La Buca Ristorante – Philadelphia – USA

La Buca in Italian means “The Hole” and if you visit the restaurant you understand why they choose that name; to enter, you have to actually enter a hole! This “buca” is filled with passion for food and for Italy.

I actually had the pleasure to film La Buca many years ago and it was truly a great experience we prepared some delicious recipes, such as gnudi, (a kind of gnocchi originally from Tuscany made with ricotta and spinach instead of potatoes),“Zuppa di Pesce” (seafood soup) with lobster and scallops.

I also learned that his very first special guest was opera singer Maestro Luciano Pavarotti! Giuseppe said that the restaurant was not even open yet, but that Maestro Pavarotti wanted to eat Italian, so the opera singer’s staff practically begged him to open just for that night to please the Maestro -and of course, Giuseppe could not say no to such a request!