| rev:text
| - Man, do I love this place.
Sure, its campy motif is over-the-top, and Buca IS a chain restaurant, but I'm not above going to a chain when the food is good and plentiful, the atmosphere is warm and inviting, and I can host huge parties and no one will yell.
The family-style dining is the big draw for me, though it can get a little tricky in big groups, so be sure to warn diners to bring cash to make things easier. The sharing is caring idea makes the meal more personal, and adds some extra fun to the meal, especially in a big group. Comments like "Hey, try this chicken," or "this lasagna is delicious, have some" fly all over the place as everyone tastes a portion of what others have selected. And they can do that without depleting the dish, since the servings are ginormous - a "small" portion will serve 2-4 people!
Must-haves: their Gorgonzola Salad (apples, cranberries, walnuts & gorgonzola, YUM); their garlic bread (not yo mama's); the Chicken Saltimbocca with prosciutto and artichokes; and their good ol' Spaghetti Marinara.
For dessert, there's the Dolce Sampler, which has all kinds of stuff on it, but it's kind of expensive, so I recommend their Tiramisu - a four serving bowl of the luscious dessert, made with 5 oz. of rum, so if you're eating a lot of it, it really has a kick! Side note: like Johnny Mango, which I previously reviewed, Buca has a frequent diner club, managed by email. They'll send seasonal coupons ($10 or 10% off, etc.) and a free dessert coupon for your birthday. I still have some tiramisu left in the freezer from my birthday last week, which I will promptly go finish after my mid-night Yelp-a-thon.
One of my favorite rooms in this place is the Pope room, a large room in the back of the restaurant with a huge round table which seats up to 18. There's a lazy suzan in the middle for spinning food around to each other (with a pope bust in the middle - a tiny bit creepy, but you get used to it, ha), and with the arched ceiling, the acoustics in there sometimes makes it sound like the person across from you is sitting right next to you, even when you whisper. Bizarre, but fun.
Overall, a great place for a night out with a group of friends - and if you bring enough people, the complimentary chef's hats and Buca di Beppo pocket protectors (yep, that's what I said) will appear, which make for some ridiculous photos. Godd times.
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