Remember Buca di Beppo? The casual Italian chain restaurant (or really, Italian-American) was known for its red-sauce style, with hearty menu items like lasagna, juicy chicken parmesan, and spaghetti and meatballs, as well as seriously big portions. Somewhat ironically, it wasn't dreamed up by an Italian at all.

Founder Phil Roberts hails from central Illinois, but he did have a serious appreciation for the classic Italian-American restaurants with checked tablecloths that had opened around the country. While the Buca di Beppo original menu was devised by an Italian chef, it didn't make any claims of being authentically Italian in any way, although it served a few dishes that are sometimes mistaken as Italian.