"Some vegetarian options for Italian dining in Rapid City. Much has changed since we first went to Boticelli when it opened in the 1990 's. It was a special place for us almost 20 years ago. The original owner came to Rapid City and would visit with customers and delighted in making vegetarian variations on dishes for us. One of our former favorites was a no longer available vegetarian pasta puttanesca and similarly gone fungi, caramelized onions, and pine nut pizza. The current owner and head chef has been there for 17 years and does things in her own way. We were so happy that there was another Boticelli opened by the original owner when we moved to Wyoming in Cheyenne and Casper but both of those as well as Sioux City, Iowa have now all closed. Rapid City is the last one open and the current owner deserves credit for that. We wish that she could make a cream sauce without a meat stock as our first round of ordering required making changes after the waiter came back with the information about them. Same problem existed with all of the soups that day. We did find items to order but for $50 55 per person we would have liked a better experience and hope they will take to heart our concerns and make the restaurant better. We initially were seated in a small room near the kitchen and we al km began having coughing provoked by peppery smoke wafting from the kitchen. The air handling system in the kitchen should have prevented that. Once we were moved to a table in the front room that problem resolved. When we made our second attempt to order our secondi we settled on pasta and vegetable dishes which on the menu were actually side dishes for chicken. Our waiter said we would get the sans meat at a reduced price and a larger portion . While the food was good it was disappointing that when we got the bill those items were still full price, about double the price of other meatless pasta options on the menu. It left us with the impression that the waiter either was misinformed or not being honest with us. When questioned about it his response was, well you got larger portions of pasta and vegetables, taking the chicken off the tab would only reduce the price by $3.00 . His attitude became less arrogant when I also pointed out he left off the $36.00 bottle of wine. My concern was not the total cost to me but the lack of accurate communication with the waiter. That needs to improve. The food we ordered was good: Rustico (Bruschetta): Roma Tomatoes, Capers, Red onions, Basil with White Balsamic Vinegar this was our favorite next to desert. It is different from anything else we have had elsewhere. We recommend trying this. Gorgonzola (salad) Wild Greens with Gorgonzola Cheese, Fresh Oranges and Walnuts with a Light Vinaigrette Manicotti Dil Forno Blend of Italian Cheeses filled in Pasta and topped with Marinara Sauce Sorrentino (we had the pasta without the chicken) Mushrooms, Garlic, Shallots and a Spicy Tomato Sauce Picatta (we had the pasta without the chicken) Capers, Garlic, Lemon, Shallots, White Wine and Butter Cannoli Pastry shells filled with Sweet Mixture of Mascarpone, Amaretto and Chocolate Chips this remains our favorite. The amaretto really comes through in the filling and the pastry is filled all of the way through. Shared a bottle of Ruffino Azziano, Chianti Classico, Toscano And had decaf Torrefazione Italia coffees with our desert. Boticelli remains our favorite Italian restaurant in Rapid City. The next time we return I 'm going to ask if the chef can come up with some creative vegetarian dishes for us. They did this in the past and really made some great meals for us in the past. Maybe we can 't really go home again but I suspect we could get a better experience than what we got on this visit. That said, I still recommend going here just make sure you have a better waiter than the one we had."
