Angelini Osteria

7313 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 297-0070
Lunch: Tuesday-Friday 12:00AM - 2:30PM Dinner: Tuesday-Sunday 5:30PM - 10:30PM
All major credit cards accepted.

In a fusion-filled LA where escargot and pasta alla carbonara often occupy the same menu page, authentic Italian meals are about as rare as mafia indictments.

With traditional Italian "primi" and "secondi" plates proof of their Italian faith, Angelini Osteria's prices do slant leaning-tower-style toward the expensive, but with dishes like ravioli stuffed with Swiss chard and ricotta, think of what you'll save postponing your next Alitalia flight. One thing to be wary of is that the restaurant is tiny, which makes this popular stop more cramped than the Vatican on Easter Sunday. Make reservations, unless you don't mind getting inebriated slurping their brilliant Fontodi Chianti Classico while watching the crowd at El Coyote across the street meld into a blurry mass.

--Digital City review


I ordered the pumpkin tortellini with butter, sage, and asparagus and for dessert, some sort of apple pie with almonds, but I can't remember exactly. This being my second time trying pumpkin ravioli at a restaurant, I've decided that it is a dish I won't be ordering again because I've discovered it's a bit too bland for my taste, both times I've tried it.





Delicious dessert though --if only I could remember what it was. =/

Angelato Cafe

301 Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401

A gelato cafe on Arizona right off the 3rd Street Promenade Walkway. With over 100 flavors of gelato, including sorbets, sherberts, tofu blends, and yogurt blends, and all the staple flavors, be prepared to take a loong time to decide.

You start with paying for the number of scoops you want, in a cup or cone, and then you show the receipt to the scooper. You get to sample 3 flavors maximum. 1 scoop is in actuality 2 scoops, but you can't ask for the second scoop to be another flavor (I guess they don't think their scoopers are big enough).

They even have a selection of paninis on the menu, but I've never tried them.



Cuisine--Italian gelato
Rating-- Four stars
Ambience--Storefront restaurant with a handful of sidewalk tables.
Best flavors--Black currant, mango, blueberry yogurt
Prices-- 3.25 for one scoop.
Service-- Casual

Ambala Dhaba Homestyle Indian

1718 Westwood Blvd. 310-966-1772

This would be about the 5th time I've been to this restaurant. Westwood sister to Artesia restaurant with surprisingly good Punjabi style fare. Highly recommended is the Dhaba chicken, Paneer tikka (Indian cheese dish) along with garlic naan and the mango lassi, which is the best I've tried anywhere. Try the dishes with the tamarind sauce. For $9, the downside is that the portions are pretty small, but all of them are packed with flavor.

Take a look at a page of their menu.

Details:

Cuisine -- Punjabi Indian

Rating-- Three stars

Ambience -- Dim-lighted interior with booths. Heated patio with tables.

Best dishes -- Dhaba chicken

Prices -- Entrees about $8-$10

Service -- The food comes out kind of slow, but the service is pleasantly casual.

Parking --Street parking on Westwood Blvd.

Bossa Nova Brazilian Cuisine

7181 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA
685 N Robertson Blvd West Hollywood, CA

Right across from The Abbey on Robertson Blvd., and open until 4am, this is the main scene for after club-goers, daters, and regulars alike.

I highly recommend getting the combo platter that comes with your choice of meat or fish, mashed potatoes or plantains, and rice and black beans with yucca flour. Desserts include caramelized plaintains with ice cream, a 4" tall cheese cake, and fudgecake.

Pros: Fast service, great value and variety, delicious food.
Cons: Parking (Street parking is usually reserved for valet and valet is $8 and up in the area). Small interior dining space, dining outdoors consists of sitting on plastic chairs on asphalt.

Cuisine--Brazilian
Rating-- Five stars
Ambience--Small interior dining space, engaging storefront restaurant with plastic tables and heat lamps.
Best dishes--Platters, salads, and pastas.
Parking -- Street parking (beware of valet only meters). Valet is $8 and up in the area
Service-- Attentive and fast.

101 Coffee Shop

6145 Franklin Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028 (323) 467-1175
7am-3am

With stylish early-1960s decor, red-and-brown booths and a jukebox filled with everything from the Allman Brothers to Marvin Gaye, the 101 has an ambience that appeals to both neighborhood hepcats and motel guests. A large menu features the usual diner staples--burgers, grilled cheese, pancakes and eggs--along with twists such as fried-green tomato salad and "No Huevos" rancheros, a spicy vegetarian scramble of tofu, soy chorizo, corn and peppers.

-Citysearch

Think Swinger’s. There's tons of people here on weekend late nights. A 50's/60s era coffee shop with rock walls, funky colored tiles, comfy booths and cool light fixtures.

Our hot fudge sundae came out super quick, almost too quick, that we wondered if they had them pre-made in the back. The breakfast burritos are supposedly excellent. And they have sweet potato fries as side orders! Mmm...

Cuisine: American diner
Rating: 2 stars
Atmosphere: Noisy
Service: "Hurry up and order" attitude when they're busy.
Parking: Street, motel's underground lot.