la.foodblogging

Piccolo Ristorante
5 Dudley Ave.
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 314-3222

$20-$50 per person

Bottom Line: Go, quickly, before it becomes any more popular.

This morning, as I was enjoying my morning cup of joe courtesy of the Coffee Klatch, I flipped over to KTLA’s morning show to find Gayle Anderson showing off La Botte, Stefano de Lorenzo’s new restaurant in Santa Monica. “Great,” I thought, “they didn’t mention Piccolo [Lorenzo's first restaurant].” Shortly thereafter, however, I got an email telling me that my beloved Piccolo has received Top Food honors in Zagat, just behind Matsuhisa, Nozawa, and Melisse. Uh-oh — looks like they won’t be my “best kept secret” much longer.

Piccolo has always been my favorite restaurant in LA, for two main reasons: the food was impeccable, and, more importantly, nobody knew about it. We all dream of finding that perfect hole-in-the-wall restaurant that only we know about, a place uncolored by commercial superficiality, where the owner treats you like family, and where the food is simply out of this world. For me, that place is Piccolo.

The impossibly small space sits (literally) steps from Venice Beach, across the street from the Cadillac Motel. Oddly enough, it is nearly inaccessible by car, which is probably why it has remained a locals’ spot since it opened a couple years ago. Those of us intrepid enough to find it on foot consider ourselves blessed to have encountered such a special place.

Having little experience with Italian food in Italy, I cannot speak to the food’s authenticity (not that I doubt it one bit); still, I can safely say that I have never had better Italian food. Period. Head chef Alberto Lazzarinio still cooks every night in the open kitchen, where he and just one or two other cooks turn out a dazzling assortment of Italian flavors.

Seared scallops in a bed of truffle fondue, topped with shaved black truffle, must be my favorite starter — the truffle fondue is so sinfully divine that the plate returns clean every time, the sauce scraped up as if it were gold. The salty bite of gorgonzola in the duck proscuitto comes as a close second, along with a tender, sweet, ruby-red beef carpaccio.

Piccolo’s homemade squid ink-seafood pasta with tomatoes and saffron looks, smells, and tastes like an authentic Spanish paella, except that the tagliolini pasta gives it a lighter feel in the mouth — even though your teeth will be black! The saffron emulsion leaps off the plate like a flavor bomb, its creamy texture pampering the palate whilst its delicate aromas tickle the olfactory nerves with saffron’s infamous scent.

Truth be told, there is nothing I wouldn’t recommend at Piccolo, even after having sampled a good portion of their extensive menu. There is something here with which everyone will fall in love; whether it be the neighborhood feel, the delicious cooking, or beautiful wine pairings (even for a lightweight like myself), you’ll wish you lived closer, no matter where you are.

But why trust my word on it? Go discover it for yourself on a quieter weeknight, when you can avoid the weekend lines, as the restaurant takes no reservations (except for tasting menus).

sneakypeteiii is a doctoral student in Chemistry at Caltech. He has been eating since he was a child, and reckons himself quite good at it. (see more of his posts).