Restaurant Review: Boccacia takes quality seriously

Former owners of La Dolce Vita, a restaurant on Market Street, are trying their hand at a new Italian restaurant. The couple, Alana Zoanni and her husband Luciano, have opened Boccacia (Italian for “big mouth”) in the Southern Saddlery Building on Broad Street.
Though you can see Boccacia from the road, getting there can be a bit difficult. That doesn’t seem to stop anyone, though. My roommate and I went there recently during the middle of the week, and at least half of the tables were full. We asked our waiter what their weekend crowd was like, he informed us that ordinarily every table was taken during their weekend hours.
Their menu is small, but don’t judge too quickly. They keep their selection limited because everything, except for the bread that they order daily from Bluff View Bakery, is made in-house. Boccacia’s concise menu reflects their commitment to quality, an endeavor in which they certainly succeed.
We started out with Insalata Caprese (sliced, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes with chopped basil), a seemingly simple Antipasta that proved delicious.
For our entrée, I ordered the Involtini Val D’Aosta (chicken breast wrapped with prosciutto ham and fontina cheese with a balsamic vinegar reduction served with pasta). The flavors in the dish were so varied—a nutty, rich cheese; salty prosciutto; tangy, sweet balsamic vinegar—that a chef at another restaurant would be hesitant to combine them likewise. The chefs at Boccacia, however, brought the different flavors together perfectly in this dish.
My roommate ordered pasta as well (sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and mushrooms in a tomato sauce). She told me later that it was better than the food she had when she was in Italy.
She ordered the chocolate gelato (Italian ice cream) for dessert, and on the recommendation from our waiter, I got the crème brulee, both of which are worth saving room for.
Boccacia’s cozy atmosphere, friendly and attentive wait-staff, and (most of all) their excellent food, makes it entirely worth its prices and the trouble of finding it.