Cafe Verona

I had debated going to Cafe Verona for a couple of months now because while it looked so cute and charming, it got several less than stellar reviews on the web. At last this weekend though, Griffin and I gave it a shot. The atmosphere feels very much like being at an actual Italian cafe with virtually all of the tables on one of two patios and ivy covering the entire thing. Each table is adorned with a singular sunflower, which brought a bit of sunshine to us over the cloudy weekend. As far as the food goes, we were pretty impressed. Griffin ordered the French Toast Al'Italia, which was really not much like French toast at all, but uber-delicious nonetheless! The plate came with two good size portions of a soft brioche with bananas, strawberries, and cream cheese near the center and then topped with more strawberries and Trader Joes maple syrup. Truly one of the best breakfast dishes I think I have ever had. It tasted like banana bread with cream cheese and strawberries, yum! For my dish, I ordered the Frittata Aphrodisiaca, or the potato and truffle oil omelet in laymans' terms. The first one I had to unfortunately send back due to the glaring short, black hair laying on one of the potatoes, but the kitchen staff didn't complain about having to remake it and sent another one out promptly. This is different than a typical omelet, and even from many frittatas I have had in that there was a thin egg omelet on the bottom, topped by long, slender potato slices and then drizzled with truffle oil. It was really great, but extremely rich, as most truffle dishes are. My breakfast came with a dollop of sweet potato smash and all breakfasts come with a huge slice of melon. The sweet potatoes were just right for me, though Griffin didn't care for them. As we were technically there during brunch time, I almost ordered a panini and have to say that many of them sounded great. They also offer pastas and a few bigger entrees for lunch and the largest bagels I have ever seen for breakfast. Cafe Verona is only open through lunch, but the serve their breakfast menu until they close. Menu prices are pretty standard for LA at about $15 a person, but unlike so many places in the area, Cafe Verona does have a free parking lot in the back that it shares with its neighbor, EZ Lube. Despite the hair on my dish (which still makes me nauseated to think about), I'd still go back, especially on a sunny day when you could really appreciate the out-of-doors surroundings.

http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/63920/
Sorry, no online menu!