Alimento (Los Angeles, CA)

Alimento
1710 Silver Lake Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Dining date: 1/29/15

Alimento has gained plenty of praise as one of the best new LA restaurant openings in 2014 (see LA Mag, LA Weekly, and GQ). Opened in June, it’s been on my list for some time and I finally got a chance to stop in.

Alimento is on an exciting corner of Silver Lake, just a few steps away from the likes of L&E Oyster Bar, Milk, and LAMILL Coffee. It happened to be dineLa Restaurant Week when we stopped in and the restaurant was offering a special menu of three courses (two choices at each course) for $30. We ended up ordering one of those fixed menus, supplementing it with a few a la carte items.

Scallop Crudo potato passata, nduja oil

Delicious thick cuts of scallop had a great smooth texture and clean flavor. Bright citrus and a hint of porky nduja flavor made for some really delicious bites.

Lamb Belly chickpea pancake, fennel, mint, tomato, fiore sardo

Rich, crispy pieces of fried belly were contrasted with fresh fennel & mint accouterments. I thought this could be overly heavy for an appetizer but this really struck a good balance.

Tortellini in Brodo “al contrario”

These tortellini maintained a nice chew while filled with broth…Italian xiao long bao? With plenty of cheese.

Gnòc oxtail, marrow, potato

Rich oxtail, bone marrow and a potato puree made for an utterly savory and rich ‘sauce’ to go along with the chewy pasta. So delicious.

Fusilli smoked brisket carbonara

Subtle smoke flavor imbued the rich carbonara, picked up by al dente strands of the fusilli.

Carnaroli Rice Pudding condensed milk, hazelnut croccantino

The rice pudding was a sweet way to end the meal. The rice maintained a firm bite with a subtle sweetness, standing up to the milk and hazelnut flavors.

A post-dinner walk brought us to LAMILL across the street for a nightcap. The coffee was as good as always.

Latte

Affogato decaf espresso

The meal at Alimento was a very good one. Both the scallop crudo and lamb belly small plates excelled and the pasta was top notch as well. My favorite had to be the gnoc (hard to go wrong with oxtail and marrow in the sauce), but there were no pasta disappointments. I would definitely return.