buca

finally, after a few months of waiting, i finally made it to buca. and it was amazing. 
AF, AR and i made our way down to king west last saturday for an early reservation (the only time we could get), but ended up staying the evening. buca's atmosphere is perfect: cozy and cool at the same time. buca, meaning "basement" or "hole", is just that, an exposed brick, high-ceilinged basement in an old king street building. with an entrance wedged between two buildings down an alleyway, it is a little difficult to find, but is a must-try on the toronto restaurant scene these days.

we were greeted warmly and shown promptly to our table by the wonderful host. our waiter was very knowledgeable and the manager came by to chat frequently. none of the coldness i had read about in other reviews  since they don't have an online menu, we were eager to see what we were in store for! 
buca is a definite recommendation, but it is pricy, so save up!

menu for the day

i must mention, they have an extraordinary wine list. my favourite, a white pinot noir! it wasn't on the menu, but if you ask for it, you won't regret it.

apps:

we had heard lots about the nodini, and they were delicious.
little bread knots covered in olive oil, garlic, rosemary and salt. 

amazing charcuterie. we ordered (from L to R):
 ricotta di buffala, sovrano bufala reggiano and prosciuttini
we couldn't get enough.

a definite favourite, the parmagiana di melanzane
(preserved tomato and eggplant layered with
bufala ricotta and burrata cheese)

 at this point, the manager sent over orecchio di maiale (crisp pig's ears) with fennel salt, on the house. but i didn't manage to get a photo.
mains:

AF and AR were both tempted by the bigoli:
hand-cranked duck egg pasta with duck leg, offal ragu,
venetian spices, marscapone and basil

i ordered the orecchiette di grano arso: fresh hand-rolled 
pasta with burnt durum semolina and finished with preserved tomatoes and cacio di fossa cheese

we were beyond full, but.....
dessert:

temptation at it's finest, we shared the tiramisu di buca:
espresso-soaked house made tapioca biscuits
layered with mascarpone and chocolate mousse

a little something extra...

who doesn't love a complimentary treat?

thanks for the end-of-evening champagne, another special treat.

thanks to the amazing staff, wonderful new manager and exec chef rob gentile. we had great eats and lots and lots of laughs.

definitely add buca to your 'must-try list'. hope to head back with RK soon!