Taste this: Hong Kong mussels ($14 for half a pound, $24 for a pound as of Sept. 1, 2024) at DBA, located at 21 Furnace St. in Akron.

Creator: Dante Boccuzzi, executive chef  

Eye test: Black-shelled mussels are served in a large, white, wide-brimmed bowl, submerged in a sunset orange broth, enhanced with spicy crab and finished with a sprinkling of green cilantro. A freshly grilled baguette completes this visually appealing dish.

What makes this dish special: The main ingredient — PEI mussels — is sourced from Prince Edward Island, located off the eastern coast of Canada. Other fresh ingredients include ginger root, lemon and cilantro. Also, the broth stock is house made.

Process: The dish is prepared by steaming the mussels until they open. Quickly, they are placed in a hot frying pan, where the house-made broth, spicy crab, soy, lime and cilantro are introduced. Patrons can smell the salty heat of the dish.

Beverage pairing: General manager Jake Carothers suggests Clear Night, a riesling imported from Germany. This wine is harvested from vineyards in the Pfalz. A glass of this off-dry wine offers a clean fruit flavor balanced by fresh acidity that complements and cuts the lightly spiced mussels.

Taste This

“Taste This” is our glimpse of the Akron area’s tastiest, distinctive and popular (or soon-to-be-famous) food, drinks and desserts — and the local culinary talents behind them. Tough job, we know. Know any menu items we should consider? Tell us here. 

Boccuzzi’s story: Think rock n’ roll, guitars, music notes, vinyl records and record players. Now pair that with a love for preparing and serving food. That’s the best way to understand Boccuzzi’s passion, mindset and what makes him tick.

Boccuzzi graduated from Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Cuyahoga Falls. After culinary school, he worked across the U.S. and abroad at restaurants in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Mougins (Southeastern France), London, Milan and Hong Kong. In New York City, he received a Michelin Star while working as executive chef of Charlie Palmer’s Aureole. 

To date, he operates nine brands Northeast Ohio. 

DBA’s history: In 2012, Boccuzzi opened DBA, offering casual fine dining and simple dinner dishes with a rock and roll theme.

How to buy: DBA is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

Patricia Sheahan is a professor, student teacher supervisor, installation artist, educational consultant for the integration of the arts across all disciplines and a freelance writer. Sheahan enjoys more than four decades of education experience at K-12 schools in New York and Pennsylvania and higher education at Seton Hill University, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Penn State and most recently the University of Akron. Her favorite courses to teach are Social Justice Through the Arts, Ethics, Introduction to Critical Education, Classroom Management and Integrating the Arts K-12. Interests include visiting the Akron Art Museum, Akron Library, Civic Theatre, walking downtown to view murals and window light installations plus the stunning flower and plant arrangements, antiquing, especially from her own vendor space at The Brothers North Antiques in Medina. She also frequents Akron restaurants and local boutiques, travels and spends time with her family; a daughter and her newly blended family in North Canton, a son and his family in San Diego and a son in Dallas.