Avenue Italy

When an Italian immigrant in Los Angeles says that an Italian restaurant is good, that carries more weight for me than someone who has either never been to Italy and/or someone who has never had an Italian home made meal. Having both been to Italy (different regions) several times, and had the wonderful fortune of knowing Italians who have cooked for me in their home, I am picky, so I was nicely surprised that Avenue Italy in Palos Verdes served up some delightful bites.

I judge restaurants by their bread; if it is great, it is a portend of more great flavors to come, but if it is bad, my suspicions and doubts begin to taint my opinion of food coming out afterwards. Thankfully the focaccia was a great preview of things to come, with an olive oil and herb side that was addictive.

We decided to order the Insalata di Barbabietole from the regular menu for $15 with baby spring greens, roasted beets, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, feta, and a lovely balsamic vinaigrette.

Their calamari for $18 was perfectly executed, with a light crisp exterior and tender calamari accompanied by a lightly spicy tomato sauce that was so good we could have eaten it by the spoonful!

Even though we only really ordered two appetizers, we were too full to order anything else, so we know what that means....#ReturningSoon :)