Mario’s Osteria is located on Glades Road in Boca Raton, just east of I95, sharing feeding duties in a mall with PF Chang’s. The traditional red sauce Italian is mixed with a southern Florida feel. Instead of red-checked table cloths and candles burning in wine bottles, the décor balance hard woods with enormous metal chandeliers. The menu is extensive, with one side comprised of appetizers, sides and pizzas while the reverse side offers Paninis, pastas, meats, fish and chickens. Your traditional selections of parmesans, meatballs, baked pastas are all available.

I was told the portions are quite large so I ordered a Veal Parmesan, served with a side of pasta and Marinara sauce. Others ordered the Cavatelli with Chicken Meatballs (to share) and a Shrimp Scampi.

My veal arrived and it was breaded, fried, topped with melted cheese and a little Marinara. The pasta was a regular side portion with Marinara. The veal was very overcooked, some bites were incredibly chewy. The flavor of the meat was good and the scant sauce was good, but not great. The pasta was also overcooked, and again the sauce was good.

The Shrimp Scampi and the Cavatelli portion were quite large. There was probably 8 ounces of pasta on each, the two chicken meatballs were enormous and there was a tremendous amount of shrimp on that order.

Service was outstanding, friendly, helpful and spot on with his checking in.

Overall Mario’s is a good choice if you are looking for a decent red sauce restaurant.

Dorsia is located on North Federal Highway in Boca Raton just north of Congress on the southbound side. It is a small storefront in a six store strip mall and valet parking is available. Once inside the scenery changes to a well-appointed restaurant with white tablecloths, a bar that seats 10-12 and service that is friendly, brisk and knowledgeable. This is a family run establishment and the care for the customer is felt in the interaction of the hostess (probably the wife) and the chef in each of the dishes.

We decided on a single course for dinner and I chose the Squid Ink Linguine with calamari, shrimp, tomato, white wine, and garlic. I was expecting the ring shaped calamari but when it arrived the calamari was presented as juliennes with five medium-large shrimp. While the server was asking others if they required Parmesan cheese I tasted the dish. There was no need to add another component, this was a delicious dish. The house-made pasta was soft and still maintained a delightful bite, the shrimp were sweet and perfectly cooked and the calamari were nicely prepared. The flavors were fantastic. This was a great pasta.

For dessert we shared the chocolate mousse pie. Please order this silky wedge of deliciousness. The texture was wonderful. With a cup of espresso, it was the perfect ending to the meal.

I highly recommend Dorsia over so many other places in Boca that have glitz over food. This is the best meal I have eaten in Boca and struggle with thinking of a better restaurant in the area. Thank you for proving my point to my relatives that small family owned restaurants prepare food at a different level than the so-called fancy chains.

City Fish Market is located on Glades just off and the Florida Turnpike. It shares a common driveway with the Hilton. Valet parking is available. The valet was excellent and very quick both when we arrived and when dinner was completed.

I ordered the “New Orleans Seafood Gumbo” for my appetizer. It contained chicken, Andouille sausage with a scoop of Jasmine rice plopped in the center. The portion was more rice than soup, contained a few pieces of chicken and one slice of Andouille. I did see a small piece of okra as well. It was a fairly weak imitation of a great NOLA tradition, which no restaurant in New Orleans would ever serve.

For my entrée I ordered the “Atlantic Black Grouper” and for my sides I selected the fresh vegetable medley and the whipped sweet potato. When it arrived I could only stare. There was zero thought behind the presentation. The kitchen slopped some sweet potato purée on a plate, added a few florets of broccoli and cauliflower plus a one inch carrot segment and placed the fish on the empty portion of the pate. It was presented like a bad college cafeteria. The fish was well prepared and maintained its texture. That was the only positive. The sweet potato purée was disgusting, overwhelmed with maple flavor, it was way too sweet and had the texture of baby food. The florets were half-cooked and the carrot segment was barely cooked, more raw than cooked. This was one of the worst prepared fish dishes I have ever eaten.

Another member of our party ordered the Lobster Roll. This was an embarrassment to the classic New England dish. There was barely any lobster meat in the roll and the kitchen threw some French fries on the plate. I have seen more care taken at a roadside lobster hut.

I ordered the Molten Chocolate Cake for dessert. There is a new standard for the worst recipe and execution. The cake was dry and there was zero molten, there was a hole in the center of the cake. The exterior was coated in sugar and was horrible. My suggestion is throw away the recipe.

Overall, the only positives I can say of City Fish is the staff. The valet parkers and our server were outstanding. On the other hand the kitchen staff treated the food and the presentation like a bad roadside diner, giving the impression they just did not care about quality of what they served, throwing undercooked and badly executed recipes on a plate with zero care about the visual. At these prices the quality should be significantly better.

Another year…another return visit.

This restaurant really has the formula perfected. It is not great food, but the formula creates a great atmosphere to enjoy not bad food…stick with the flatbreads and the desserts and manage your expectations with the entrées.

We were given a table in the bar area and I would strongly recommend not sitting in this room if you wish to carry on a conversation. The piano player was performing covers to soft rock classics and was capable of ruining each version with his loud interpretation. These songs sold millions of copies, try to stay somewhat true to form. When he was on break, it was incredibly pleasant.

We ordered two flatbreads, the “Roasted Roma Tomato” with fresh mozzarella cheese, Parmesan and ribbons of basil as well as the “Artichoke & Laura Chenel Goat Cheese” with leaf spinach, balsamic onions and roasted peppers to share. This year they were perfectly prepared and I should have read my previous reviews and ordered a few for my entrée. The tomatoes were sweet and just a touch of cheese added a little saltiness. The artichokes were vinegary (probably out of a jar) but it still delivered great flavor. This year the flatbreads were crispy, as they should be.

For my entrée I ordered the “Lemon and Herb Roasted Whole” with Meyer lemon, thyme, broccolini and crushed roasted potatoes. The fish was overcooked and dried out. The cavity was stuffed with lemon slices, thyme and a bay leaf and these did impart flavor into the fish. The potatoes were somewhat tasteless, well prepared but would have benefited from a little seasoning. The broccolini was delicious…it was the best part of the dish.

My wife ordered the “Shrimp Scampi Skillet” with roasted plum tomatoes, parsley and garlic butter served over bruschetta. This is not a good description. This was incredibly unappetizing and was more bread, shrimp and red sauce. The idea that the red sauce on top of the medium sized shrimp was roasted plum tomatoes is imaginary versus reality.

Dessert is always fun at Seasons 52 with the visual menu and the small sizes. I ordered a chocolate and a carrot cake. The carrot cake was good but nothing special but the chocolate dessert was spectacular.

Service was friendly but the server made a major blunder. All but one in our group (my wife) was finished with their entrée. The server arrived and asked if we wanted dessert. Two people (I was one of these two) told him that we were not all finished. His response was to begin removing dishes, including my wife’s and she was still eating. That was unforgiveable. In the car home my wife and I both agreed that we should have ordered a few flatbreads and desserts and she was floored by the actions of the server.

Overall it was a fun evening, but the kitchen needs to focus on menu descriptions and not overcooking the entrees.