Davanti Enoteca, Italian, San Diego, CA

Davanti Enoteca,
1655 India Street
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 237-9606




Found this on our little wedding anniversary weekend away. This is in the Little Italy of San Diego, which to me was kind of a touristy Italian Larchmont for San Diego.

The food was great and the service was good. The only complaint is that the wine was a bit pricy. The cheapest glass being $11, and bottles being in the high $40's for the cheapest bottle, and I feel like Italian food should have wine (they did have cheaper bear, but...).

This place is done kind of Tapas style, where the dishes aren't huge, and come out as soon as they are done so you can share.

We stared with Bruschette, which changes daily, and was pretty good, with garbanzos and spinach and onions, but could have used some cheese and or balsamic vinegar.

For dinner I had a Riccio di Mare e Granchio, which was a linguine with sea urchin sauce and crab and it was quite good, but Kelly's marscarpone polenta and ragu of the day (which was a slow braised pork) was just awesome, if a little messy. They pour it at the table onto a wooden cutting board, so it drips over the edge, but damn if it wasn't delicious! YUMMY! Want to make it at home.

This place was quite good, and well worth checking out, if a bit expensive.

Arri's Pizza, Pizza, Sandwiches & Pasta, North Hills, CA

16147 Nordhoff Street
North East Corner of intersection with Woodley in a little Shopping Center
(818) 892-8286 / 818-892-2373
Free Delivery
Sun-Thu 11am-11pm
Fri-Sat 11am-12am

THE HORROR! It seem's Arri has finally closed his doors, as there is now a Mexican restaurant in it's place. THIS WAS THE BEST PIZZA I EVER HAD! What a shame!

I had heard some things about this place online, so was interested in trying it, but we always just order pizza online, or pick it up at Food for Less and cook it ourselves (theres is pretty decent), but we never should have waited because this is easily one of the best pies I have ever had, and I am biased since I used to be a pizza cook! Now it is not cheap, but it is certainly worth giving this place a try.

Palermo Ristorante Italiano, Italian Restaurant, Los Angeles, CA

1858 N. Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 663-1178
Sun-Thu 11AM-11PM, Fri-Sat 11AM-1AM

GOOGLE MAP

An excellent family style Italian restaurant with decent food and incredibly good service. After 7 PM you get free slices of their excellent Italian style pizza, and if you have to wait in line you can get cups of house wine for $1.50. They know how to make waiting kind, and they have a little store with Wine and Italian Sundries. The decor is homy, with a great painting on the wall, though the neon does make it not quite like home.

Prizzi's Piazza, Italian Restaurant, Hollywood, CA

Prizzi's Piazza

5923 Franklin Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90028

(323) 467-0168

GOOGLE MAPS

Located in Hollywood, in fact right on my block next to Birds, the parking can be a bitch, though they have valet. This is a good medium prices Italian restaurant. The food tends to be heavy and covered in oil, but the food is tasty (too much oil on the pizza for my taste, but it tastes good) and the bread sticks are absolutely amazing, and a must try, though you must know that you will taste only garlic for the rest of the night, and even into the morning. This is some serious garlic.

Market City Caffe, Italian and Seafood Restaurant, Burbank, CA

Market City Caffe
164 E. Palm Avenue
Burbank, CA 91502
(818) 840-7036

Sun-thurs 11:30AM-10 PM, Friday and Saturday till Midnight

GOOGLE MAP

Right in the heart of downtown Burbank, and right by the AMC theaters, Kelly and I have eaten here before and kind of enjoyed it, but this experience I must say was pretty terrible, and I do not think we will be returning. The service was fine, but the food was pretty mediocre, and the breadsticks were tastless and awful, even with the oil at ever table, and even once we got a bottle of balsamic vinegar. I do like that they give you a pitcher of iced tea though. That is nice, but the food was only OK.

The Italian Fisherman, Italian and Seafood Restaurant, Toluca Lake, CA

10760 Riverside Drive

Toluca Lake, CA 91602

(818) 487-3777

GOOGLE MAPS

Where my girlfriend wanted to eat was closed, so we kept driving down Riverside and saw this place right next to Baja Fresh, and decided to give it a try. I must say whomever wrote the menu did a fantastic job, because when you read it you will want to try everything. Everything sounds amazing, but the thing it is it is all lies. Especially ones like "WE ARE HOME OF THE GREASELESS PIZZA!" because this is damn greasy pizza, and the crust is just nasty. The food was terrible, and it took quite a long time as well. I was so unimpressed that I will never eat here again and tell anyone not to try this either.

Romano Macaroni Grill, Italian Restaurant, Burbank, CA

Romano's Macaroni Grill

102 E. Magnolia Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91502

Google Map

Located in the same block as the AMC Burbank 16 Theaters, this is an alright Italian Chain restaurant. It's best thing is it's house wines, which you get a bottle of on the table and it is an honor system, and you get very large normal (non-wine) glasses. The food is nothing too great, but is not that bad either.

Battuto, Italian Restaurant, Cleveland OH

12405 Mayfield Road

Cleveland, OH 44106

(216) 707-1055

GOOGLE MAP

Pinocchio Italian Restaurant

3102 W. Magnolia Blvd (At Fairview Street)

Burbank, CA 91505-3046

(818) 845-3516

GOOGLE MAP

This is an excellent Deli and Restaurant with a pre set menu, where you go with a tray and get various pasta dishes as well as a slew of salads. The servings are huge and very inexpensive and quite tasty. Not the lightest food, but quite good. And the deli is really worth checking out. I was quite impressed.

Chesca's, Italian and Seafood Restaurant, Marthas Vineyard, Edgartown, MA

38 N. Water Street

Edgartown, MA 02539

GOOGLE MAP

On our trip to Marthas Vineyard we went out to dinner with our old friends Kate and Sam Sherman and they took us to an Italian Restaurant in Edgartown. This place was great. It has a great look and vibe, with a large bar, and good service, and the place was packed. The prices are pretty reasonable and the food was excellent.

Romano's Macaroni Grill, Italian Restaurant, Burbank, California

Romano's Macaroni Grill
102 E. Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502-1715
(818) 729-9405

GOOGLE MAP

In the same structure as the Burbank 16 theaters in Burbank, this is a tasty and inexpensive Italian chain restaurant. Certainly not as good as Magionos, but quite taste, and with an honor system where they leave large bottles of wine on the table, so you can help yourself without bothering the waitress, which is interesting.

Pizza Al Forno, Hollywood, CA

6541 Hollywood Blvd, #101
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 962-8903

GOOGLE MAPS

I had been fiending for some good pizza and red wine after hearing how well they go together in Napa, but it was getting late, and we wanted to order, and I had this menu around. I must say I was very unimpressed all the way around. Stay away from this place.

Piccolino's Italian Cafe, Napa Town Center, California

Piccolino's Italian Cafe
1385 Napa Town Center
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 251-0100

GOOGLE MAP

A very tasty Italian cafe in Napa, near the visitor information center where we learned about Napa, and where we wanted to go. Tasty food, with decent wine, though the waitress seemed a little new, and screwed up my girlfriends order.

Maggiano's Little Italy, Los Angeles, CA

Maggiano's Little Italy 190 The Grove Drive Z80 Los Angeles, CA 90036-3154 (323) 965-9665

GOOGLE MAPS

So my girlfriend had been here with her Italian boss, and she decided to take me, and I was blown away. This family style Italian food is absolutely incredible, with huge portions, amazing taste, a friendly wait staff, and an incredible wind menu makes this a must attend restaurant.

Louise's Trattoria, Los Feliz, California

Louise's Trattoria 4500 Los Feliz Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90027 (323) 667-0777

GOOGLE MAP

I never would have expected a chain Italian restaurant to be so tasty and so reasonably priced. A really good date restaurant, as it won't break the bank, and the food is good, as is the wait staff, and reasonably priced wine.