‘Italian’

« Older Entries

Delivery Upgrade at Lago D’Argento

May 11th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

...and in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night.

My buddy, DCo, is a bit of a pizza snob. It works out well for me, because he likes to point me in the direction of awesome new and old pizza places. Recently, he told me about a new place called Lago D’Argento over in Silverlake. It took a bit of convincing, but finally I had a real reason to go to that part of town and decided to make a run for pizza while there. I invited another buddy, Jeff, to join and we checked the place out. Continue Reading»

No Comments

, , , , , , ,

Mozzarella Time at Obika

April 9th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Lotsa mozza!

While the Century City food court is always a winner, there is another restaurant within that mall that has been intriguing me for a while. It’s called Obika and calls itself a mozzarella bar. While I love me some mozzarella, I think I’ve stayed away simply because I didn’t think mozzarella alone was cheese enough to sustain a bar. But now that Obika has been around for a while, it has proven its staying power and I knew it was worth checking out. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

, , , , , , , , ,

Kid Stuff at Hostaria del Piccolo

April 3rd, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

You take a hot dog, put it on a pizza...

Being a kid was pretty cool. No responsibilities. No money. No rent/mortgage/car payment. And you got kids menus. You know that awesome set of options that were simply meant as a cheaper alternative to the regular menu, but turned out to have the best stuff on it anyway. Things like grilled cheese, chicken fingers and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were mainstays always a hit. Yet growing up can be tough, and not just because of those silly responsibilities, but also because you can’t quite get away with order PB and J at age 27. Fortunately, all is not lost. Burgers have taken a gourmet turn. Hot dogs are still popular for people of all ages. And then there is a little restaurant in Santa Monica called Hostaria del Piccolo. Continue Reading»

No Comments

, , , , , ,

800 Degrees of Separation

March 27th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Not quite bianca anymore.

As the Umami Empire continued to grow, to me it seemed only inevitable that it would eventually take on pizza. Enter 800 Degrees in Westwood, a Neapolitan style pizza place where customized pizza is king. They offer specialty pizzas, but the key to the place in my mind was to order a basic pizza (between 5.15 and 6.45) and load on the toppings for $1 each. This was the route I took. Continue Reading»

3 Comments

, , , , , ,

Dehydrated Deep Dish at Giampietro

February 7th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Sicilians (if they are real) are not happy about this.

For those of you unfamiliar with places of high altitude, allow me to explain the results of finding yourself far above sea level. The first thing you’ll notice is a shortness of breath, when a short walk up the stairs leaves you breathless. Next, you’ll find yourself in a constant quest for water, as the altitude saps the water from your body and leaves you dehydrated.  Such is the case in Breckenridge, Colorado, sitting at 9600 feet above sea level.  While I had previously thought such altitude issues only applied to humans, a pizza from Giampietro taught me this was just not the case. Continue Reading»

No Comments

, , , , , ,

An Engaging Dinner at Michael’s

February 3rd, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

I did it for the ziti!

Well, you must have known the day was gonna come eventually.  You know, the one where that lady I often refer to as “the girlfriend” in my reviews becomes “the fiancee.”  Yes, I’m sorry for not consulting you wonderful readers of mine ahead of time, but it was something that had to be done.  So, while in Breckenridge, Colorado for a bit of a ski trip with the family, my parents decided to take everyone out to dinner to celebrate the engagement.  We picked out a mid-range Italian place called Michael’s, thinking it would be a great place to make everyone happy. Continue Reading»

No Comments

, , , , ,

Giordano’s, for Real This Time

December 21st, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Thanks for the memories.

A long, long time ago, I was a fledgling meat blogger just getting his bearings.  In a desperate attempt to eat Giordano’s and get it on the blog, I bought a half-baked pie in Chicago, packed it in ice and brought it back to LA to finish the baking myself.  The result was delicious, and while I reviewed it, I always felt that it was unfair to judge a restaurant in which much of the cooking was up to me.  Since those, very little has changed, but my desire for Giordano’s has only grown stronger.  So on my last visit to Chicago, I made sure to hit Giordano’s for real, or to at least have some of my family pick it up for me in Evanston. Continue Reading»

No Comments

, , , , , ,

Eating with Ray at San Gennaro

December 15th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

More like San get out of here!

I could read all the food blogs in the world and go to all the restaurants they claim to be great, but nothing really ever beats a personal recommendation.  Usually it comes from someone you know and they know your taste better any anonymous or famous food critics.  So when my buddy and his lady friend suggested we hit up an Italian place called San Gennaro in Brentwood, I was ready for business.

When we arrived, one look at the menu told me this was not going to be an easy choice.  Instantly my eyes met with gnocchi, Italian fried chicken and Ray’s Special pizza.  Instead of making the tough decision myself, I asked the waiter to decide for me and he picked the pizza. Continue Reading»

No Comments

, , , , , ,

Sausage-Free at Tony’s Deli

November 14th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

And here, Tony makes a sandwich.

Out in the strange region of the Valley known as Toluca Lake is a decent selection of restaurants for working-class folk like myself.  Filling the role of Italian Deli is a place called Tony’s, which is a tiny little sandwich shop that also happens to offer a couple easy-to-serve-at-sandwich-shops-but-not-actual-sandwich items like lasagna.  Most of their sandwiches come with an array of unvegan horrors like lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions, but one did not.  This was the way of the unvegan. Continue Reading»

No Comments

, , , , , ,

Island Italian at Spaghetti House

October 24th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A strong start.

For some reason, despite being on a tropical island, Bina was craving Italian food.  Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that we had a 15% off coupon to Spaghetti House or perhaps it had something to do with taste buds.  Whatever the case, I was happy to mix up our Rarotonga grubbing with something different, so we walked on over to Spaghetti House in Arorangi to see what sort of Italian the were serving. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

, , , , , , ,

« Older Entries

Going Global at Plan Check

Fries of the world.

A couple of weeks ago, The Backyard Bite invited me to The Burger Culture Clash, sponsored by Stussy (which apparently still exists) and Plan Check. Plan Check, by the way, is a sort of new (since February) restaurant in West LA with Chef Ernesto Uchimura of Umami Burger fame. As my love of burgers, especially those of the umami variety, I jumped at the opportunity.

Although I arrived alone, I was not the only lone eater. Just next to where I was seated, I met e*star LA and we decided to share a meal called loneliness, because it’s better than eating alone. We made quick friends over our respective blogs and Midwestern roots, then got to work at dissecting the special menu, which Plan Check will be featuring for the next month if anything tickles your fancy.

Continue Reading»

Couldn't just bring the whole cow?

What is this?»

Unvegan Friends