Broken Toys

I’m pretty sure the Papal bust is a fixture in every “pope room” of every Buca’s nationwide.

Sadly, their food did not receive nearly the divine inspiration that their decor apparently does.

The Buca di Beppo in San Francisco is pretty decent, and yes, it does have a pope table.

I’ve been to two different Buca’s in Denver and one in San Francisco, and all had a “Pope room” equally gaudy. Unlike Sutro, my experience has been pretty good, although there are some dishes better than others. The Chicken Marsala was great, I was less impressed with the Fettuccine Something-or-other. The house red is decent, and decently priced. Having experienced Catholic guilt firsthand without actually being Catholic (mom was), I always get an eye twitch walking by that room.

The best seat in the house is the one in the kitchen. You’ll have to book in advance.

Chicken Marsala doesn’t make a good metric for restaurant quality. The only way to screw it up is to burn it.

Good ol’ Buca. I only eat there during GDC..

Mmm, Buca. My favorite meal there consisted of garlic bread, garlic mashed potatoes, and spaghetti with garlic and olive oil. It was awesome.

There is a pope table at the Buca’s in Strongsville, OH. Alas, I have not dined under the protection of the bust-in-a-popemobile.

The food is alright, I guess.

Had my rehearsal dinner at that place in Cinci.

I ate at that table in Des Moines…until they closed it down.

Spicy pizza and pasta for the win. (Arriabiata)

Oh god I hate Buca so much… I’m half Sicilian, I love garlic, but even to me their food tastes like garlic with a little bit of food to go with it. There’s no other flavor. It’s either overcooked or just .. ugh.

I don’t want the pope watching me eat. His eyes silently judging my every bite, my posture, and my ogling the waitress…

And the guy is infallible too, so it’s not like I can argue back and defend myself.