tiffin unboxed

Angelini Osteria - The Square, Church and Osteria

On their website Angelini Osteria lists the square, church and osteria as the meeting places of Italian people. The osteria is meant to serve traditional, rustic food and glasses or carafes of wine.

I've been hearing about this place for a long time. When my Italian friend, Ilaria, gave it the thumbs up it got added to my list of places to try.

They've achieved a wonderful balance of comfort and polish that places them in the short list of L.A.s great Italian restaurants.

Lasagna Verde - "Omaggio Nonna Elvira"

They are probably most popular for their "green" lasagna, with layers of spinach noodle sheets, beef and veal ragu and topped with fried spinach.

Lasagna is not something I ordinarily order due to it's heaviness. While this dish is rich, it's not as heavy as one would think and provides a flavor explosion.

Red Beets with Mixed Greens and Burrata

The meal began with a fantastic prosecco rose and a perfectly seasoned salad of burrata, beets and mixed greens.  Perfect salt, acid and freshness.

Affetati Misti

Next came an encore of the freshly made burrata drizzled with balsamic vinegar and herbs in the Affetati Misti platter. Mortadella, prosciutto di Parma, bresaola and salame above a bed of greens rounded it out.

Fegatini Chicken Livers

The most unexpected menu offering was the Fegatini Chicken Livers, nicely browned and laying on a bed of crunchy green beans and a balsamic vinegar glaze.

Actually, I'm not sure if it was pure balsamic or a glaze. It worked perfectly with the liver, which was such good quality it tasted close to foie gras.

Lasagna Verde

Fourth course brings us back to this cross section of the lasagna verde. The intricacy
of the layers reveals the talent of Gino Angelini's kitchen.

I'm looking forward to a follow up visit to try their seafood dishes.