Tag Archives: italian

Angelini Osteria (Los Angeles, CA) [2]

Posted on by August 23, 2015

Angelini Osteria
7313 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Dining date: 8/7/15

Angelini

Gino Angelini has been cooking his popular Italian fare in this small spot on Beverly for almost 15 years now. It’s been a crowd favorite ever since opening and certainly was a full house on this Friday evening. It’s hard to pinpoint why it took me three and a half years to return here since my first visit in 2012. I think part of it is due to the restaurant’s lack of OpenTable accessibility (it’s a real thing!) and part of it is due to the emergence of Bestia downtown. Whatever the reasons, I really enjoyed the meal (especially the pastas) during that first visit so a return trip was way overdue.

Interior

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Scarpetta (Beverly Hills, CA) [3]

Posted on by August 2, 2015

Scarpetta
Montage Beverly Hills
225 North Canon Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Dining date: 7/7/15

Scarpetta

I’ve had some great meals at Scarpetta since it opened in 2010. It had been almost two years since I stopped in, so a return visit was long overdue. In my opinion, the restaurant’s best seats are the six at the kitchen counter; this would be my third time sitting here. We had a custom tasting menu built for the evening, picking a few old favorites and letting chef Freddy Vargas fill in the rest.

Kitchen

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Chi Spacca (Los Angeles, CA) [3]

Posted on by July 5, 2015

Chi Spacca
6610 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Dining date: 6/6/15

exterior

I was at Chi Spacca just a couple of months prior but returned to introduce the restaurant to some others that had heard great things. It’s a perfect spot for a carnivorous group such as us. Given the format of the menu (primarily large portions of meat), big parties do best here. Luckily, we had a party of seven which allowed us a chance to try a bunch of items.

interior

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Redd Wood (Yountville, CA)

Posted on by June 17, 2015

Redd Wood
6755 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599
Dining date: 5/24/15

redd wood

Yountville might as well be called Kellerville from a food perspective since Thomas Keller’s restaurants here clearly dominate the national headlines (and for good reason). However, Yountville is home to many other recognized chefs and restaurants including this one.

Redd Wood opened in 2012, the second restaurant by chef Richard Reddington. Reddington consistently garnered Michelin stars for upscale sister restaurant Redd down the street, but this more approachable Italian spot has been just as popular if not moreso.

Redd Wood was the choice for a lunch in between morning and afternoon wine tastings in Napa Valley. We ordered a few items across the menu for a sampling – some salumi, one appetizer, one pizza and one pasta.

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Oenotri (Napa, CA)

Posted on by June 1, 2015

Oenotri
1425 1st St
Napa, CA 94559
Dining date: 5/23/15

exterior

Oenotri has been a popular spot for Italian food in Napa since opening in 2010. The restaurant combines the flavors of southern Italy and with local Napa Valley produce for a unique Cal-Italian blend. Much of its produce is sourced from its own garden, breads are made in-house every day, and the restaurant maintains an on-site salumi program. Typically the signs of a great restaurant. I’ve heard plenty of good things about the restaurant over the years and stopped in for dinner while in Napa over Memorial Day weekend.

interior

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Giada (Las Vegas, NV) [2]

Posted on by May 1, 2015

Giada
The Cromwell
3595 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Dining date: 4/24/15

exterior

I had dined at Giada just a few months ago for dinner but my mom, a big fan of De Laurentiis, wanted to give Giada a try. We came by for lunch on a Friday right before the Vegas Uncork’d Grand Tasting.

The lunch menu offers a large variety of small plates, some sandwiches, salads and a couple pastas. Two of the signature lunch items were not yet available on this day which was kind of disappointing. Given we were about an hour into lunch service I found this kind of odd. Still, we found a few other items to try off the menu.

interior1

interior2

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