I think it was about a year ago that I played some bocce ball in Klyde Warren Park, setting off a wave of nostalgia for what I think is the greatest drinking sport known to man. In another life, in another city, I was involved in a league and regularly drank myself into a stupor while lobbing heavy resin balls at my friends. I wondered why there weren't more bocce happenings here in Dallas. I even briefly toyed with the idea of starting my own league here, before I realized I had absolutely no time to devote to the effort. Little did I know a league was just getting started in Oak Cliff.
Bocce is taking off, not just in leagues but in the restaurants that host the sport. When the Vagabond recently opened its doors, it offered a bocce court out back. Bryan Street Tavern and Outpost host regular league play, and when Stephan Pyles' San Salavaje opens later this year, it will be flanked by a bocce court. If that's not enough, a new restaurant is opening in Oak Cliff very soon, and it's even named after the sport.
You've probably already guessed the menu at Bocce the restaurant will be Italian. Picture a number of pastas and sauces, pizza in New York and Chicago styles, and a bunch of sandwiches. The only thing missing is the actual bocce courts, but apparently there's no space for them.
Bocce the restaurant should be open in the old Inforzato's Italian Cafe spot in the next week or two. When it does, grab a six-pack of Peroni or a bottle of vino (or both) before you head over there, because the restaurant is BYOB.
Bocce, 244 W. Davis St., 214-943-1714
