Thanks @lapizzamaven. I need to get over to South End (your fav) soon. 
Hopefully you get a chance to try this and see how it compares. Felix doesn’t dethrone DeSano, but the Calabrese was definitely enjoyable.
Yumm! @Chowseeker1999 -
It wasn’t me who had the infamously, huge ribeye at Cannibal. But I’m glad you gave me a shout-out. I might have missed this excellent report.
I’m not suprised about the delicious Squash Blossoms. We had them for the first time at Pizzeria Mozza and wondered what all the fuss was about. Then we had Chef Funke’s at Rustic Canyon 
. I hope they improve upon the Cacio e Pepe, another dish of his I loved at Bucato. The Agrumi looks refreshingly wonderful; love those combinations. The Bolognese and the Sausage Sugo have my d.h.'s name on them 
.
Great Seeking!
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Chowseeker, have you been to Stella Barra in SM? had a great pie there too, recently
Thanks @TheCookie.
Yes! We loved the Squash Blossoms at Mozza as well a few years back, and I think the ones at Felix by Chef Funke are even better (and lighter). Delicious.
I think you might like the Ricotta Con La Vignarola (Bellwether Ricotta, Spring Vegetables) with the Grilled Bread if you end up going.
Hi @Chowseeker1999 - [quote=“Chowseeker1999, post:12, topic:5413”]
Ricotta Con La Vignarola
[/quote]
Yes, that looked particularly good! Sometimes I want to comment on everything in your reports - the good, the bad, the delish - but that would be a report in itself, haha.
Good work!
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What are your favorite types of pasta dishes, just curious?
Hi @lapizzamaven,
I went once years ago, when it first opened up. I remember it being like a Pizzeria Mozza-style pie. Is it still the same these days? Or did they change it a bit?
It was solid back then, but I remember thinking, I’d rather eat Mozza (but would be glad to eat SB again, when we didn’t feel like driving). Any recommended pies? Thanks!
Do you mean in terms of size and “chew?” I would sort of peg it btw a NY pie and a Mozza pie. I only had Stella Barra a couple of times, but I’ve really enjoyed their pies (I liked the one I had at Mozza, too, although I have no strong urge to return).
Hey chowseeker…yes theres a similarity to the Mozza pie but not the exaggerarated, bulbous lip of Mozza pies which limits toppings acreage…Stella Barra has a nice chewy, bread-like crust and i only had the margherita w/sausage which is my go to pie…excellent, fennel sausage…i stopped going there because they were a bit inconsistent(an occasional gummy crust), only open 5pm on and was noisy…a friend swears to their consistency and i go mid afternoon so its not crowded and not noisy.
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Paranoidgarliclover, not sure id agree that it resembled a NY pie…def similar to Mozza but not their “fat lip” or cornicione!
I was going by the fat lip. 
So would you say it’s chew of the crust and the quality of the toppings that makes it more similar to Mozza?
There’s also a Stella Barra near the Arclight. Not sure of the noise level there, though.
Yah, agree it’s not the outer crust / “lip” that’s like Mozza (that’s its own thing ;)), but there’s something with the chew and consistency of the dough, etc. that reminded us of Mozza the 2 times we went (not in a bad way), but it was like it felt like it was inspired by or a homage to that style.
And that’s actually a bit of a cool thing - to have your own hyper-local style of food being developed here - it reminded me of reading @robert’s comments about Cotogna’s Pizza style, how it was representative of a local style in that neighborhood.
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Thanks for the recommendation; I’ll give that a try.
Oh and one slightly frustrating thing I forgot to mention was that Felix delivers their pies uncut. 
But unlike Bestia’s dull-bladed knife they provide (which makes a mess when cutting), Felix provides a pretty neat-looking knife that’s extremely sharp. We were able to cut up the pies quickly and with minimal mess.
It’s still a bit frustrating that they don’t cut the Pizza for you. I mean Bread could be served in whole loaves to the table, but with innovation we now have sliced Bread / Rolls, etc.
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I don’t understand this exactly, do you just personally hate BBQ sauce? If not, American BBQ doesn’t have a monopoly on tangy, smoky, sweet flavors, so I am confused about why you hated the pasta I guess. BBQ pasta sounds pretty awesome to me.
I hope they only go larger. Proper steaks prepared in the Florence tradition really should be at least that large, or larger. In Florence they come by the KILO (approx 36oz), and often cut around 2-3 kilos to serve, so these steaks are already on the small side (it’s a costata rather than a bistecca, though). The measurements usually include bone, though. A 40oz streak probably has around 10-12oz of bone leaving 28-30oz of meat, and it’s pretty common for places to serve single servings of steak (NY strip or ribeye) in 12-14oz portions. Split by 2 people the 40oz costata would be two people having 14-15oz of meat. Yeah, it’s large, but completely manageable by a party of 2 if they want, although it would be better for a party of 3-4 to try more pastas and things as well.
Just figured I would add some perspective. The possibility of having authentic bistecca alla fiorentina is a huge draw for at least some people. Plenty of places to get steaks not in that tradition in LA, only really one other place even offering such a steak in LA currently).
I am more curious to learn about how they actually prep the Florence steaks. If they do them as authentically as the pastas they might really be incredible and contend with Chi Spacca’s. On that point, how much are they charging for the steaks? Is it per ounce?
Sorry if this is offensive, it’s not intended to be, but have you traveled through Italy extensively? Funke’s pastas taste far closer to what I’ve actually eaten in Italy than anywhere else I’ve tried in LA, or anywhere in the US for that matter. Especially with these types of very simple sauces. I think a lot of places modify them to fit American palates when they are focused on being more elemental, simple, and delicate in Italy (from what I’ve tried there anyway).
I’m a fan of American takes on Italian food obviously, but the tremendous value of Felix to me is that what is on offer is a set of things that are done almost exactly how they are in Italy right here in LA.
Personally, I hope they don’t change these classics to conform to American tastes. Other people may find this too “unexciting” I guess, but just thought I would offer a different view to consider.
This is how nearly everywhere in Italy serves pizza…and Felix is trying to adhere extremely closely to Italian traditions.
I really don’t think they deserve criticism for being precisely what they set out to be…it is something that I, and I hope some others, value them for.
Authentic and frustrating is not mutually exclusive
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Hi @Aesthete,
BBQ? No? But I (nor any of my friends (some who’ve been to Italy)) have experienced “BBQ Sauce Pasta” before. I’m glad you like that flavor, but all of us at the table found it offputting / strange. It’s not “gross” of course, but it’s like eating, say, American BBQ Sauce Chow Mein or something. Do some people find it exciting and different? Perhaps? It’s just not for me.
It was strange because the other sauces all tasted and connoted flavors we’ve run across at many Italian places (and purer in some ways), but not that one.
Well their Costata Alla Fiorentina was explicitly stated by our server as “way too much” food. It was recommended to share with “at least 4 - 5 people” is what she said. She never gave us the breakdown of how heavy the bone was (or if it was bone-in). So I’m just going by what our server recommended to us. Price? I was going to ask, but since it was a non-starter, I didn’t follow-up.
No, I haven’t been to Italy, but our guest had. I’ve tried a variety of Cacio e Pepe from various recommended Italian eateries around the U.S. and Canada. I never said their Cacio e Pepe was “inauthentic” nor did I imply that. I said it felt “tame” which my friend who has been to Italy agreed (just getting their impressions), and my own from a variety of places I’ve tried over the years.
And note that the Pesto examples I brought up are from actual Italian natives, from Italy (not like Chef Funke who’s only traveled there and studied a bit, not his whole life)? Leo Bulagarini’s Pesto is far more vibrant, pure, and interesting than Felix’s version. Same for the Pesto I had at Pasta Sisters from Paola Da Re and her family. Their Pesto was also just more interesting to me, but your mileage may vary.
Lastly, for the Pizza, that’s good to know. When Attilio Bachetti from Pizzeria Da Attilio in Naples, Italy was doing his pop-up at DeSano, all of his pies were served cut. He seemed pretty authentic to me, and maybe he conformed to a recommendation from the DeSano staff, but he had no issues doing it for his masterpieces (and they were that wonderful), and it didn’t take away from the pies.
Sometimes it’s nice to incorporate innovations or changes that make the dining experience more enjoyable. In this case, it feels like the pies wouldn’t have suffered having them pre-cut; it just adds to the frustration when it’s uncut IMHO. But I did note that it’s far better than what other places do, and that’s provide an actual extremely sharp knife to cut the pie with.
Thanks.
I guess I would say they sort of are…well for me at least; if I value the authenticity, then the frustration doesn’t exist. Or maybe that’s just me. I find it exciting to get to cut into a fresh pizza with a sharp knife lol
Well, as usual, I doubt anyone agrees with me, so you can take it or leave it. But I feel like criticism of restaurants should be based on what the restaurant is aiming for, otherwise it seems…unfair?
It seems different to say “I hate uncut pizzas!” versus “this restaurant sucks because they serve uncut pizzas!” or am I the only one who sees a difference in those sentiments?
Where did someone say that?
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Well, I assume that it is implied when people use the emoticons that show disgust lol
Maybe reading too much into emoticons? idk