It was a dark and stormy night. No, honestly, it was. As we got out of our cab at Portland and King we were all set for an “avventura†in Italian cuisine. It was a Friday evening in October and we were hungry and more than ready for what we had heard was authentic up to the minute, Italian cooking. So we ventured out into the storm to look for the restaurant called “Bucaâ€, which if my high school Italian serves me well means “holeâ€. It did not prove to be an easy task. First of all the sign for Buca is on King St, but from there you are on your own.
It’s like the Great Race, but without clues. So we ventured up the lane in the horizontal rain and strayed into a neighbouring club which we could tell would not be operational for several more hours, by which time I hoped to be tucked up in bed. We asked a not so friendly man coming out of the establishment if he knew where Buca was – but he was no help at all. We ventured on up the laneway – still no signs. A steel door was ahead of us but it didn’t look very welcoming. I was beginning to think that if we answered a skill testing question we might be given the clue to the restaurant. Then I saw it off to my right. Again no signage, just a glass door through which we ventured. By this time, my better half was less than pleased. He started fulminating about “post modern restaurants without a nameâ€. The young lady at the door looked completely flummoxed and then the maitre d’ appeared and welcomed us in. At this point we took in the marvelous architectural setting for the restaurant – all exposed brick, soaring ceilings and inventive lighting. After being offered a soothing complimentary glass of bubbly – how did he know this would work?……we sat down to read the menu.
Now this is no ordinary menu. If you have eaten at any of the tapas style restaurants that have flooded Toronto and other cities over the past few years, you will be sort of familiar with the format. However, Buca tries to mix it up and so the ever present Pastas, Carne and Pesce down the middle of the menu are flanked on both sides by small plates. I’ll be honest with you. My problem in these types of restaurants (and Chinese and Indian restaurants) is that I always order way too much food. It all sounds so good. And then of course I always have to make a valiant effort to finish it, which I invariably manage to do. I also now have the additional responsibility of trying lots of things for you my dear readers, so I went twice. The second time I took photos.
On the left hand side of the daily printed menu is a selection of cured meats, cheeses, cold plates and raw protein. The Salumi Di Buca consist of Sopresata which are spicy Calabrese sausage, Salsiccine pork sticks and Salsicce Cicciare, fennel pork sausage, two different kinds of Prosciuto – one local from Niagara and the other from the home of prosciutto – Parma. They were absolutely delicious. You can order some house made bread (from the other side of the menu) to go with that if you wish. We didn’t and I’m glad that we didn’t because we ordered so much food The only thing we didn’t order form this part of the menu was the house made cured pork fat. Enough said. I know its all the rage, thanks to Mario Batali and cookery book writers and animal fat is now good for you. But we passed….maybe next time. There is a great selection of cheeses and of course the mozzarella di buffala is, as always, amazing. The Panzanella salad is a good alternative way to get your bread, this time soaked in an unctuous olive oil and aged vinegar with some roasted peppers. Yum.
Do you ever eat a meal and days afterwards a particular taste or dish refuses to leave your memory bank? Well that would be the nodini, which are warm bread knots with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and sea salt. Do you see what I mean about not ordering the bread. The pizzas are also stand outs. My friend and colleague, Steve and I were talking about pizza the other day and he was describing his favourite kind as, you know, the kind that you hold and it sort of folds over the side of your hand, its so thin? That is the kind of pizza that Boca offers, with all kinds of tempting toppings.
The only pasta we had a chance to try was my husband’s all time favourite – spaghetti alla carbonara. They bring the pasta piping hot to your table and crack an egg over it and mix. I only ask you to look at the photos. No further comments required. Suffice to say he was more than happy with it.
I always say I’m not a dessert person. Fortunately waiters no longer make the joke about bringing two spoons, they just bring them. Happily so because I got to try my better half’s ricotta cake, which was as light as air. The next time it was a hazelnut crostada which again was wonderfully light.
There is a full bar at Buca, but its not so much a cocktail kind of place. Wine is part of the Italian way, which is why I love that country so much, and Boca has a so-so selection of wines by the glass. Meanwhile, the bottles quickly go from reasonable, $40 – $60, to out of my price range.
Right now Buca is very hot. It will be nice when things calm down and it will be the kind of place you can go with a group of friends and try all kinds of things. The fried olives stuffed with sausage and crisp artichokes with lemon are made for sharing. You can even order some Orecchio Di Maiale if you want to really try something different. I won’t give you a description of the last one. You’ll have to go and find out for yourself.
xo,
mummy coco
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