Bocca East Restaurant

1496 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10075, 212-249-1010 www.boccaeast.com

Let me begin by saying that it's lucky we even ate at this restaurant. A couple of weeks ago, Brian and I had plans to meet a dear old friend for Sunday brunch. I'd suggested Bocca because it always looked inviting whenever I walked past and the menu on its web site was compelling. She agreed and said she'd take care of the reservations.

Sunday brunch is a hot ticket on the upper east side of Manhattan and particularly so when the weather is fine and the venue features outdoor seating. If you plan to dine sometime between 11:00 and 1:00, you'd best make reservations at the cafes that accept them or prepare for a wait at the diners that don't. Our friend called on Thursday to make the Sunday reservation and the guy who answered the phone told her that he was the Thursday man and couldn't take a Sunday reservation. Neither could he transfer her to anyone else who could. This is patently ridiculous and the fact that she called back is amazing. I didn't hear this story until we were seated there with drinks in hand because I would have certainly made reservations elsewhere!

And since we not only blog but also tweet and Yelp, if the owner of this otherwise fine establishment is reading this I'd like to ask if you're out of your senses?

Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. That part of the story is sadder still because the food here is fantastic, far above the typical brunch fare and with service superior to what is normally found at these uber-busy places. The brunch menu offered Bloody Mary's, Mimosa's and Bellini's for a reasonable $4 price but our experience is that these brunch cocktails contain little to no alcohol. We asked the waiter to make us proper drinks and he certainly did. They were well balanced, tasty...and strong...at no additional charge.

For the meal our friend selected a grilled chicken panini sandwich with mozzarella cheese and heirloom tomato on ciabatta bread. I had the buffalo burger with chipotle mayonnaise, baby arugula, beefsteak tomato and mozzarella cheese. And both of our meals were served with field greens and Tuscan fries.

Brian chose the pappardelle with lamb ragu made with olives, fresh rosemary and shaved Pecorino cheese.All three dishes were excellent and the pappardelle was extraordinary. We do take exception with the fact that there were a couple of small bones in the dish but Brian was so enamored of the flavor that it didn't put him off. The three of us shared a well made and generously portioned tiramisu for dessert.

Apart from the bones in the pappardelle, we would also criticize the fact that a cute basket of bread was served with no butter or olive oil to dip. But otherwise the food was definitely a notch above most of the local places we've been. So, despite the Thursday reservation ridiculousness, are we going back? Given the excellence of the food and service I'd say they're probably going to get a second chance.