UYE @ Buca di Beppo for dinner; Dave & Busters for Games FuN

Jules and Fran hosted a fantastic UYE at Buca’s. Some of the other notables that showed were Nadine and Jeana. It’s always a blast hanging out with them. They went to D&B’s for games after dinner. I had to head home because my 8 year old fell asleep at the table. Boo for me, haha!
I got there a little late. There was mad traffic that day and parking was horrible. Everyone was at Ward for $ 6 movie Tuesdays. I walked in and saw Jeana, Jules, and Fran. Nadine came a little after. We were seated about 10 minutes after Nadine showed up.
We all got to choose a dish. It was served family style, so we all shared. We got the Warm Tomato and Spinach Salad, Mussels Bianca, Chicken Parmigiana, Eggplant Parmigiana, and Margherita Pizza. Everything was really good, but the winner of the night was the Mussels Bianca. I don’t like mussels and just knew that I wasn’t going to like it. I tried it and it knocked me off my chair. Holy smokes, that appetizer is addicting. It was the garlic butter sauce that it was in. We were slurping the broth up. The mussels were a little overcooked. They were on the smaller side due to shrinkage. If the mussels were cooked perfectly, it would have been bigger and more plump.
By the ending of the night, everyone was stuffed. There was extra Chicken Parmigiana left. I doggie bagged it home for lunch the next day. Jules and Fran brought a whole bunch of candy with them. My son was in candy heaven. Thanks for the candy, Jules and Fran. Thanks to everyone else for the great company and laughter. Let’s do it again soon!

I’ve never done a UYE event until this past Tuesday, and I would have to give all the credit to my sweetie Jules Y., for encouraging me to help her do this event.
It was just after Christmas, and Jules Y. had a bunch of $ 10 Dave & Busters game cards where you spend $ 10, and get an addition $ 10 for free! Not a bad deal if I say so myself?
Well, what better way to get rid of these game cards then to make an event where we could have a few friends join up for some good Italian grub, then head upstairs to Dave & Busters to play a few games, and help Jules Y. get rid of the game cards?
Upon arriving at the restaurant, Jeana was already there waiting for us. Lucky for us, my gf Jules Y. made reservations for our group (she’s a smart cookie!), as I overheard there was a 2 hour wait for a table. YIKES!!!
But believe me folks… Buca di Beppo does serve up some really delicious Italian grub, so I’m not surprised about the wait to get a table!
As we get seated, we scanned the menu, and decided to order the following items to share that night —
1. Warm Spinach & Tomato Salad
2. Mussels Bianca
3. Margherita Pizza
4. Eggplant Parmigiana
5. Chicken Parmigiana
We also had several loaves of complimentary bread… and I must say, Buca di Beppo was very generous in delivering endless loaves to us!
All I can say about Buca di Beppo is that the food never disappoints! Believe me, all of the items we ordered that night were simply delicious!
But if I had to chose the items which stood out for me… I must say the two food items that knocked my socks off was the Mussels Bianca, & the Margherita Pizza.
Why? Well, who doesn’t love pizza??? The Margherita Pizza was made on flat bread, and it was sooooooooooo good! Nice crunchy texture, and very fresh ingredients. A fresh clean tasting pizza! No can go wrong gang!
As for the Mussels Blanca… man, that bowl of mussels that they served us was LOADED! The mussels were meaty and delicious! The dish was nicely seasoned, and after all the mussels were eaten, all that was left was a delicious mussel «soup», which I used to dip my bread into! Ummmmmmm! ONO!!!
After eating up a storm, it was time to settle up the bill and head upstairs to Dave & Busters. Upon arriving upstairs, my sweetie loaded up a few game cards, and off we went to play some games.
Dave & Busters sure has some really fun games… Jules Y. & I shot down some aliens, then we proceeded to tap on some lights to music, then we spun a wheel for some tickets, then I shot some hoops, and last of all… I raced Jules Y. in a race car.
Little did I know, Jules Y. has a led foot, and is a highly skilled race driver, as she beat me down on the first two races! And to save face, I think she let me win the 3^rd race… Lol! Oh well… at least I had fun!
Coming to Dave & Busters, we accomplished what we came here for… as Jules Y. ended up giving away a lot of the game cards to complete strangers. (I’m very sure a lot of the recipients were very surprised and pleased!)
Last of all, much MAHALO to — Jeana P., Angel H. and her ohana, Nadine C. (da famous auntie!) for coming out to join us!
To my sweetie — Jules Y., thank you for showing me da ropes on doing a UYE event.
It was kind of last minute, and rushed, but regardless I had a wonderful time doing this event with you, and hanging out with a few Yeeps that night!

NICE!
What does «nice» mean?
Pleasant? Good? Fun? Happy? Yippee?
All of the above!
I like being around «nice» people! We bounce the positive vibes off of each other and have a better experience and a richer life — agree?
Because this is the last day of 2015, I’m taking advantage of this opportunity to reflect on one of the best years of my life — thanks to Unilocal and all of the cool people I have met. There are so many new friends. you know who you are… ;) This review would be endless as I could go on and on… Yes — my shy self can at times change because of the warm souls around me that make me a better person! For example: Jules and Fran — Hawaii’s newest Unilocal couple…
They put together this UYE at a time when we are frantic with the Christmas Rush and New Year celebrations. We got together and made time to enjoy each others’ company (and some good grinds)! They shared thoughtful goodie bags and were generous with the laughs and smiles! Thanks for the extra $ 10 Bonus coupons on our Power Cards at Dave and Busters! I don’t play those kinds of games (just Vegas kine — hahaha!), so it was an educational experience for me!
[Long version — if you want to know what we ate:
Complimentary Bread — we were STARVING! I think I ate a whole loaf cuz of the BUTTER and the clam sauce — so ono!!!
Warm Tomato and Spinach Salad — yummy! No guilt here!
Chicken Parmigiana — very flavorful and filling!
Eggplant Parmigiana — slightly crunchy texture made this a winner!
Clams Bianca — the star of the meal! Two thumbs up!]
You might be thinking that a Tuesday night is a strange day to have a UYE — especially since it’s between Christmas and New Years… plus, it’s $ 6 movie night at Ward Centers… (small kine crowded, yeah?)… Hahaha! This just adds to the excitement and happy memories, right?
Well, those $ 10 Dave and Buster coupons had an expiration date of 12÷31÷15;
and we couldn’t use them on a Wednesday since it’s Discount Day already;
and Thursday is New Year’s Eve;
so I could understand why that day was chosen — good thing I had the night off due to holiday scheduling! Yayyy!
Overall, this was a wonderful UYE, filled with good cheer, yummy food, excellent friends, and fun times! Here’s to many, many more! Sending out a sincere MAHALO to everyone — especially YOU for reading this message! 2015 was such and outstanding year! Thank YOU for being a part of it! It has been very, very, very NICE!

On Saturday 12/​26/​2015 afternoon Jules had sent me a heads up text about a UYE for Tuesday 12/​29/​2015. In the text it mentioned about having dinner at Buca di Beppo and playing games afterwards upstairs at Dave & Buster’s. I checked my work schedule and found out that I was off for the night. I quickly responded I’M IN for the Buca’s and DnB UYE.
Fast forward to the day of the event… I arrived at Buca di Beppo at around 6:15pm. I was the first one to show up for the UYE. Jules and Fran arrived afterwards. Cousin Angel and her family showed up and then Nadine right afterwards.
Once half of the attendees showed up for the dinner we were escorted to the dining section. It was like a maze just to get to our table. Apparently the rest of the individuals became a no show or cancelled at the last minute.
Our waitress for the night gave us the menus to look over. I said I wanted a small Margherita Pizza and everyone else says to order a large pizza so that everyone can share. Majority wins. I looked over the menu and spotted the Mussels Bianca. Let’s add that to the order. Everyone else put in their order to share.
Once the mussels came out… dang that’s a lot. Our group finished it off because it was to darn delicious. We should have ordered a second one. Lol.
Next up came the pizza. Large flat bread Margherita pizza. I lost count of how many slices I had. It was delicious. I was getting full from what I ordered and what everyone else ordered.
After dinner Angel and her family offered to give me a ride to Ala Moana Center in which I declined. I do want to play some games at Dave & Buster’s.
That left our hosts Fran and Jules along with Nadine and myself to head on up to DnB to play some games. We entered DnB and I was the first one to add some points to my Power Card.
After everyone loaded up their game cards it was time to head to the game floor. I tried some of the games only to have it say «Unable to read card.». Since I had an old gold looking Dave & Buster’s card I had to go back downstairs to get a new one.
I received my new Power Card and was able to play some games. It’s been a long time since I played games. Won a few tickets and even got myself a new stuff animal from the souvenir shop.
Major mahalo to Jules and Fran for an awesome night of food, games, and laughter. I value our friendship that we’ve gained with thanks to Unilocal.Good seeing Nadine and cousin Angel with her family tonight. Have a wonderful New Year celebration. Take care and much Aloha to you all.