Going to La Boca for the first time this weekend. EDITED to include LONG review

Just prepare for Oriestes surly old school maitre' d vibe. He isn't there to stroke your ego or become your friend, but hopefully you don't need that.

The sweetbreads really need to be ordered and of course go for the more offbeat cuts of meat.

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I don't know if you've had a chimichurri sauce on a steak before, and I've never had it at La Boca, but I have recently been turned onto this in a big way. So damn good. Research it before you go to see if its something you might like. Pretty sure they sell it there.

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They give every table three different sauces, one of which is a traditional chimichurri.

Wonderful place. I like the hanger steak, but you pretty much can't go wrong with any cuts there.

Went for my birthday dinner Tuesday night. If you
're with a group of four or more, I highly suggest going with the chef's tasting menu. You get so much food to taste - bruschetta, empanada, chorizo, gnocchi, salad, then a steak with family style servings of mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and fries. Followed by dessert. You will not leave hungry. Or disappointed. Everything was delicious. Service is great. Absolutely love the place. Best steak in the city.

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Just prepare for Oriestes surly old school maitre' d vibe

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Is he the guy who's been there from the "git go". Like Adolfo's cousin or some such crap? That sounds like his name. They guy can be major league creepy.

But I still love the place.

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Y.A. Tittle

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I think he is an excellent maitre d and he runs that room with an iron fist. Which he sort of has to seeing as there are at most 40 seats. And shoot there aren't many maitre ds anymore, instead managers.

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I don't disagree with you that it is a great place. Right now, I keep going back and forth between here and Mr. John's as to what is the best "steakhouse" in the city. But I do know this, if you go anywhere else for a steak, you are just wasting your money.

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Hadn't been to Mr. John's steakhouse, yet. Did drunkingly win a silent auction for a dinner for the two there, so will be going soon. What do you two recommend from there? Cause I hear some of their Italian dishes are great, too.

My review is in the dining guide. Take it for what it's worth, keeping in mind that I probably didn't order the best cut of meat for my personal enjoyment and I don't gravitate to steak restaurants as a first choice of restaurants. I love steak, but I don't order them at restaurants, usually, unless at a steakhouse. My review includes some items there which were very good, though, and I highly suggest trying the chorizo and the gnocchi. The two desserts I mention are delicious. You order one and have someone else order the other because the crepes with a little of that ice cream on top are wonderful.

I can understand why steak lovers enjoy the place. I probably would have liked it better if I hadn't ordered the slow cooked meat. I need to see blood. Something that tasted like brisket didn't do it for me.

Thanks for the info.

I almost added "inb4haveasteak" to the post!

I am planning on hanger steak and gnocchi, although I cook with skirt a lot, and am interested in having it in a restaurant.

I love chimichurri, so I'll look forward to that.

Read Gris-gris's review, and I am a steak-eating girl for sure, so I think I'll be good.

Going with three others, and will try to convince them to get the tasting menu. It's my b-i-l's birthday, so he wants to ring it up and try everything.

Review to follow! It'll be my first, so be gentle.

Don't need my maitre'd to kiss my arse, just get me a decent table and make sure everything runs as it should.

Saturday night arrived at La Boca at 7:30 with a party of four to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. Orestes was very genial and we were given a corner table in the window, which suited us very well. The only issue with the environs of the restaurant was the temperature. Their a/c is sadly lacking, and we were not directly under a ceiling fan, so it was quite warm. That may not bother some, but is a factor for me, so I will probably only return to La Boca at cooler times of the year.

We began with Pisco Sours, which were very good. The cinnamon sprinkled on top was very fragrant, and led me to expect a differently flavored drink, but that did not make the drink less pleasant. I drank one, and then tried the fresh watermelon and Absolut cocktail, which was initially a little strong for me, but once it mellowed in the glass was extremely refreshing (especially in the warm room). A nice touch was the waitress spontaneously asking if I was happy with the drink, and offering to take it away and remove it from our bill. I always appreciate that level of attention and willingness to please.

We chose the tasting menu plus two additional appetizers that the birthday boy was particularly interested in. This was a very good decision.

The first app presented was the bruschetta with smoked drum, onion jam, oregano and sea salt. Each diner received one, and I could have wiped out a platter of these. The jam was a perfect foil for the solid,smoky fish. The meld of textures and flavors made this a wonderful bite of food. We were served the chorizo (2 links), provoleta, blood sausage (2 links), and empanadas (one each of the criollo and pollo) next. The chorizo one of the better house made sausages I have had -- lots of flavor without being overwhelming as poorly made chorizo can be. The provoleta was very good -- mildly flavored without being bland. A nice amount of tasty grilled brown cheese on top, and enough olive oil to add flavor without being greasy. My brother-in-law ate the morcilla on his own, and said it was very subtle, but substantial. Mixed reviews on the empanadas. I found the ground beef pie very pleasant, with the inclusion of raisins in the filling adding a nice sweetness. The chicken empanada with corn, fresh mozzarella and olive was not a favorite at our table, as the olive flavor was very predominant and did not seem to be complemented by the other ingredients as one would expect. I love olives, but this was my least favorite dish of the night. The dough on the empanadas was not greasy or tough, but I cannot rave about the flakiness or lightness thereof. It was simply good dough, not exemplary. But empanadas were not what we were there for, after all.

The gnocchi was served alone, family style, with each diner receiving about eight dumplings. The texture of these was superb. Very light and soft. The cream sauce was very subtle, and I observed only one small piece of pancetta in my serving. Other diners received more, and this naturally added to the flavor of their dish. I added a bit of pepper, and this was enough to elevate the dish to very good in my estimation.

The heart of palm salad was a good "lightener" after the festival of meat pies, gnocchi and sausage. There were plenty of hearts of palm and a couple of good-sized slices of avocado on fresh romaine leaves with golf sauce, which the server referred to as a tomato herb dressing. The dressing was sparingly applied, appropriately, as it was a strong flavor which could have easily overpowered the delicate avocado and hearts of palm, but instead provided a perfect savory snap to the flavor of the salad.

Two members of the party got a special as their steak course -- a sirloin flap steak served with avocado. The celebrant and I got the hanger steak. All were ordered medium and were served quite pink, with an excellent crusty sear which was perfect. This was the first time I have had a hanger steak, and do not ever hope to have a better one. I thoroughly enjoyed the cut. The grain was pronounced and the steak was in no way tough, but was not buttery and fine-grained like a filet. Toothsome is a compliment in this situation -- not a synonym for tough. I knew I was eating a steak, and that was precisely the experience I was after. The flavor was spot on -- no superfluous seasoning, but plenty of grilled flavor. The flap looked very much like skirt to me, and was enjoyed by both diners who ordered it. My husband got this cut, and compared it quite favorably with well-prepared skirt he has had in Mexican and Spanish restaurants, and enjoyed the buttery avocado alongside. I observed him cutting the meat successfully with a fork.

I tried the chimichurri sauces, and enjoyed them very much.I love horseradish on steak, so used this on mine (sparingly, as I mainly wanted to taste the meat), not that I had much choice, as my b-i-l commandeered the green sauce and practically drank it from the container! The side dishes were all excellent accompaniments -- the garlic fries were crisp and seasoned very well; not sure what seasonings were in the mashed potatoes, but they were not typical bland spuds, with a lightly browned top; the asparagus had a wonderful pronounced grilled flavor and the spears were not pencil thin, which was better with this method of cooking and helped them stand up to the hearty steak.

We got the dessert sampler with amaretto ice cream cake, flourless chocolate cake with almond brittle, and dulce de leche crepe. I did not try the amaretto cake, but the flourless chocolate cake was heavenly. A rich fudge-like texture with the crunch of the finely powdered almond brittle on top. The crepe was paper thin and the incredibly rich filling was the smoothest caramel.

In all, an excellent dining experience which I will definitely revisit (in cooler months). The tasting menu was a perfect solution to a group wishing to try everything offered. A bite of this, a taste of that, and then a perfectly grilled steak.