It was a regular, nothing special kind of Wednesday but I thought it was a good day to take my wife out to a nice dinner. Pasta sounded like an excellent choice, so we decided on Buca di Beppo's in Dana Park, just south of HWY 60 on Val Vista in Mesa. We've eaten there twice before and enjoyed both visits.
According to our attentive server, "Buca di Beppo" roughly means, "Joe's Basement". And if that's the case, then ol' Joe loved to eat because the portions at Buca come in two sizes: big and really big. You may need wheel barrow valet service out to your car afterward if you try to be part of the clean plate club.
According to our attentive server, "Buca di Beppo" roughly means, "Joe's Basement". And if that's the case, then ol' Joe loved to eat because the portions at Buca come in two sizes: big and really big. You may need wheel barrow valet service out to your car afterward if you try to be part of the clean plate club.
| 2 average diners will have to plan their strategy and work together just to finish one of the small portions. They'll likely need a to go box with any large one. Which certainly isn't a bad thing. These left overs will be fantastic! |  Images From www.bucadibeppo.com |
Buca is wall to wall fun and flair. Pictures and memorabilia cover the red walls of the many rooms and serve up a feast for the eyes. "Fun" is a the first word that comes to my mind to describe Buca's decor. Half of the reason to come back is the atmosphere and friendly service.
The other reason is of course the good Italian food. I'm using the word "good" on purpose. I want to say that everything at Buca's is great, but I can't say that honestly. What I can say is that the portions are great, and many dishes are great, but some are not as flavorful as you'd think.
 Images From www.bucadibeppo.com | Case in point: I ordered the Bucatini Ala Enzo last night mainly because of the picture I saw on Buca's colorful and engaging website. The picture is much more visually appetizing than what arrived at our table. The noodles were bigger than what I expected and the dish was much dryer. I like sauce, olive oil, garlic butter, etc., on my pasta. There appears to be some in the picture to the left here...but there wasn't any that I noticed last night in real life. |
When I mentioned this to our server, he brought out a white cream sauce that I poured over the dish and that helped. I plan to create my own garlic oil-butter combo for the remaining pasta I took home.
My wife's lasagna was "melt-in-your-mouth" delicious. She loved it! So even if my dish was a bit disappointing, her's was a home run, which best describes our overall experience at Buca. One dish is okay while the other is "Honey, I've died and gone to heaven!"
My wife's lasagna was "melt-in-your-mouth" delicious. She loved it! So even if my dish was a bit disappointing, her's was a home run, which best describes our overall experience at Buca. One dish is okay while the other is "Honey, I've died and gone to heaven!"
| We've been impressed with Buca and will be going back and trying different things for sure. The worst case scenario is that if you order something you're not crazy about right then, when you dig in to the left overs the next day, adding a little something it needs, it will be fabulous. I also recommend signing up for Buca's eClub so you can get offers and deals which can be significant. We saved $10 on our order because of an e-coupon. |  |
Stop by Joe's Basement or Buca di Beppo the next time you're hungry for lively atmosphere and lots of fine Italian food. And visit them online now: BucaDiBeppo.com.
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