Yeah, they’ve gone through various menus over the years with more or less Serbian influence. Sometimes they “smuggle” Serbian dishes through under generic names… crepes for palačinke, sausages for chevapchichi, bean soup for pasulj.
I was surprised they took over the space, I hope they’re successful with it!
I’ve only been to Cafe Vida once many yrs ago; I would say that the two are not dissimilar.
El Segundo (literally, en español lolol…)
Terroni Brentwood
Stopped by for a very late dinner. The place is, for lack of a better word, stunning! I did not expect such an impressive and intricate buildout. Brentwood ain’t used to this level of swank. Very positive first impression walking up and in.
Service is…interesting. It might be going too far to call it cold, but it’s certainly not warm or gregarious. It just does not exude hospitality. To be clear, it’s not to the point where it would stop me from returning, but worth noting.
The food…and now it all goes downhill.
Amatriciana is my favorite pasta dish, so when I saw a rigatoni amatriciana on the menu, I had to order it.
It looked typical enough on the plate when it arrived.
But then I took a bite. A stab of noodles with a strip of guanciale.
Noodles: Not al dente, but not a mush. Passable but not optimal.
Sauce: Tomato forward, but missing spice and tang. Needed pepper flakes, maybe more tomato paste too. Again, passable though not screaming amatriciana.
Guanciale: Yikes. I almost cracked my tooth. Perhaps an errant piece, so I tried another. And I almost cracked my tooth again. Ok let’s try another. This time I tried with all my might to bite though it, while guarding against any actual tooth damage. No matter how hard I tried, I simply could not bite though the guanciale. I would say hard as rock, but I bet I could break some rock with my teeth. No, it was hard as diamond.
I examined the guanciale and came to a quick conclusion based on the visual and tactile characteristics. They overcooked the living shit out of it. Nearly fully rendered fat in the middle of the strip with diamonds on each end.
I brought it up to the hostess (my server was MIA), and while she wasn’t dismissive, I felt like I had to prove myself and the severity of the issue.
She brought it over to the kitchen, came back a few minutes later, and let me know that they couldn’t remake the dish properly as the guanciale had all been cooked that morning, so it would all be the same.
Had nobody ordered that dish today? How was this the first they were hearing about this? This is so far beyond a quibble with technique (“I ordered my steak medium rare not medium”)…it’s a genuine safety/liability issue.
Then my server resurfaced, and had a perplexed look on her face when she saw regurgitated guanciale bits resting on my knife. It seems the hostess had not mentioned anything to her. So now I felt uncomfortable and had to re-explain everything to her so as to not look like an infant who spits up food.
I’m now slowly picking at a replacement bolognese pasta that I ordered. It’s…passable, I guess. I hope they comp it but I doubt they will.
I won’t be back.
UPDATE: They did not comp the bolognese. And they even charged me the bolognese pricing (which is higher than the amatriciana). I didn’t ask for or even hint at wanting anything comped, but it would have been a nice gesture, and is further evidence of the kind of ship they’re sailing. I still tipped 20%, what’s a couple dollars to me?
Ouch!
Recent eats:
Musso & Frank Grill: all the classics, and prolly my fav steakhouse in the city besides chi spacca 
Howlin Ray’s: first time hitting up the pasadena location, still slaps!
Destroyer: rice porridge & melon yogurt 
Quarter Sheets: been awhile, and the parking still gives me anxiety/nightmares, but the bar pie and detroit slices are worth it!
Don Asadero: best new taco spot ive hit up! In pasadena, charcoal grilled asada w handmade flour tortillas and killer salsas! Al pastor was great as well, although I didnt see a trompo 
Dusnmoor: all hits, first time trying the chicken, so good!
Pizzeria Sei: lovely new location, the suppli and 4 culture diavola were the highlights for me
Damn eating good!
Damn all the heavy hitters
Need to cut down, or start eating healthier, this cant be good for my coronaries lol
preaching to the choir I feel like that trying to eat low fat and low carb for at least a month after eating so much over the summer.
“Chicken tequila lime fettucini […] loved this more than pasta from Felix, Bestia, or Uovo”
They live in a different universe over on Reddit…
evidently yelp on the same supply, 4.8*, 81 reviews.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gabriellino-pasta-los-angeles?uid=yDX8ffQgH6Xjql98PyGr7w&utm_source=ishare
Javier Cabral is teasing on Instagram that LA Taco will be releasing a guide for DTLA kebab alley. I hope it will include more info about the unnamed vendor I mentioned above.
I mean, who knows? Maybe the pasta over there really is that good? I’m never out in that direction, but I look forward to seeing a report on here from someone who is ($14 isn’t a lot to sacrifice for an experiment, IMHO).
I got actually pretty curious after seeing it on reddit and will try to check it out if I get a chance 
Was really hungry after a show at the Lodge. Jeff Parker ETA IVtet!!! Everything was closing nearby soon so did a quick drive to here. $5 parking at Mandarin plaza until midnight.
Really love the Dodger decor and food is great. Ate half of the marinara pizza. Might be worth it to get it as a square for a South Philly tomato pie vibe. Next day gentle reheat to crisp up in the pan with a drizzle of olive oil on top.
That vegan turkey (BEhive) sandwich was spectacular. Would have liked a long roll if I am being honest.
LaSorted underrated slice here to my NY brain
They are legit. Have you had Sonny’s?
Yup - just far from me. I live right near the crenshaw appolonia - so that’s my go to usually.
