if I preferred. Well, I preferred, as you might've guessed. And even then, the sauce was a little too spicy for me, mostly due to the sausage, I think. It was still delicious, though; the smoothness of the walnuts helped to counteract the heat a little bit...! In fact, maybe the spiciness helped, because it forced me to slow down and really enjoy the huge amount of flavor in each bite.
(I thought it was funny that Tom ordered the creamy, comforting dish and I ordered the hearty, spicy one; usually it's the other way around. But what's really funny is that we ended up switching plates about halfway through the meal. I guess the reversal in preferences was just too much for us to handle...!)
Something I always worry about when going to an Italian restaurant is the humongous portions, but one of the great things about Bocci's is that all of their pasta dishes come in two different sizes. And even with both of us ordering the smaller sizes, we each had a little bit left over to take home, so you could say we got to enjoy our impromptu date night again a few days later!
