Bettolino Kitchen

I took my sister-in-law, Grace, to lunch on her last day in Los Angeles for her birthday. We both decided not to have any alcoholic drinks, so we settled for their mocktails. Grace opted for the Strawberry Basil, and our server Sonia recommended the Balsamic Fig, which sounded intriguing to me. We both loved our drinks. 

I asked Grace if she liked Quinoa and she said yes, so I ordered the Farrata, which normally would be the last thing on my mind as it is a "healthy food" which is not my kind of food, but I've had this numerous times, and it is quite delicious with arugula, tomatoes, quinoa in pesto sauce, sliced avocado and burrata cheese with basil infused olive oil. This went well with their delicious baked bread with olive oil, herbs, and, of course, we asked for Parmesan to add, which made it even better.

For our entrées, Grace had the Short Rib Hash, which looked delicious with Tuscan potatoes and mozzarella, served with garlic-toasted ciabatta bread. She could have had an egg on top, but she chose not to. I had the Del Mare; linguini with halibut, lobster, shrimp, capers, green Italian olives, cherry tomatoes, white wine in a spicy tomato sauce. I have never had this before, and I was pleasantly surprised by how I truly enjoyed it. I had a bite of Grace's short rib hash, and it was very good too. I could not finish my dish as I had a lot of the Farrata, but that was a good thing because I already had my dinner planned: my leftovers plus a salad. 

We both had room for dessert. We ordered the Salted Caramel Semifreddo: a semi-frozen salted caramel mousse with a graham cracker crust and chocolate sauce. Sonia surprised Grace with a birthday Calabrian Pasta Cake: pasta dough folded with sweet mascarpone sauce, citrus zest, and powdered sugar. Both were scrumptious because they weren't too sweet. 

Bettolino Kitchen has always been consistently good. You can always count on delicious food and good service. They are located at 211 Palos Verdes Blvd. in Torrance, California.

Cinque Terre West

My sister-in-law, Grace, arrived from Singapore on Friday night. Gary and I were going to take her out for a special dinner. She had only one night in Los Angeles before she headed to San Diego for a meeting. Gary and I were worried because Saturday was Valentine's Day, which usually means restaurants are booked, and service isn't the best. He suggested a new restaurant in Venice, Cinque Terre West. That sounded good to me, as it brought back memories of my favorite spot in Italy, and I didn't have to drive all the way to Sta. Monica or Beverly Hills.

This was a small but buzzing place. We ordered two appetizers: Burrata with heirloom tomatoes, watercress, asparagus, orange oil, and saba, and the special appetizer of the day, Squash Blossom in a wonderful sauce. The moment our server recited the ingredients, we all said, in unison: "We want that!" It's funny because a day later, none of us could remember what was in it. 

For our entrée, Gary ordered the Spaghetti Di Mare with calamari, mussels, clams, dried mullet eggs, garlic in white wine. Grace had the Mushroom Risotto, and I opted for the Pappardelle with squash blossom. I believe it had mascarpone. It also had lots of freshly shaved truffles. I did not ask for any Parmesan cheese. None of us did as none was needed. I absolutely loved mine, and I was in 7th heaven!

We were all happy with our choices. I tried Gary and Grace's dish, and both were excellent. Dessert was definitely in the cards. These are 3 people who enjoy food too much, so it wasn't a question of whether we had room for dessert. We always do. We had the Tiramisu, which did not disappoint. 

While waiting for our check, Marlo, the Chef's wife, walked by. We chatted with her and found out she was Filipina. Well, we mentioned we were Filipinos, too. Her husband, Chef Gianba, was not present at that time. My wish it they open a restaurant closer to home, in Palos Verdes, Torrance, or even El Segundo. 

Marlo, it was a pleasure meeting you, and we hope to see you soon!

Cinque Terre has 1 location at this time. They are located at 523 Rose Ave. in Venice, California.

Fatto a Mano

The last time I was at this pasta shop was in 2021! I can't believe it has taken me that long to go back. My experience has been amazing; in fact, I blogged twice during my two visits. This is not a full-on restaurant. They only have a few tables. I usually blog about a restaurant the following day at best, but sometimes it takes me a week or so. Not this time. I was there at 3:00 p.m. and was greeted by Arlene, the owner. Her husband, Marco, was not there at the time. It was early enough that we could visit and catch up. 

I wasn't sure what I wanted. I knew I was going to get a pasta dish, take it home, make a salad for myself, and have it with a glass of Cabernet. If I wanted to take home pasta, she suggested buying the fresh pasta they make and the sauce, and putting them together myself. If I did not want to bother with such a task, she suggested the Lasagna which I just had to heat for 25 minutes. There was the Lasagna Bolognese and the Pesto Lasagna. I asked her what was in the pesto lasagna. She said layers of pasta, of course, pesto, bechamel sauce, green beans, and I believe she said potatoes. Bechamel was the magic word for me. The rest sounded intriguing. And so it was Pesto Lasagna. 

I got home and preheated the oven to 390 degrees, and baked it for 25 minutes. I made myself a salad, and I decided to just eat half as it was a generous portion, so I could have the other half the following day.

The lasagna was not just good, but it was outstanding. I absolutely loved it. I have to remember this place as they really know how to make their pasta. Since it is a pasta shop, you can buy the pasta and its sauce anytime. I wonder if you can freeze the fresh pasta? Oh, and while I was waiting, Arlene gave me a small cup of their hot chocolate, which I had had in the past. It is delicious. All it needed was some churros to go with it.

Fatto a Mano is located at 610 Torrance Blvd. in Redondo Beach, California. 

North Italia

The last day for dineLA was last Friday, the last day to take advantage of it. I looked for something in the Torrance area, and I came across North Italia. I looked at the lunch menu, and it looked good, so I invited my neighbor, and he was game.  Gerd abstained from alcohol that evening. He was a cheap date. I ordered their new Italian Spritz, their take on Aperol.

Gerd chose Chicken Noodle Soup for his first course. I had the Caccio e Pepe Arancini, which I absolutely enjoyed. But before that, I ordered the Crispy Brussels Sprouts as an appetizer, which were delicious. 

For our entrée, Gerd had the Pesto Primavera with pine nuts, and I had the Crushed Meatball Ragu with crispy pancetta and blistered onions over Bucatini pasta. We both enjoyed our dishes. Our server, Chris, was delightful and very attentive. The serving of my pasta was so generous that I ended up eating only half, and I was excited to think I had more to eat the following day.

North Italia has several locations, but the one we dined at was the Del Amo location in Torrance, California.

Crispy House

 MaryAnn wanted us to go to Crispy House so we could have Crispy Pata. For those unfamiliar with this dish, it is a Philippine deep-fried pork leg dish. Think like a colossal pork rind that's super crispy outside and incredibly tender, pull-apart, juicy meat inside. Yes, get your statin ready! 

I visited this restaurant a year or so ago and remembered how wonderful it was, but I haven't returned since it is not close to my house. MaryAnn did not mind the distance and offered to drive, so how can I say no? The restaurant is small, no-nonsense, with little ambiance, but you are there for the food.

We, of course, ordered the star of the show, the Crispy Pata. We had to order something healthy, so I suggested the vegetables cooked in coconut milk, okay, almost healthy. And what is a meal without noodles, so MaryAnn ordered the Pancit Canton. Both dishes were very good. 

We had no problem finishing the pork. We had some pancit leftover and maybe a bit of the veggies. We were quite full. I was worried I wouldn't be able to enjoy my dinner at the Red Onion since my neighbor had invited me, but being the good sport I am, I managed.

Crispy House is located at 11869 Artesia Blvd., Artesia, California. When Sandi returns to California, we shall have lunch there. 

Sushi Roku

I've never been to Sushi Roku, and I noticed it was on the dineLA list. The menu looked good, so my friend MaryAnn and I went. We had a late lunch at 2 pm, since it would be our dinner. 

The menu was set. The first course was Brussels Sprouts Chips with Truffle oil and salt. These were incredible. At that point, the restaurant couldn't do wrong. It almost didn't matter if the Sushi Plate with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, shrimp, albacore, and a choice of baked crab or spicy tuna cut rolls was not good. But, lucky for us, we enjoyed them. 

The lunch came with a glass of wine or sake. Our server, Angel, suggested we try the milky (unfiltered) cold sake, which we did. That complemented our lunch perfectly. Angel, by the way was truly an angel, animated yet professional.

Since this was to be our dinner, I felt we needed something more, and it was nice that MaryAnn was game. We ordered the Tempura Popcorn Shrimp glazed with miso. We inhaled those!

The experience was so good that I could not wait to go back. So, when my friend Carrie wanted to have lunch while dineLA was still on, I asked if she would like to go to Sushi Roku. The answer was affirmative. We picked up her friend Marsha, and off we went. 

Our server this time was Brendan, who was just as delightful as Angel. We all settled on sake, and this time we started with the Miso-Glazed Popcorn Shrimp. It was a hit. Then came the wonderful Brussels Sprouts Chips in Truffle oil. These were addicting and luckily, the portions were generous. MaryAnn and I chose the Spicy Tuna the last time. Brendan suggested the Baked Crab, which did not disappoint. Both Marsha and Carrie gave this a thumbs up!

We were all pleasantly full. There was no need to go to a burger place. Our tummies were very happy!

Brendan informed us that they have a happy hour running from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. on weekdays. The rolls and the Brussels Sprouts are discounted. 

Sushi Roku have serveral locations. We went to the one in Manhattan Beach, California. 

Bistro by LeBlanc

My brother Dino introduced us to this rooftop restaurant, which specializes in and is famous for their Triple Chocolate Champorado (chocolate rice porridge). What makes this special is that it is covered with a semi-sweet chocolate dome, and evaporated milk is poured over it as it slowly collapses, revealing the rice porridge. It's quite a show! This is usually paired with something salty; in this case, I ordered the Crispy Danggit, a fish butterflied and filleted, dried till paper-thin, then deep fried. I ordered my favorite drink to go with it, Green Mango juice. 

My nephew's son, Sky, ordered Pancakes, and they came with a flair. When he lifted a round tin off the pancakes, the strawberry cream sauce drizzled slowly onto them. 

We had to try the Bacon Cheese fries, which looked incredible, and they were!

The rest of the gang ordered the typical Filipino breakfast: fish, pork, and more dried fish, all served with Garlic Fried Rice!

I tried everyone's food, which was delicious. I must say that the Champurado took the center stage, and rightfully so, as it was the best champurado I've ever had in my life.