My buddy Stu kept telling me about a pizza place/Italian Restaurant he ate at, and consistently goes back since it was outrageous. I of course had my suspicions, since Stu is not a reviewer on the site, and I was not entirely sure I could trust his pizza palette. When he offered to treat me to lunch there the other day, I couldn't resist the chance of putting his Pizza Authority to the test.

Cafe La Buca is located in a shopping center on a side road in Pompano Beach that you would drive by and never think to stop. It looks like it could be falling apart, and I wonder if the landlord realizes how ugly it looks. Throughout a dozen or so years, I am certain I have passed this place several times, but due to the nature of where it was located, I never thought to stop and look.

Upon entering Cafe La Buca, I was greeted with this haunting aroma of fresh food. It smelled incredible. If I closed my eyes, I could picture myself back in Italy, at an authentic restaurant. Stu seemed to know the owners, and immediately went back into the kitchen to see what they were cooking. He ordered some appetizers for us, and came back to the table. A lady (I guess one of the owners) came to the table and asked us what we wanted to drink in an almost non-understandable accent. Cafe La Buca didn't have fountain drinks, so I settled for a can of soda. We also ordered a plain pie with no basil.

When the pizza from Cafe La Buca arrived out of this wood burning oven, I couldn't wait to try it. It looked delicious, and had all the makings of a phenomenal pie. When I bit into this pizza, I couldn't believe how marvelous it was. This little hole in the wall could easily be one up there with some of the best pizza's in Florida.

Let's start with the crust, it was tasty, I mean...yes... you could taste the seasoning and spices in the crust. This isn't New York Water folks, yet somehow they manage to produce a pie that could easily compete and win against many of the new artesian pizza places that have popped up throughout Manhattan. Guess it isn't the water. The sauce, although a bit chunky, tasted magnificent, and the fresh mozz cheese they used to top this pie off was top notch. Obviously Cafe La Buca didn't listen to the "no basil" part, but who cares. This pizza was great, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Cafe La Buca is the type of place that is hidden away for a reason. Because if everyone found out, there would be lines out the door for hours at a time, and ruin the experience for the regulars who eat there and enjoy this food as much as they do....and should. Sorry to those regulars if I ruined your little quiet joint by posting a review here, but my readers need to know about this gem.

Cafe La Buca in Pompano Beach gets 7 out of 8 slices for their amazing pizza. It competes with Pizzeria Oceano and Tucci's Pizza.