Amalfi

I've had several Italian eateries in my neighborhood on my to-try list for awhile, but when Chase and I tried to visit one on Sunday Ca'Brea, Campanille, and Cube on La Brea were all closed. Italian was really sounding good though, so we gambled on Amalfi. Luckily for us, it was a big win. Judging from the outside, the place seems really small, but there's a front patio, a full bar inside, a dining room, and then a back private room. We were seated in a lovely booth next to a stone fireplace. I would argue that the tables are too tall for the booths. I had to sit on a pillow in order not to struggle to reach my food. We ordered some wine and started off sharing a caprese. I always love caprese, but the one at Amalfi is particularly delectable due to the incorporation of yellow tomatoes ($11). Our second dish was a sausage and rapini pizza, which was surprisingly bland ($16). The real star of the night was a pumpkin ravioli with braised short rib ($18). The pumpkin wasn't overwhelming at all and the short rib was so tender that we didn't even need a knife to cut into it, it just simply fell apart with a poke of the fork. A bit of creme fraiche on top really made the dish. Though the ravioli was pretty sweet in and of itself, we wanted to try the creme brulee flambay for dessert ($7). The presentation was really fun as it comes out to the table aflame, but unfortunately it didn't do much for the creme brulee. Chase even said he thought it tasted like butane. There were a few additional dishes I would have liked to try such as the carrot and ginger soup. A lot of the menu seemed to be cuisine typically found in the fall, but made available year-round at Amalfi. Overall, it was a great experience, and if you were to ever go to the Acme Theater next door, it'd be a great place to grab dinner or a quick drink and app before the show.

http://www.amalfiristorante.com/