Buca di Beppo

We went to Buca di Beppo tonight for Jess's birthday dinner, and sat at the kitchen table - quite an experience.  It was interesting to be right in the heart of the kitchen, but noisy.

While the vegan options are limited, the items that were available were all pretty decent.  We started with the bruschetta, which was piled high with a nicely seasoned tomato blend, and quite tasty.  The waitress gained points by realizing and pointing out that the "vinaigrette" that normally comes with the salad would not be vegan since it has egg in it (okay, really? egg?  in a vinaigrette?  WTF?).  She brought out olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the salad, which while simple, did have sweet peppers, and kalamata and green olives. 

For entrees, we had gnocchi with a garlicky tomato basil sauce*, and spaghetti marinara.  Our waitress racked up some more points by offering to check the ingredients list of the gnocchi, but I have to say it was my least favorite of the dishes we had.  The sauce was good, but the gnocchi was bland and smooshy.  The spaghetti marinara was quite yummy though, and the spaghetti was perfectly cooked.  

The highlight of the evening for me though, was the Ultimate Raspberry Lemon Drop.  Bacardi Razz and Limon, sweet and sour, and a couple of frozen raspberries served in a martini glass dipped in sugar with lemon zest.  Yum!  

*Note:  My good friend Sarah of The Southern Fried Vegan pointed out that the gnocchi is normally served with a roasted garlic marinara sauce with "a touch of cream".  The server checked the ingredients list for us, and the gnocchi itself is vegan, so we had them sub a vegan sauce.