Cafe La Buca / Pompano Beach
By Judith Stocks
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Important: This article was last updated on October 23, 2009. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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First impression: The Spina family — Giorgio, Maria, Marco and Simona — wows you with hospitality, plies you with food and transports you to their native Naples. Just don't all rush there at once. It's a sliver of a space with only four tables.
Ambience: Forget ambience. This is about food. Tables and chairs are mismatched. Lighting is fluorescent, but there's a fire glowing in the wood-burning oven.
Starters: The heart of this restaurant is a family that supplements a small printed menu with whatever they feel like cooking. For the best experience, do what we did. Skip the menu, give them carte blanche and then loosen your belt. (Three of us gorged happily on 10 courses for less than $85). It starts with fresh-from-the-oven slightly charred rolls that spew puffs of steam when pulled apart. Use them to sop up parmesan-crusted escarole and beans ($4), classic Italian comfort food tingling with roasted garlic. Or, scrumptious eggplant caprese ($10.95) offering a crisp light breading and pillow-soft fresh mozzarella.
Entree excellence: No telling what you'll find on any given evening (sometimes salt baked branzino, veal chops or filet mignon), but you can call in requests. The homemade pappardelle ($10.99) is terrific, so is gnocchi ($10.99) made with ricotta instead of potatoes. The pizza guy is Marco, who creates a deliciously humble 16-inch Margherita with plops of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil for $16. Every pizza features chewy blistered crusts cooked not a second too much or too little. Paninis ($8.99-$9.95), served on homemade bread, range from one with homemade veal and beef meatballs to another with broccoli rabe and salsiccia (pork sausage).
Sweet!: Guilty pleasures include excellent tiramisu spiked with Grand Marnier ($6) and a little number called nutellino ($6). Basically, it's pizza dough filled with hazelnut/cocoa-based Nutella and ricotta to break the sweetness. The dinner-plate size crescent is wood-fire baked until the dough seems more like pastry, then sprinkled with confectioner's sugar just before serving.
Service: Casual, efficient and extremely caring. The family is chatty and warm and loves explaining the food and preparations.
451 S. Cypress Creek Road, Pompano Beach
954-786-0673
Cuisine: Italian
Cost: inexpensive
Hours: lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday
Reservations: required weekends, suggested other nights
Credit cards: D, MC, V
Bar: bring your own wine, no corkage fee (full license pending)
Sound level: quiet
Outside smoking: no
For kids: high chairs
Wheelchair accessible: yes
— Judith Stocks
Contact dining correspondent Judith Stocks at Judithstocksreviews@yahoo.com.