Other Favorite Places.
Farmers Market (6333 W. 3rd)(
Pitfire Pizza Co. (Downtown LA/Hollywood/Westwood locations)(Cheap) ��" This was a recent find and I really enjoy their selection of pizzas, pastas and salads ��" all made fresh, with farmers' market ingredients.
Natalee's Thai (
Dusty's (3200 W.
Angeli Caffe (
Pizzeria Mozza (
Piccolo Ristorante (5
Locando 
Campanile (624 S. La
Whist (
Jerry's Deli (Westwood and BH locations)(Cheap). I only come here for their matzo ball soup ��" so large and yummy with huge chunks of chicken and carrots ��" served with bagel chips for about $7. What a great deal. Everything else is sort of blah…
Susina Bakery (WeHo)(Expensive). My favorite berry blossom cake - white cake with white cream frosting, filled with fresh berries and covered with meringue chunks. yum...
Sweet Lady Jane (Expensive). Wonderful Triple Berry Cake, peanut butter and chocolate parfait thingy, cream cheese puffs...
Lou's Wine Bar (on Vine north of Melrose in a shopping center, next to a laundrymat). I had been here several times a few years ago and while it was a nice little wine bar with decent food, I didn't really connect to it - until recently - everything I've had in the last month has been amazing! The duck, the olive plate, the pasta - everything! It's a wonderful neighborhood place - super casual, friendly service, not pretentious...I've been going about once a week and it's just getting better and better.
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Angeli Café is a lovely little Italian restaurant with simple, fresh, homey Italian food, friendly, cozy service, affordable prices – all in a rather modern, yet somehow warm space. Space is a bit tight so I would recommend this for smaller groups since you will literally be sitting elbow to elbow! Parking can also be difficult (street parking on Melrose near La Brea isn’t always easy), but they do have valet ($5.50).
My friend was a bit late so I enjoyed a glass of cava – very refreshing with a hint of fruit, dry finish. They also left a nice, warm loaf of “pizza bread” – a mound of bready delight which I dipped in their very good virgin olive oil. I finally had to cut myself off because I didn’t want to be full before my meal even began! I then focused on watching the other diners, a large portion of which appeared to be regulars. That is always promising when you find that a restaurant has a loyal following.
When my friend arrived, we struggled with the menu which had too many tempting choices. (The menu is available on angelicaffe.com, but they also have several specials off-menu.) The waitress was very helpful and answered our multitude of questions. This is what we ended up having:
- potato croquettes (little fried puffed balls of mashed potatoes, salame and smoked mozzarella). Very tasty.
- Mushroom risotto. Risotto was perfectly cooked, mushrooms were tender, sweet and flavorful and the parmesan was nutty and smoky. Yum!
- The special – lobster and shrimp in spicy red sauce over a bed of linquine. Very nice kick in the spicy sauce, sweet tender lobster and shrimp. Mmmmm.
I was pretty full afterwards so we shared an affogato (vanilla gelato in a shot of espresso) – always a nice simple finish to a meal. I would definitely return – there were just too many other dishes I wanted to try, like the gnocchi, roast chicken, lasagna …. Carbs are just too good to give up!
Anyways, we were happy to have reservations and started with a selection of antipasti – baked mussels with a cream sauce (perfectly cooked, plump and sweet mussels); marinated roasted olives (which practically burst in your mouth); fried potatoes and chickpeas (simple and hearty); bruschette with white beans (comforting); salad mista (fresh with a lovely lemon vinaigrette). Each was fresh and flavorful. Then our mushroom pizza finally arrived – a beautiful masterpiece of cheese, funghi and crust. I’m not sure how they do it here, but the crust is a blend of chewy and crispy – an utterly delightful combination. I’ve tried doing this at home with Batali’s pizza pan but I think you need an actual pizza oven to get this effect (sigh). We were terribly full after this but still ordered a budino and some gelati (hazelnut, vanilla and espresso). Yum!
(ok - i suck - i got so wrapped up with eating, i didn't remember to take pictures of my pizza or dessert; but trust me, it was good!)
The food here is also wonderful; service efficient. It is always on the loud side though and reservations are tough to get. But if you can deal with that, you should be fine.
Random tip - this is a great place for celebrity sightings. First time I was here, I saw Jennifer Aniston, people from American idol, actors from Big Love, etc.
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