<a target="_blank" href="http://www.labucaristorante.com">La Buca</a>

Corso Garibaldi, 45



















47042
Cesenatico - Forlì-Cesena - Italy

Tel:&nbsp;+39 <a target="_blank">0547 186 0764</a>

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BY IAN D’AGATA | NOVEMBER 4, 2016&nbsp;&nbsp; The food:The sea in a sandwich: smoked mackerel,
candied onion, and Italian chicory cream (Il
mare in un panino: sgombro affumicato, cipolla candita, e crema di radicchio)Roasted small squid with potato foam
(Calamaretti arrostiti alla plancia,
spumoso di patate)Spaghetti with sea urchins (Spaghetti ai ricci di mare)Fresh chitarra pasta with raw red
shrimp, mullet roe, and lime (Pasta
fresca alla chitarra, gambero rosso crudo, bottarga, e lime)Our mixed fish, mollusk and
crustacean fry (Il nostro fritto di
pesci, molluschi, e crostacei)The catch of the day cooked on sweet
Cervia salt, aromatic herbs and the season’s vegetables (Il pescato smontato e cotto su sale dolce di Cervia, erbe aromatiche, e
verdure di stagione)Lightly smoked roast turbot, green
vegetables (Rombo leggermente affumicato
ed arrostito, ortaggi verdi)

































The wines:

NV Fallet M. Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Avize Grand Cru	90+1999 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes Premier Grand Cru Classé	91<div><img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1478195029605-panino+copy.jpg"> </div>

The sea in a sandwich: smoked mackerel, candied onion,
and Italian chicory cream















How many people have heard of or been to La Buca? If
you haven’t yet made your way run, don’t walk, as soon as humanly possible. Simply
put, La Buca is easily one of Italy’s best seafood restaurants. A family-run
operation, La Buca is the brainchild of Stefano Bartolini, the calm,
soft-spoken but clearly self-assured owner, who has built a seafood empire that
includes three Osteria del Gran Fritto bistros in Cesenatico (next door to La
Buca), Milano Marittima and Bologna.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1478195084262-seppie+copy.jpg"> Roasted small squid with potato foam

La Buca was founded in 1985 and is
located in the Porto Canale di Leonardo Da Vinci, which is the prettiest part
of the seaside town of Cesenatico in Emilia-Romagna. Along with Rimini and
Riccione, Cesenatico is part of the triangle at the heart of Italy’s summer
beach movida, in which youngish
beachgoers from all over Europe gather and party relentlessly.&nbsp;As
a young man, Bartolini worked in his mother’s Pensione Stella Marina and then
in his father’s Marcello restaurant. Despite having briefly dedicated himself
early on to obtaining a business degree, Bartolini’s roots were such that
seafood came naturally to him, so he quickly turned back to his first love.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1478195130746-spaghetti+ricci+copy.jpg"> 

Spaghetti with sea urchins



















La Buca is a one Michelin star
restaurant that is actually much closer to one and a half, if such a thing might
exist. The pretty interior design, rather minimalist but warm and functional,
is all earth-tone colors, metal, glass and essential lines. It is the work of
Stefano’s son Andrea, an architect and admitted Champagne nut. Tables are set
far apart and seats are very comfortable. Near the open kitchen towards the
back, a refrigerated glass case allows you to see the available fish,
crustaceans and mollusks, all on display. Chef Gregorio Grippo has been with
Bartolini since 1986 and that sort of continuity shows, with one very precise
dish after another emerging quickly and efficiently from the kitchen. <img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1478195146970-pasta+gambero+rosso+bottarga+copy.jpg"> 

Fresh chitarra pasta with raw red shrimp, mullet roe,
and lime 



















The amuse-bouche, a mackerel,
candied onion and Italian chicory cream sandwich is briny and fresh,
immediately setting off images of walks and of gardens by the seashore. The fritto is exceptionally airy and light,
with absolutely no hint of grease whatsoever; while the two pastas, both archetypes
of their respective recipes, are not to be missed. If anything, it is the small
squid and potato foam dish that almost prove too much of a good thing: the
squid and the potatoes are tasty and flavorful, but the potato foam is really more
of a heavy cream. It is an outstanding dish, but perhaps too hearty and rich
for an appetizer.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1478195169141-fritto+copy.jpg"> 

Our mixed fish, mollusk and crustacean fry



















The wine list at La Buca is
exceptional and fairly priced. I don’t believe there are five other places in
Italy that have a selection of half bottles comparable in quality to that of La
Buca. This is not unimportant for those of us who are always travelling and
often eat alone. Clearly, we all relish the opportunity to pick from a large
pool of high-level 375 mL bottles. Read’em and weep: half bottles from San
Michele Appiano, Gaja, San Guido (that’s right, half bottles of Sassicaia),
Fèvre, Domaine Weinbach, Alphonse Mellot, Krug, Philipponat, Ruinart, Gosset. I
could go on. Moving on to the 750 mL bottles, if you like Champagne and
bubblies in general, you’ve come to the right place. <img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1478195184808-fish+in+whole+view+copy.jpg"> 

A view of the fish selection of the day



















Andrea Bartolini’s love for all
things bubbly shows in the selection of fifteen different Italian sparklers and
more than forty Champagnes, including some hard to find gems. If that wasn’t
enough, you have two pages dedicated to Krug and Dom Pérignon
verticals. Still wines are sourced from many of Italy’s best wineries including
numerous selections that have been clearly chosen with care. Looking for
Bartolo Mascarello, Terlano, Valentini, and Gravner? No problem. Diners will
also find bottles from Leone Conti, Santa Lucia, La Tosa, Kofererhof,
Falkenstein, Tiberio, Borgo Paglianetto and many more under the radar
properties. High quality foreign estates are also well represented, from Prager
to Leroy, with a smattering of old vintages that provide even more temptation. <img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1478195199423-Wines+Screenshot+2016-11-03+13.40.10%282%29.png"> 



















I can’t say enough what a pleasure
it is to walk into a restaurant where an obvious love for wine shines brightly,
as opposed to so many other places where the lists are copycat, boring and replete
only with the usual names anybody can think of. In fact, if the food at La Buca
weren’t so great, I’d still come here just to drink the wines! On this night, I
keep things simple. The outstanding NV
Fallet M. Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Avize Grand Cru and the 1999
Château
Guiraud Sauternes Premier Grand Cru Classé are just what
the doctor ordered at the end of a long hard day of work in the countryside.
The former is a little known, very traditional Champagne house of Avize; it
produces one of my favorite Blanc de Blancs (aged upwards for six years on the
lees), flavorful and concentrated but light on its feet (the same wine may be
confusingly sold under the labels of Fallet-Prévostat and Fallet-Gourron). And Guiraud
is a fail-safe choice, as there are fewer people anywhere who know more about
Sauternes than technical director and part owner Xavier Planty. The 1999 is
redolent in aromas and flavors of orange zest, caramel and honeyed tropical
fruit. It comes through rich and creamy. Both wines accompany me effortlessly
and well through a magical night of food and wine.

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