Revisiting Heroic Italian

I have several favorite restaurants, depending on the people whom I eat with, my choices change according to their location and the time of day we are eating. Trying to make a 7pm dinner reservation on Friday night anywhere that requires a drive on a freeway, or through congested areas like Hollywood, requires planning and patience. A last minute decision to eat Italian on the west side, made me return to Heroic Italian, and I was very happy to introduce another friend to this bastion of great Italian food.

I actually chose dishes I had not tasted before, like their Caesar salad for $16 with the perfect balance of parmesan and imported anchovy.

I loved the $17 Santa Monica salad and barely had room for more after eating this hearty salad with impossible crunch, artichokes, chick peas, zucchini, and greens.

Linguini and clams for $28 were perfect with a delectable lemony and garlicky flavor that I sopped up with the marvelous loaf of garlic focaccia which came with it (I ate it so fast I forgot to take a picture)! 

The lasagna for $24 made with grass fed beef and sofrito was easily enough for 2 or a very hungry person ;) Marvelous layers of pasta with perfectly balanced tomato based layers. I almost ordered one to take home for another day!

Their pesto was very rich and the pasta perfectly al dente.

I loved the branzino served with clams, asparagus, and tomatoes in a garlicky buttery sauce that would have made an excellent sauce for pasta (or you could order some of their garlic bread to sop it up as a marvelous dip.

The fabulous fritto misto was absolutely worthy of a trip for dinner on Fri, Sat or Sun! Enough to share with at least 1 or 2 other people, this luscious combination of fish, prawn, shrimp, calamari, and shishito peppers was served with a delightful aioli and spicy pepper sauce. The fragrant lemon added a brightness to the fried seafood and we only ate about 1/2 the plate after finishing the salad.

When guanciale is offered in any dish, order it! the closest thing that you may know that resembles the taste is bacon or pancetta, but truly this is one of the best cured pork products to eat:) Because we had not even finished the fritto misto, we tasted this rich delightful dish, but had to have it packed to go, along with the remainder of the fritto misto. My only warning to those eating here for the first time is to order as you eat, or be prepared to take home leftovers!

I had to finish with a decaf espresso after all that food just to make it home!

I'm always happy to eat well with good company, and even more so when it is to share a place I have been before that consistently pairs excellent food with great service.