Under Gino Angelini and Nicola Mastronardi it was very good and Maureen Vincenti was a delightful hostess.
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Went to Osteria Vera last night and the food was outstanding.
I’m not one to gush over a salad, but I have to mention that it was one of the best salads I’ve ever tasted. Bitter from the endive, sweet from the candied pistachio, savory from the parmesan, and the arugula packed the final, spicy, punch. Mustard dressing added another layer, really incredible.
My friend loved the lobster pasta special (with mushroom, asparagus, baby tomato), and I absolutely devoured the Orechietti rapini sausage ragu.
There are kinks (not enough staff, no one to bus), but the kitchen worked like clockwork, everything on time. Hopefully, they hire more servers soon.
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Thanks for the report! I’ll have to go check it out next week. I always found Peccorino to be good but not great; this sounds like a real step up.
Went last night and our group ordered many of the same dishes as you, completely coincidentally. The salad, like you said, is fantastic. And the orechiette - a classic Puglian dish - was better than any rendition I ate in Puglia last summer. The best dish, however, may have been the pork chop. It was the moistest and most flavorful grilled pork chop I’ve ever had. And the portion size was MASSIVE!
Service was solid though a little slow. We chatted with our server after the meal - he previously worked at neither Pecorino nor Vincenti. He’s a hired gun consultant restaurants bring in to help them go from concept to execution to opening. He said that the menu took 6 months, as he was strongly advocating a more concise menu, and the chef was hesitant to let go of certain dishes. The buildout itself, to my amazement, was done in 27 days - new floors, detailing, furniture, lighting, bathrooms, etc. He’ll be there for some additional amount of time refining operations, making a few more tweaks to the menu, and then he’s off.
I liked the food more than Pecorino or Vincenti. The mandate to narrow down and focus the menu seems to be a wise decision. Can’t wait to go back.
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Flour Pizzeria & Cafe opening in a handful of weeks at the corner of Barrington & San Vicente. New York style pizza by the slice and sandwiches. Flour currently has a location in Pacific Palisades. Never been. User reviews are very strong. Infatuation liked it too. Some of you will freak out when you see the pricing 
The immediate area already has strong pizza options in Pizzana and slightly less so in Jon & Vinny’s, plus solid pizza at Toscana and the like. But those are all fancier pizzas by the whole pie. Plus, sometimes you just want NY style. The only slice shop nearby is Maria’s, and their pizza is completely inedible. I think there’s an opening for Flour to do well.
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I do miss the old Marías before the younger generation took over! Gimme back those 3" wide peperoni’s!
I’m down to try almost anything once but I’ve yet to try any NY style pizza worth paying a premium for. I’d love a good trashy pizza around here a la Pizza Port in SD
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Don’t think All Roads needs its own thread (yes, I know I created it originally, but it was before this thread existed). @robert can you merge New Brentwood concept by Toscana Restaurant Group (Nuvola?) into this thread?
Anyways, I went to All Roads last night. Everything was quite good to excellent. Portion sizes on some of the dishes - especially the artichokes that we ordered - were skimpy. I really enjoyed the pinsa - we got the amatriciana. Much lighter/airier dough than the pinsa at say Oste. It’s extremely similar to the pinsa at Nella, which makes sense as it’s the same restaurant group. The steak salad was fantastic. My main complaint? Prices. If the portion sizes were 25% larger, I would feel better about what they’re charging.
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Matū to Brentwood! Next to Katsuya on San Vicente. Now I can walk and get the cheesesteak for lunch…that’s dangerous!
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That’s amazing news.
I’ve had lunch at/from All Roads two days in a row. Both times I ordered the coliseo sandwich. Burrata, zucchini, arugula, mint, tomato pesto. The portion size is solid. The dough seems like a slight variation of the pinsa dough. A little more tooth/bite than the pinsa bread, same good flavor, and still generally light and airy. The sandwich is absolutely fantastic, possibly one of my favorites in LA. The tomato pesto is a revelation. $18 and comes with a side salad. Decent value, especially compared to dinner. The other two sandwiches on the menu come with porchetta or mortadella, neither of which I am crazy about. Might try them at some point, but for now, will keep ordering the coliseo.
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Tried Osteria Vera for the first time tonight. Got the orecchiette for myself because of @yogachik and @Loaxley’s posts, and it was everyone’s favorite bite. Thanks for the rec! Bistecca and Salmon dishes were great. Big portions all around.
Lowlights were the lamb chops, which were tough, and the desserts, which were good, not great.
It was packed when we got there and service was scrambling to keep up. They were super friendly though. Note that they are changing their policy on getting the corkage fee waived for a bottle if you buy a bottle. We got the fee waived but they said next time we visit it will be $50 per bottle for the first and second, and $100 per bottle 3+.
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Just saw this message from Westwood’s Violet Bistro:
You may have heard some rumblings about a certain flagship restaurant space on the Westside. The word on the street is true…Violet is going to be a big sister! We have secured a prime location in Brentwood Village for our next venture, and you’re invited to come along for the ride.
Many of you fondly remember the former Brentwood Restaurant + Lounge, a cozy neighborhood mainstay on Barrington Avenue for over two decades. Soon it will be brought back to life with a top to bottom renovation, expanding its footprint into the former café space around the corner. With a showstopping ambiance, alluring bar, delightful fireplace, and see-and-be-seen vibe, the new restaurant will pay homage to some of the classic steak houses of the Fifties, with a menu of well-executed standards showcasing the best of Southern California ingredients.
Over the past four-plus years, your steadfast love and support of Violet gave us the goods to follow up with a sibling. Our little bistro and cooking school has hosted weddings and funerals, Vice POTUS and Oscar winners, University Chancellors, studio heads and museum directors, Larry’s romantic date on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and countless gatherings of families and friends. Turns out we’ve learnt a thing or two about restauranting. And with the ever-growing demand for unique and soulful third spaces, we are ready to meet this moment.
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This is not a draw for me, although I’m sure it will be for many.
Having said that, still looking forward to trying this place, even though I’m sure it’ll be $$$$.
We need more adult, non-Italian restaurants. Excited for this but I just wish they’d re-open the Brentwood exactly as it was 15 years ago…
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CPK Brentwood closing in October according to Reddit. Yes, it’s an anonymous source, blah blah blah fight me.
This one actually stings quite a bit. I grew up going to this CPK regularly.
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Went to CPK Brentwood for lunch. They have a really reasonably priced pick 2 lunch special. The food was…honestly better than I remember it being. All of the staff members are aware of the imminent closure but only due to the Reddit post. CPK corporate continues to lie to their faces.
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