"talk about atmosphere!" (sigh)

for those who don't know it, buca di beppo is this chain italian restaurant that can be found across the country. it has a bunch of crazy crap on the walls, a la uncle moe's family feedbag. i have only been once to the one in dupont circle. as our table was giving its drink orders, the table of tourists next to us was being seated, and one of the women in the group exclaimed with absolutely no irony in her voice as she gazed at the crowded walls, "talk about atmosphere!" it was classic. at any rate, there is another italian chain restaurant closer to my office, bertucci's, that is a common destination in the office. it's located in what used to be an alley behind a row of buildings, and you can see in this picture that the original buildings were kept as is, and they converted the alley to be part of a mixed-use building. kinda cool. but now every time i go in there, i think of this tourist being excited about the crap on the walls at buca di beppo, and i feel lame for liking the fact that they kept the original buildings...