Buca DI Beppo's have gradually been popping up in more and more places, and I have had the pleasure of eating at this particular one a couple of times. Much like the west coast restaurant Claim Jumpers, BDB's claim to fame is its enormous portions of mediocre food.
If you are hungry, it's a great place to go... or maybe not. The wait is usually long, like maybe thirty-forty minutes long. The second time I went, it took them an hour and a half to seat us, which would have been okay if they hadn't told us the wait would be 30 minutes.
Here's the kicker, the manager promised us a free plate of breadsticks since we were being so patient which set our mouths a waterin'. Once again, he left out a crucial bit of information... he meant to say you can have one small plate of burnt heels in about 70 minutes.
Needless to say, we were the only group to stick around to enjoy this free bounty. By that time, we were so hungry it didn't matter. So, not a place I would recommend unless you need to be reminded you're eating Italian food by staring at hundreds of knickknacks and listening to stereotypical Lady and the Trampish crooning. It pains me to say this, it really does, but I actually prefer (I can't believe I'm writing this) the... olive garden. Yes that's right, the Denny's of Italian restaurants leaves a better taste in my mouth. There can be no greater insult.
On the plus side, there are lots of leftovers for the family pet...I should also add some of the tchotchkes are pictures of topless women... which is not enough to lift my rating out of okaysville. Oh, and if you're wondering about the actual food: Pizza Bad, Pasta Mediocre, Everything Else Slightly Better than Average. Too much of a bad thing...
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