Bruce Logue is the godfather of pasta. There, I said it. The man is a veritable genius when it comes the fine art of pasta making. Ever since stepping foot into the awkward space of La Pietra Cucina, I fell in love with Bruce Logue’s cooking. And I although I was saddened to hear when he left La Pietra Cucina, I was equally elated to here that he was leaving to open up his own shop which has come to fruition in Inman Park in the space that was previously occupied by Ria Pell’s Sauced.

Fast forward just one year and Bruce Logue has opened Boccalupo (literally translated to mouth of the wolf but is also an Italian idiom used to wish someone good luck) on Edgewood and he is back in the kitchen doing what he does best creating beautiful fresh handmade pastas in a warm and inviting neighborhood space.

I have had the privilege to visit Boccalupo several times since first opening on April 15 and instantly fell back in love with Chef Logue’s cooking. The menu has depth but is not overwhelming. By last count the menu had about 8 appetizers and 10 pastas with the latter being evenly distributed between fresh and extruded. Extruded pasta is made by forcing dry semolina-and-water dough through a die, normally bronze. Extruding through a bronze die gives the pasta surface a rougher texture that tends to hold sauces better than other pasta making methods and it tends to be easier to handle due to the fact that its dryness prevents the pasta from sticking together.

In addition to the appetizers and pastas there are also a few “not noodle” dishes and a few desserts that round out the menu. The best part of the menu is that it will be a constant “work in progress” which bodes well for repeat visits.

Happily he has carried over several of dishes from La Pietra Cucina to Boccalupo. One of my favorite of those dishes is the black spaghetti, calabrese sausage, red shrimp and scallions. Fashioned off his mentor Mario Batali’s dish at Babbo, the dish melds land and sea in a perfectly cooked inky pasta. Other favorites that carried over from La Pietra Cucina are the prosciutto di Parma served with freshly made ricotta and pineapple mostarda, and his beautiful pistachio semifreddo which is always a nice way to end a meal.

In addition to some old favorites recent visits have yielded other wins like the whimsical bruschetta “bahn mi” where Italy meets Vietnam. Consisting of 6 hour pork, chicken liver and giardineria, the flavors were melt in your mouth goodness. As a lighter dish, the grilled asparagus and slow poached egg was a perfect addition of some green to what one might otherwise deem a heavier meal. Although, in actuality, despite pastas reputation of being heavy, Boccalupo’s pastas are surprisingly light, something you can only credit the soft touch of Chef Logue for developing.

I would be remiss to fail to mention the beverage program. Under the helm of Questa Olsen, who was with Chef Logue at his last two restaurants, the beverage program really is designed perfectly for the food. There is a nice list of well made cocktails in addition to a carefully designed wine list which contains decently priced wines by the glass.

In the end, Boccalupo is an all around win. Fans of Chef Logue’s cooking from restaurants past will enjoy his cooking just as they had the past several years. I guarantee whether you are a long time fan or a first time diner you will never be disappointed and will surely make it a regular stop in the future.

Boccalupo Website
753 Edgewood Ave
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 577-2332