Majestic

Since we love this restaurant so much, Sandi and I thought it would be a great venue to celebrate my brother Gary's birthday and our cousin Ramon's birthday as well. Cindy joined us because she also enjoyed our last visit there. 

We thought there would be a show, but unfortunately, no one showed up this Thursday. They only have a performance on the 1st Thursday of the month, and I believe they also have a comedy night every Wednesday.

I took charge of ordering the appetizers. We had to have the best Focaccia we've all had before. The best because it was very light and airy, with the most delicious ricotta topping. 

Gary, Ramon, and I ordered the pizza with Spanish anchovy, squash blossom, leek, mozzarella, and burrata. Though Sandi and Cindy don't like anchovies, our server suggested they pick them off since there was only one piece per slice. We got to enjoy their anchovies. The pizza was divine! It had a generous amount of melted burrata. I can't wait to go back and order that again.

Gary and Sandi had the Pork Tenderloin; porcini and fennel rub, sweet & sour roasted shallots cooked in a Marsala reduction. The pork flavor was delicious. Ramon, Cindy, and I had the Rigatoni Fungi Bolognese, with crimini and trumpet mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, and parmesan cooked in veal stock.

We ordered a Peach dessert and an Affogato.  We ate it all before I remembered to take a picture, so you get the picture!

Gary and Ramon were presented with a Birthday Sorbet.  

Though the service was excellent. Sandi and I later found out we were charged for an extra Diet Coke.  We ordered a bottle of red wine, and since Sandi doesn't care for alcohol, she ordered a Diet Coke. Later on during our meal, a server came and gave her a fresh glass of Coke. She didn't order it, and we all thought it was a nice gesture. Well, the nice gesture cost $4.00. That is not right. They should have asked her if she wanted another one, not just given her one and charging for it. That's nickel-and-diming the customer. I hope they do something about that next time, or that will be our last time. It is the principle of it!l

Majestic is located at 921 S. Beacon St. in San Pedro, California.

 

Colapasta

My brother took Sandi and me to Colapasta for our very belated birthday. It was a hot day, and they were repairing their air conditioning. It was cool enough in the shade, so we ate outside. Our cousin Ramon joined us.

Our server recommended ordering their Focaccia to mop up the sauce from our plates. We took her suggestion; however, since we were hungry, we finished most of it before our entrées arrived!

We also ordered the Bresaola Arugula e Burrata; thinly sliced aged beef with burrata. That was inhaled by the four of us. We were so excited that I forgot to take a picture, so I went back to my old blog and took a photo from my laptop; hence, it's a bit blurry.

Ramon and I ordered 2 items to split. We chose the Lasagna with beef ragu and the Bucatini Aglio e Acciughe: garlic, olive oil, and anchovy butter. Both were delicious, but I must say, I hardly tasted any anchovy flavor. 

Gary ordered what I originally wanted: the Squid Bavette with fresh crab and lightly spiced tomato sauce. Sandi had the Casarecce al Pesto: basil pesto with pine nuts, blanched cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella pearls.

We were all very happy with our choices. I later read my blog on Colapasta in 2019. Sandi, Gary, and I ordered the Bresaola Arrugla, Lasagna, and Pesto with Arrugla.

Funny, we didn't order dessert as no one thought of it, and our server never mentioned dessert. Oh well, next time, as I'm sure there will be a next time.

Colapasta is still an authentic and wonderful Italian restaurant. They are located at 1241 5th St. in Santa Monica, California.

Forma

This place never disappoints. So when it was time to invite Msgr. Antonio Cacciapuoti to lunch, it was a no-brainer to take him to Forma, where they have several cheese wheels and finish some pasta dishes there by scraping the cheese from the wheel and incorporating it into the pasta.

We ordered bread, of course, to start, and my favorite salad, the Fried Artichoke Salad. Msgr., as a rule, can do without the salad, but Sandi and I assured him he would like this one. We were happy to see he did enjoy it.

We ordered four pasta dishes: their signature, Chitarra Cacio e Pepe; Pappardelle Bolognese; Tortellini; and Msgr.'s favorite, Linguine Alle Vongole. It seemed like a lot, but we managed to consume almost everything. 

Tommaso, who made the reservation, came by our table and asked Msgr. where he was from since he looked familiar; he thought he might be a movie star! Turns out, his wife knew him, so from then on they spoke Italian and seemed like old friends. He made sure everything was very good, and indeed it was.

Dessert had to be light, so we had Spumoni and Semifredo. It was a delightful, blessed day.

Forma is located at 1610 Montana Ave. in Sta. Monica, California.

Frugatti's

Sandi and I have been to Frugatti's a couple of times in the past few years. This is one of our favorite restaurants when we are in Bakersfield. It is a family-owned Italian restaurant.  I made reservations before our arrival. After church, we excitedly headed for the restaurant. We got there, and it was now a Mexican restaurant! So I googled directions, and we ended up at a new, larger location. We were surprised by how inviting the restaurant looked, as it was very open and very "Italian". They had red tablecloths and pictures on the wall, including the original owner when he was a little boy. 

I looked at my previous blog to see what we ordered in the past. We loved their bruschetta, but we thought we should order something different. We ordered the Wood-Fired Roman Artichokes. The artichokes with their stems were served on focaccia garlic bread with roasted tomato and burrata cheese, all baked in their oven. This was our appetizer, and we did enjoy it.

For our main meal, we decided on the Truffle Sacchetti, which we both have had before.  "Beggeer's purse shaped with black truffle shavings and truffle oil, Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses tossed in a basil pesto sauce with cream. And yes, it is rich. This is why we also ordered the Bolognese, but instead of rigatoni, we asked for spaghetti. That was delicious, and it complemented the rich sacchetti. Unfortunately, we were unable to finish our entées as we devoured our appetizer. So we took it home in a cooler on our drive back to Los Angeles.

We had a lively conversation with our server, Andrew, regarding the restaurant and how they have been in their current location for three years now. We talked about the menu and the wine they were promoting.

I am not surprised that Frugatti's has been voted best Italian Restaurant for the last 7 years. Very good food and great service. What more can one ask for?  They are located at 8109 Brimhall Rd. in Bakersfield, California.