Amarone! That's Italian!
Amarone Kitchen and Wine
8868 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood 90069At N Sierra Dr
What It Is: A tiny italian restaurant hidden away next to a tattoo parlor on Sunset and N. Sierra.
What You Get: Authentic tasting northern Italian cuisine.
What You Should Know: First - quality like this doesn't come cheap. Second - This isn't a place you run into and grab a bite to eat on the way to the movies. This is destination dining. This IS your plan for the evening!
As you enter the restaurant, your first thought will be - Where's the rest of it?
Whitewashed walls, wine bottles lining one side, room for approximately 5 two-top tables in front, and room for several more upstairs. A "cozy" space.
Quickly seated, you're presented with the substantial wine list. Menus arrive along with fresh baked breads and a small antipasti platter.
I'll fast forward through the pace of the evening, but let me say that the timing of the evening was unrushed and paced for lingering. Not unlike most meals I had while in Rome or Florence.
Not to say that service was inattentive. Plates were promptly replaced, glasses refilled or removed, and a consistent presence to check on the status of the evening.
Orders are eventually placed after some wine is selected.
I had the Prosciutto e Burrata: burrata cheese with imported prosciutto and marinated roasted peppers. Soft, fresh burrata, flavorful, melt-in-your mouth prosciutto.
Others enjoyed the Carpaccio di Manzo: beef carpaccio with marinated mushrooms, capers, grana padano cheese and mustard sauce. Incredibly thin, tasty, great presentation.
The evening could have ended with this, and the wine, and it would still rank as a great dinner evening.
As main courses: Rigatoni freschi alla Bolognese: homemade fresh rigatoni bolognese style with meat ragu. The pasta is served al-dente, and the sauce...sings. Delicious.
Penne alla Salsiccia: homemade fresh penne with sausage ragu and shaved air-dried ricotta. I'm not suggesting you should cry when a meal is served... but....
Al dente penne with a sweet and spicy sauce.
Note - this is not Olive Garden. Portions are also provided in traditional European sizes... pasta is served for individual consumption, not in a trough.
The veal chop looked delicious as well.
Other tables had some fine choices, which I look forward to going back and checking out.
There are several exceptional italian restaurants in LA, which are preparing food that stands head and shoulders above the rest. (Regular readers will know of my affection for La Botte in Santa Monica).
Let me say - this place joins that heady group.
If you do a web search for this restaurant, you'll find plenty of blogs and reviews that fawn over it. I am always skeptical.
Here and now, I'll tell you - from this eveing's experience - Everything you've heard is true.
That's Italian!
Palomino - It'll Do
10877 Wilshire Blvd - At Glendon AveLos Angeles, CA 90024
What: A bar/restaurant in Westwood.
Positive: Busy bar scene with a worthwhile cocktail list and good bar food selections;
Negative: For the price, the food is just... adequate.
Prompt service and central location may sway you to stop by Palomino. Truth be told, within a short walk, less expensive, more diverse options may tempt you instead.
Our evening involved meeting up somewhere freeway close and diverse menu to satisfy the group. Valet parking available next door to the restaurant is a plus, especially considering that parking can be difficult in Westwood.
A starter of Calamari Fritto - Ok. Reasonably fresh calamari. marginal breading. served warm Bar food level.
Chicken Picatta with mashed potatoes - decently prepared. Nothing wrong with it. Tasty. Average. Roma Tomato and Basil Pizza. Not bad for under 10.00.
Attentive service. Pleasant setting. Average food considering the pricing.
You won't leave upset, you just aren't likely to go online in blogs and rave about it.
It'll Do.
Comme and Visit
Time for another review:
Comme Ca
8479 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90048
What should you know:
Atmosphere: A-/B+
Service: A
Food: A
Overall - Definitely should try
Now, for the details:
If you've entered the blogosphere, you'll find that there are two, VERY strongly held schools of thought about this restaurant - Either people love it, and want to name their children after it, or they hate it and want to burn it to the ground.
After reading all the reviews, I showed up ready for a fight. I had read the horror stories about long waits for tables, rude service, terrible (salty) food, etc.
So, arriving with a larger party (6), I was shocked to be immediately seated, and then immediately visited by our server, menus and winelist available, asking if we wanted wine, cocktails, etc.
Our busbuy arrived, asking whether we wanted water - Having read the reviews about folks being charged for 7.00 bottles of water every time they got refills, we went with "tap."
Well, water showed up quickly, bread, cocktails, and we were well on our way.
Food -
The cheese assortment was selected by their in-house cheesemonger. A set of goat, sheep and cow's milk cheeses, paired with various nuts, fruits, or spreads. Very tasty, great assortment. Everyone at the table found something they liked.
The Onion Soup - Everything that French Onion Soup should be - Cheesy, salty, good broth, lots of onion. Delicious. Several folks at the table said that they could get that and nothing else, and be satisfied.
The Market Vegetable salad made a worthy appearance as well.
The Beef Tartare was prepared well, tart and an edge of vinegar. The "small" portion was enough for two to share. The shrimp cocktail was also a healthy-size, and from what was passing by, the Fruits Di Mare platters were also attractive.
The Steak with Pomme Frites was of good quality, though of course, in Los Angeles, there are a lot of places for steak. Reviews still coming in on the fish dishes (grilled, with an assortment of sides), so as we hear more, we'll let you know.
A great wine list, assortment of bottled beers, and innovative cocktails round out the list.
We were so stuffed from the meal, that no dessert was had, though several walked by that were very tempting.
The down side -
First, listen to every review that says that this place is loud. Imagine a loud restaurant, then multiply that by three.
The modern, glossy finishes that make the decor so attractive, also do NOTHING to mute sound. add in hardwood floors, and a narrow main dining room setup, and you have the equivalent of trying to converse at a train station. The other challenge is the setup, which led to a couple of our folks getting bumped almost off their chairs, like the aisle seats on a crowded airplane.
The decor is attractive. A nice touch is the chalkboard wall leadin to the restrooms - for your artistic side.
The other recommendation - MAKE RESERVATIONS!!
The bar area is very small, and leaves little room for lounging. The dining area is fairly compressed, and unless you're hitting it at the precisely right time, I doubt you'll want to linger waiting for tables to open up.
So - like anything - your miles may vary. Our experience was a good one. Good enough to give it another go.
Enjoy!
