KEY Milwaukee - Featured Restaurant

Buca di Beppo

WHEN YOU STEP through the door of Buca di Beppo, be prepared for great food and rollicking fun!

This is a great place for travelers, because you can dress up OR down. Whether you arrive in a stretch limo or stretch pants, you'll feel comfortable the moment you walk in the door.
Buca, which means Joe's basement in Italian, is located at the corner of E. Juneau and North Van Buren, 1233 N. Van Buren St. Kitsch and fantastic food are served here, the Southern Italian way.

Known throughout the U.S. for "vital, vibrant, and powerfully flavored" Southern Italian fare, Buca di Beppo this month introduces "Buca Small" portions along with its traditional "large" sizes. "Families start with two and now Buca has something for every size party," according to the popular restaurant group that made Milwaukee one of its first expansion locations.
Informal is the rule at Buca. By design, nothing matches. The oval platters that serve as plates have different designs on the borders, and the wooden chairs at the tables are all slightly different. There are no wine stewards at Buca and no cork sniffing is allowed. Your bottle will arrive at the table uncorked, along with the tumblers for your choice of vino.

The décor is a great send-up of Italian American restaurants. The many framed picture pay tribute to icons such as Sophia Loren and Dean Martin. As you leave Buca, note the Frank Sinatra "shrine," which features a picture of old Blue-Eyes surrounded by votive candles.
For special occasions and by reservation, the restaurant offers the Pope's Table in a special alcove. This huge table seats 20, with the guest of honor ensconced in the high-backed "Pope's Chair." There also is a dining table in the restaurant's kitchen, for those who really like to be part of the action.

But don't let the décor deceive you. At Buca, the food is taken very seriously. If you want people to return, you have to feed and serve them well.

Executive Chef Vittorio Renda hails from Calabria, the "toe of the boot" in Italy. He says that at Buca, guests can experience what it's like to enjoy a meal in a home in Southern Italy. "There is no substitute for freshness," he insists. His recipes call for the best imported and domestic ingredients, fresh herbs and "big flavor." In fact, Buca is open only for dinner Monday through Friday because the chef insists that the tomato sauce needs the entire day for simmering. On weekends, the cooking begins extra early so that the restaurant can open for "family dinner" at noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Favorite entrees include chicken with lemon, veal Marsala and shrimp Parmigiana. At Buca, you truly want to save room for desserts such as chocolate cannoli, Buca bread pudding caramello, and tiramisu.

Buca even offers a great souvenir of your Milwaukee visit, besides that spot of red sauce on your shirt. Buca di Beppo restaurant's first cookbook, "Into the Sauce! From Our Cucina to Your Kitchen," reveals 58 vital, vibrant and powerfully flavored Southern Italian recipes. The book presents recipes in such a unique, bold way that it was awarded Best Cookbook in the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Dinner is served 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday, 12-11 p.m. Saturday, and 12-9 p.m. Sunday. Phone 22-GUMPA (224-8672) for more information.

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