Local chef David Falk, restaurateur behind Sotto and Nada, is debuting a fresh take on his French-Italian flagship, Boca, on the heels of a months-long COVID-19 disruption.
Photograph courtesy of Boca
The silver lining of this year, Falk says, has been the grace to try something new. Falk says he’s always wanted to attempt a concept that was rooted in smaller plates—something more freeing than the traditional appetizer-entrée formula.
Photograph courtesy of Boca
The larger plates aren’t going anywhere, but Falk is hoping to bring back the intentionality of eating, which is where his French background shines through. One of the dishes he’s most excited about is a whole-roasted Beef Wellington, which he says simply made sense to him. Rather than sticking with what is conventional, Falk says, “it’s more about how we want to cook and how we want to eat.”
When Falk launched his Domo “at home” meal prep service in August, the size of his dining room shrank by nearly half. But it also opened the door to the possibility of re-shaping Boca in the way Falk had originally imagined the restaurant. It would become, in his words, “focused, intense, and world-class—nailing it with nowhere to hide.”
“Every concept I have ever done started with a raw idea,” Falk says. “You think about vision and you start by seeing 75 percent of the picture, but it’s still blurred. Over time, this one began to reveal itself.”
Of course, there will be some inevitable menu changes, as well as a reimagined dining experience and curated wine program, but many classic Boca favorites will remain. “Don’t worry,” Falk says. “Pomme souffle ain’t going anywhere. Scallops and Brussels sprouts will still be there, but there’s definitely a far greater intensity to the overall menu.”
Photograph courtesy of Boca
The staff at Boca has been hard at work crafting the new wine menu. Falk says they have spent more time on the wine selections in the past three weeks than they have in the past 15 months.
“I’ve had toe-curling and mind-bending wine pairings,” Falk says. “And it’s much harder to find pairings like that than it is to create a dish that does it.” Recently, he embarked on the daunting task of creating a wine cellar. In a fast-paced industry, he says, you have to have the discipline to bend the trend of wine.
Boca, 114 E. Sixth St., downtown, (513) 542-2022
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