After being away from Osteria la Buca for well over ten years, I picked it for a business lunch “between Pasadena and Beverly Hills.” The short rib ravioli was quite good, with fresh pasta and tasty sauce. So I scheduled another lunch for the same group several weeks later.
The pappardelle bolognese was outstanding, with fresh pasta perfectly cooked and a rich bolognese sauce. It reminded me of Felix, but Venice isn’t exactly between Pasadena and Beverly Hills.
After two winners, I decided to go for dinner with my wife. We ordered and shared the buca farm lettuces salad, the conchiglie pasta and the rib eye steak, after a woman at the next table was raving about it.
Salad was salad. Conchiglie pasta with morels was okay. Nothing wrong with it, however it didn’t rise to the level of the pappardelle I had the previous week. But the unexpected star of the meal was the rib eye steak. It had a delightful crust, and was cooked perfectly medium rare. It was served with a sauce that really brought out the beefy flavor. And it had cilantro leaves over the top, which when mixed with the sauce was kind of like a very fresh chimichuri. It was served with squash which provided different texture and much milder taste for variety. Wow. This was an unexpected treat.
Tiramisu for dessert was nothing to write home about. I’m still thinking about that steak.
I don’t know how to read reports without photos. I mean they’re fine, but i’m not drooling right now so…
La Buca is special. We went there last time the night before we had our kid years ago. She was huge. I wonder if they still do the 1/2 of wine bottle Sundays, need to return.
Just noticed that they have a 32oz bistecca fiorentina on the menu. Anyone tried it before? Is it real chianina beef or just a large porterhouse? It’s $91 fwiw.
I like the piedmontese beef, seems a bit leaner but really good as long as you get it on the rare/med rare side. Marconda’s at the original farmers market carries it as well
Warrior: we have never been in person, but delivery from this restaurant on multiple occasions has been good, good enough that I thought today that we should go in person. I was particular impressed today by their potatoes with sugo verde, their jarred Calabrian chiles, and their Buca Farms salad. The strong flavors remind me of Little Dom’s.
Peony: I liked the flavor of the squid salad. It was not strong, but just strong enough to bring out the flavor of the squid. The sourness level was just right. I liked the tomatillo sauce for the branzino. Overall I like the food and it works really well for delivery food.
