La Buca opened in the chill of December and promptly had to shut down for repairs — but a sneak preview showed good times ahead
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Anyone who’s watched Opening Soon on Food Network understands the perversity of opening a restaurant, often a trip to purgatory and back.
La Buca felt some of that heat. Actually, it didn’t. It opened in the chill of December and alas, there was no heat. So they promptly closed to fix the problem, only to find that repairs ricochet like bullets, exposing wounds here and there. Now they’ve opened for sure, for sure.
If track record counts for anything, La Buca will thrive and make a lot of Westsiders jump up and down with glee. The chef and co-owner is Andrey Durbach, of the fabulous Parkside restaurant on leafy Haro Street. His sidekick owner, Chris Stewart, handles the maitre d’ role with giant aplomb. He’s massaged customers in the best service-oriented places in town, like Bishop’s and Le Crocodile.
La Buca is trying for a neighbourhood appeal, keeping haute-iness and haughtiness in check — as well as prices — but I wouldn’t be surprised if guests from “away” hop the fence. Who doesn’t like a good-value meal in an unpretentiously sophisticated place?
I managed a sneak preview before La Buca abruptly closed for technical fixes and the place was sailing smoothly (except for a slight chill) in its infant stage. Stewart was the consummate front guy, gliding on his well-oiled experience. And Durbach shows his signature moves — gutsy, flavourful food, never overwrought or blatantly show offy. La Buca’s menu, as you might expect, is Italian. And it really is.
He doesn’t import Japanese, Chinese or Indian ingredients into the dishes or deconstruct or tweak. It’s a pure and simple “why fix something that’s not broken?”
Starters are $9 to $11, pastas are $14.50 to $17 (and there are about a dozen), entrees run from $21 to $24. There’s a heavy dose of veal, making up four of nine dishes.
I had first-rate mussels in white wine plated in a tidy circle; a fisherman’s soup was thick with delicious seafood; Tuscan bean soup, a specialty, was rustic and warming.
Of the mains, the lamb tenderloin with braised kale and beans was again, hearty and wintery; I thought the Cornish game hen grilled under brick was a winner but it was taken off the menu because it kicked up too much smoke in the kitchen. Vincigrassi is a lasagne-like pasta with porcini, Parma ham and fontina — it suffered from texture monotony but I did like the pumpkin ravioli with sage butter, as plump as a pregnant belly and made creamy with mascarpone cheese.
I’m of two minds about the garlic bread. When it comes fresh to the table, I devour it like a pit bull, it’s so delicious, but noticed as it sits, it takes on attributes of bread that was heated in microwave. (Rock hard crust, too-soft interior.)
Desserts didn’t fail me. There’s a stellar tira misu as well as a must-try ricotta tart with cherry sauce.
The wine list is compact with more than a nod to Italy. Served by the bottle, a half quartino (4 ounces) and quartino.
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LA BUCA
Overall: 4
Food: 4
Ambience: 4
Service: 4
Price: $$
4025 McDonald St., 604-730-6988.
Open nightly from 5 p.m.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
