A Star Italian Restaurant Expands From the Vegas Strip to West Hollywood
There seems to be more Italian food than ever in Los Angeles right now, sparked in part by out-of-towners like Etta who have recently set their sights on the city. Next up is Lavo, the ultra-luxe Italian destination known for its clubbier Las Vegas location and its (only slightly) more mellow New York City digs. The restaurant, owned and operated b...
Che Buono Trattoria Pizzeria
A new restaurant from chef and food truck veteran Luciana Basile-Lewis and her husband, Jesse Lewis, offers a unique take on Italian food, with influences from California, Mexico and beyond. Che Buono Trattoria Pizzeria, which opened its doors on Folsom Blvd. near Bradshaw Rd. in 2020, reflects Basile-Lewis’s lifelong passion for putting a new twis...
Highly Anticipated Italian Newcomer Etta Arrives in Culver City Soon
Upcoming Italian destination Etta is almost ready to serve in Culver City. The long-awaited project, first announced back in 2019, is the work of one of Chicago’s most prominent restaurant groups, known as the What If Syndicate. Celebrated chef Danny Grant and company — who are also expanding to nearby Beverly Hills with steakhouse Maple & Ash — ar...
The Hungry Entrepreneur Kicks Off With an Italy Episode
Ahmed Shabana is a Los Angeles–based venture capitalist, startup advisor, investor, and entrepreneur. Shabana, Managing Director of Parkpine Capital, also has a passion for food. His background in pharmaceuticals, specifically facilitating affordable prescription and over-the-counter drugs to traditionally under-served regions of the world, sparked...
Itria Is Finally Opening for Indoor Dining and It’s Basically a Whole New Restaurant
Itria, that hot new Italian restaurant in the Mission, is finally opening for indoor dining this Thursday, August 5. The news might not seem like that big of a deal, in this era of reclosing and reopening restaurants with rotating service styles, but it kind of is. First of all, it’s a totally different menu, moving from pandemic-necessitated pizza...
Spritzing in Style at Aperitivo
A few summers ago, on the last afternoon of a somewhat exhausting family vacation to Europe with our young kids, I slipped through a tourist-jammed square near Florence’s Ponte Vecchio into a smaller, almost abandoned piazza just steps away. This is where I found Le Volpi e l’Uva, an enoteca whose mellow vibes belied a revelatory wine selection and...
Loaded Baked Potato Goes for a Pasta Spin at Agnes in Pasadena
Pasta brought together Thomas Tilaka Kalb and Vanessa Tilaka. They worked side-by-side on the pasta station at Flour + Water, a noted dough-fueled San Francisco destination. The accomplished culinary duo married and moved to L.A. to open Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery. He’s Executive Chef and she’s “Head Cheese” at their multifaceted Pasadena business...
New pizzeria by owners of Annex Kitchen ready to open in northeast Fresno
Freshly made dough is being mixed at new Italian-inspired eatery Annesso Pizzeria. "With the pizzas here we get a little more playful. We do certain things that you would find in a traditional American style pizza, like we have a barbecue chicken pizza and we also offer homemade ranch dressing," said Jimmy Pardini.Pardini is the chef and owner of t...
Alza Italian Kitchen has opened in Rancho Santa Margarita
Nothing says summer like feasting al fresco, so if you’re looking for a new place to dine, Alza Italian Kitchen has recently opened in South County. “Alza means to raise or uplift and that is exactly what we have set out to provide with a warm and inviting, yet lively, neighborhood restaurant,” said co-owner Jenna McIlvene of the family-owned and o...
Sfizio pop-up serves Italian food at Way Station Brew
Pop-up restaurant Sfizio opened at Way Station Brew, located at 2120 Dwight Way, serving fresh pasta and seasonal vegetables on a weekly basis. Chef and owner Matt Solimano started serving pasta last summer at South Park Cafe in San Francisco during the COVID-19 pandemic after he quit his job as the sous-chef of Italian restaurant Pizzaiolo. He s...
Aunt Mary’s Italian Cookies offer a sweet geography lesson
I’ve rarely given much thought to where cookies come from, and neither had the kid. But he could tell I hadn’t picked these up at the supermarket. “Where’d you get these?” he asked, a glazed lemon ricotta cookie in his hand. “Rancho Santa Fe.” “They’re great!” he said through a lemony mouthful. “Wherever that is.” It feels like a trek, almost where...
Modern Italian food is a joy at Terra e Mare in Studio City
There’s a very lively and comfortable bar at Terra e Mare — a casually elegant Modern Italian restaurant at the western edge of Studio City, in the space that was formerly a forgettable restaurant called The Bellwether. You sit at the right side of the bar, and you can chat with the affable mixologist about the joys of the white called Lachryma Chr...