Well, look who made the 90 minute drive from his place to have lunch with Sharky, Akemi and me yesterday. Yes, former Stargate writer/producer Carl Binder joined us for an Italian feast and chat. It was great to catch up with him.
Since Drea requested more food pics, here are a few of the dishes we ordered on the day…
By far the best thing we had was the burrata with beets. We were tempted to order seconds.
The pinsa (oval-shaped flatbread pizza), half pepperoni and half margherita, was fine.
The pasta trio were not winners. The parpardelle with ox-tail ragu was okay for this Italian, but the the short rib tortellini and cacio e pepe were intensely cheesy. Akemi had to tap out after a single bite. I can do strong cheese but these were overwhelming, even for me.
For dessert, a standard tiramisu and chocolate tart, and two fantastic homemade gelatos – pistachio and hazelnut.
I’ll be honest with you. To date, the L.A. restaurants have been pretty disappointing, dining in AND take-out. With the exception of a fantastic fried mortadella sandwich, the sandwiches here are bland, the accompanying bread uniformly tough chews and swallows. I picked up a bottle of Truff hot sauce in the hopes that will help things go down.
Also, retail personnel are generally miserable all around here with the exception of the staff at Trader Joe’s who are atypically upbeat and friendly. I suspect they must all come in from Orange County.
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Great smiles!
Sorry that your culinary experiences haven’t impressed you. One of my cousins lives in Camarillo. I’ll ask her what she recommends for L.A. eateries.
I was just wondering the other day whether Carl was involved in the new Stargate writer’s room. I guess you’ve just answered that question!
The food looks good even though you were disappointed. I love a cheesy pasta sauce so I would have slammed them down! I’ve tried to make cacio e pepe a few times and only successfully once. It’s a deceptively hard task to get the cheese to emulsify into the water!
Retail is a tough gig but it’s no excuse share your misery with your customers.
Ah shame. Great pictures. Mona Pasta Bar was good
How Wonderful to see Carl Binder. XO
Sorry to hear the dining hasn’t been great.
Seems you enjoyed much better foodie experiences on your LA trip before this.
Albeit, jealous of the gelato. Haven’t had any in ages!
I tried searching the origin of the burrata with beets dish. Could not find where it started.
But I did discover Burrata was first developed in the 1920’s in the town of Andria
in Southern Italy. … I did not know that.
I wonder if your sis knows that?
And yeah, Trader Joes staff have always been warm and friendly.
I’ve never had a bad customer service experience shopping any of its locations.
Always quick to say yes to tagging along when my neighbor says she is driving over there.
Not sure what restaurant you decided to try with Carl??
I vaguely recall emails from last year,
Multiple online acquaintances who live in LA area
boasting about having the perfect
Italian food dinner/evening time dining experience at Osterio Vera restaurant in Brentwood.
Obviously you and Akemi would have to take a waymo to get there
but its not too terribly far from the area where you are staying.
Also, Someone, at some point or other, had mentioned a small family owned Argentinian steakhouse type restaurant near The Grove that serves a highly delicious prime rib dinner.
I cant recall the name but when I tried googling,
Carlitos Gardel sounded familiar and seems to fit the bill.
Perhaps worth the walk for an evening meal?
At the very least you’d get your steps in for the day. 🙂
The biggest complication is Sharky. We need somewhere with a dog-friendly patio.
In that case, I would suggest mostly searching smallish family owned restaurants with patio’s and calling each one about accommodating Sharky, even if they do not list themselves as dog friendly. If you are willing to go during off peak hours (4-5 pm) when they are not busy I’m sure you will find a few that will say ‘no problem’.
That Carlito’s Argentinian place I mentioned appears to be a fairly small friendly family owned restaurant with patio.
And they serve that rib eye you enjoy, as well.
I’m betting if you call them for an early dinner (5 pm) patio reservation and properly explain you have a small older blind pug who sits in a stroller …
they will accommodate.
Try for an early Sunday evening when it’s not busy?
Akemi thanks you
Great pics! Thanks for sharing. It’s a delight reading you! 👏👏👏 i appreciate your insights. Grazie mille
Was just thinkin’, you might wanna try googling ‘Experimental Kitchens near Beverly Hills Grove’ to turn your foodie experience around? Seems there are at least a handful near there.
I would have been surprise if you didn’t meet the guy. Happy for you!
My comment must have gotten eaten. I left it the same day, I think, and it did say “comment sent”. Boooo hissss!!