I feel like this place is more about the kitsch factor than the food. It's made to look like your Italian-American grandmother's house, with pictures and knick knacks all over the wall a la Applebee's. There are family characters and witty sayings all over the (huge) menu.
That's all well and good, but the food is nothing special. We shared calamari (warning: they serve the rings AND the tentacles. Don't order this if you're tentacle squeamish.) and the big pasta sampler of all their baked specialties--the stuffed shells were pretty good, lot of fennel and sausage, but other than that I just didn't get any big flavors from the meal.
Honestly, the advertisements for Italian supermarket brands (cheese, sauce, etc.) in the menu made me wish that I had cooked an Italian meal for myself at home because quite frankly, I can do better than Buca.