Dinner at Angelini Osteria

Caprese: heirloom tomatoes with burrata

 Linguine with sea urchin, olive oil and chives

Place: Angelini Osteria

          7313 Beverly Boulevard

          Los Angeles, CA 90036

Genre: Italian

$$$

Hit or miss?  Hit!!

My Opinion:

I have to admit that I was starting to lose interest in italian food in Los Angeles due to their omnipresence and relatively mediocre dishes. Nothing was authentic, "exceptional," or worthy of a write-up. However, I was proven completely wrong after my dining experience at Angelini Osteria. First off, the small space is actually rather nice. It makes your time there more intimate and there's a nice sense of community there. The waiters are incredibly friendly and native Italian speakers. I had heard about their superb lasagna, but it's not "pescetarian friendly" :( . So I did as I always do when I have any ethnic cuisine, I asked the waiter what his preferred "pescetarian friendly" entree was, in Italian of course. When he first said the sea urchin linguine, I was definitely surprised, but equally intrigued since I had never had sea urchin before. Why not try it here? I'm glad I took his advice. Honestly, I don't think I've ever had pasta that tasted that delicious before. [It was even better than the truffle pasta at Fig and Olive and the truffle ravioli at Scarpetta!] Their linguine with sea urchin is the perfect example for extraordinary pasta. The pasta was perfectly aldente, the unique sea urchin flavor was ever-present, but not too strong, and each bite melted in your mouth. It was rich, but the perfect type of or richness that you could actually finish the entire plate. I can't really seem to fathom the superbness of this dish. If you do decide to get it, try and go earlier in the evening because about 10 minutes after I ordered mine, the woman at the table next to me tried to order it, but they had run out! Angelini Osteria is probably one of the best Italian restaurants and restaurants in general that I have ever dined at.