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Last Update: Apr 20th, 2010
Bova prime

Bova Prime

401 E Las Olas Blvd
Fort Lauderdale FL, 33301
(954) 767-6555
Overall Rating
2.5
Food
Service
Ambiance
Last Review
04/20/2010

Details

Bova Prime breaks the laid-back mold of Fort Lauderdale with a clubby restaurant on Las Olas downtown. It plays more like a club than a restaurant, and caters to the crowd that feels being "in" is more important than the meal. If you like to dine late you'll most likely have some loud music and a bar scene to deal with. Thursday is the big club night, where a bunch of girls sitting in the big corner table get free food and drink to ensure at least a bit of eye candy. For the patrons: $15. for a glass of chianti. You get the big watch, shiny shirt crowd and a DJ. Its the only time worth coming here, if you like that sort of scene. On my last Thursday visit, they no longer had the $15 Monsanto Riserva; they had replaced it with an $18 Rocca Delle Macie Riserva for $18. Its a nice wine, but its $21/bottle at Total Wine. I'm not paying $18 for a glass of it. Given the sparse crowd, I opted to go elsewhere.

The name of the place implies that its a steakhouse, but I have difficulty thinking of it that way. I rarely see anyone eating steak. Their menu is Italian; and then they have steaks. And the steaks, which are designated as USDA Prime, are very expensive. $35. for a skirt steak. $38. for an 8oz Filet. I should probably try the steak; but my experience with the Italian doesn't convince me to do so.

The place itself is very impressive, from its underlit bar, the big flat screen TV to the plush white leather booths. They play loud music throughout the day. But I don't like the servers here. They just have no personality. Its difficult to quantify. Its just not comfortable talking to them.

They've recently started advertising a "10 for 10" lunch menu; 10 items for $10. I checked out their web site and the menu had quite a few items of interest; before I left I decided on the orecchiette with brocolli rabe and Sausage. Unfortunately when I got there, the menu was different. They change the menu weekly. I decided on the eggplant parmesan, which was described as served with marinara and 'buffalo mozzerella'. The server brought me some bread and a bunch of chopped olives; sort of like a tapenade without the olive oil. The bread was pretty good, although I would have preferred olive oil. It took awhile for the eggplant to come out. I was expecting a small portion, since Bova's appetizers are usually $12. While I was waiting I did notice that the menu said "with purchase of beverage". So you can't get the $10 lunch and drink water. Very classy. Finally the eggplant arrived.

Bova eggplant

The portion was certainly bigger than expected, but it didn't look anything like the thinly sliced, lightly breaded masterpiece you get at Frankie and Johnny's. Its served in a very hot caste iron dish, which they no doubt pop in the oven to melt the cheese. The cheese is obviously the shredded kind. The first taste is a bit crunchy. The eggplant has skin on, and is way too heavily breaded. Its also cooked well done. The sauce is pedestrian. There appears to be some green herb on the cheese, but I can't detect any basil taste; maybe its parsley? I don't know. But it doesn't matter. Its a loser.

My experience with the food here is to the point where I can conclude that I don't want to eat here again; particularly not at their prices.

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