Taste of Italy | Downtown Los Angeles

Posted by on Oct 22, 2012 | 0 comments

As the son of a Sicilian immigrant, I was excited to have a chance to go to the Taste of Italy event this year in downtown LA. Images of Italian flags, fare, and music flowed through my mind as I was getting ready to enter the Italian American Museum of LA. As I got to the entrance, the

line of people in a mix of casual, dressy, and the occasionally formal attire stretched before me. When I finally got up to the front of the line to pick up my tasting tickets, I knew that the slim ticket pack of six taste, (three premier tastes or “Q cards” and three regular tastes), and four drink cards would not be enough to satisfy my desires to the try the food of the many booths that lined the inside and outside of the museum.

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La Dolce Vita | Beverly Hills, CA

Posted by on Aug 21, 2012 | Comments Off

La Dolce Vita | Beverly Hills, CA

If you are not paying attention to where you are going, you could miss the small red awning that graces the entrance to this historic italian restaurant. For its famous clients such as Frank Sinatra, who had his own booth, to icons that witnessed history happen before their eyes, like Nancy Reagan, to the scores of loyal regulars who call this home, La Dolce Vita delivers traditional italian food in a nice comfortable atmosphere.

And even when I was paying attention, I still missed the awning. It sits on the corner of S Santa Monica Blvd and Wilshire. So I had to turn around for another go. Once I did walk in, I was promptly greeted by its highly regarded Matre D’ Ruben with a straight eye line to the bar. This place is not large by any stretch, but it is intimate, casual, and classy at the same time. And I still felt a little underdressed.

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Terroni | Los Angeles

Posted by on Jan 9, 2012 | 0 comments

Terroni | Los Angeles

Before I went on a 2 week cleanse, I wanted get a little dressed up and have a nice meal.  So a friend of min suggested a little place in Los Angeles called Terroni, just east of the Grove on Beverly Blvd. This is one of those places that you could miss if you were not paying attention.  As you walk in, you notice the tight quarters of all of the two tops and larger tables along with the open kitchen and wine bar.  You would think that this would be a louder place than it is.  But the conversation that I had with my friend was was really easy.  But I did notice that the couple next to us stopped many times to listen to what we had to say. The menu is a little confusing, all of the dishes are in italian and can be overwhelming, but there are explanations of each dish under the names.  The wine list is rather limited in wine types, but the variety rather impressive from vintage to vineyard and region.

Piatto a Stutare

We started with the Piatto

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