marino ristorante Archives - Page 2 of 2

Pappardelle, the beautiful, large, broad, flat paste noodles fittingly got their name from the Italian verb, “pappare”, “to gobble up”. It works for the paste standing up to heavy sauces or for every diners’ reaction. Architects recognize only the color grey (unless they have to), and I recognize only the paste, Pappardelle, (unless I have to).

Domingo’s Italian Deli offers many of the 310 pasta shapes with 1300 varieties of them total.

Fresh pappardelle may have fluted edges and are up to an inch wide. Dried egg versions that originate in the region of Tuscany have straight sides. Tagliatelle, (Emilio-Romano and Marche regions) a narrower version of Pappardelle and used for lighter sauces (see below) is similar to but a tiny bit thinner than (Roman) fettuccine.

I ask you to try them and decide for yourself. We follow Pappardelle from north to southern Italy here.

At Osteria Bigoli, Chef-owner Claudio Marchesan’s Braised Short Ribs with Pappardelle are slowly baked in red wine, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Melt-in-your-mouth short ribs hold the sauce with an intense depth of flavor, along with endowing it with a rich, royal dark color. The wide Pappardelle does its job of “taking on” the sauce so well it becomes a robust partner adding body to it.

That Claudio Marchesan is a native of (northeast) Grado, Italy is one reason for the perfection. When he attended ENALC, the Professional Cooking School of Rome, he studied with renowned Master Chef Giovanni Caruso, one of the still living prodigies of the one and only “August Escoffier”. Marcheson himself made California restaurant history (and lots of fans) with Pane e Vino and Prego.

Osteria Bigoli, 714 Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. Visit the website for hours and menu at bigoliosteria.com

History-making Chef at Osteria Bigoli

Sor Tino and Caffe Roma (and Toscanova and Ago restaurants)are owned by the master chef, Agostino Sciandri. We met this Tuscan chef at the Q for quality Awards honoring Los Angeles restaurants for maintaining high standards of authenticity.

In writer Darien Morea’s report for us, “Pappardelle Cinghiale (Wild Boar Ragu), with an unctuous, rich, slightly tomatoey sauce includes large pieces of the Boar that had been cooked for hours in the sauce, is the equivalent of a rich man’s Bolognese. Sor Tino was the first to offer wild boar in Los Angeles in the early 1990’s, now almost an Italian restaurant staple (LocalFoodEater has even down a roundup on this, our favorite dish)

“Not to name drop (but I will), I had first been introduced to this dish at the home of the father of Leonardo di Vinci in the town of Vinci, Tuscany, and Sor Tino’s version was its equal in every way.”

Sor Tino, 908 Barrington Avenue, Brentwood, CA 90049. (310) 442-8466. (//(www.sortinorestaurant.com)

Augustino Sciandri, master chef, restaurateur

Sor Tino Swings the Pendulum Back to Authentic Italian

Marino Ristorante in East Hollywood on Melrose serves Neapolitan fare. Now operated by Ciro Marino’s sons, there has always been a Pappardelle Bolognese on the menu, that lists the beef, pork and veal meat sauce cooked for three hours on the stove.

Second Generation Continues Marino Ristorante Legacy in LA

Marino pappardelle with meat sauce incorporating the flavors of beef, pork, and veal, simmered over three hours

www.marinorestaurant.net. marino Ristorante, 6001 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038,(323) 466-881.

Last only because it is the most southern, Celestino’s paste is the star of the Drago family restaurants, serving classic Sicilian and other Italian regional dishes with a sure hand. We had been dreaming about the unique Pappardelle on Fabiano e Morelle (Pappardelle with Pheasant and Morel Mushrooms) as soon as we read about it on the seasonal Holiday Mushroom & Truffle Menu menu at Celestino in Pasadena’s tony south Lake district.

Pappardelle on Fabiano e Morelle (wide Fettuccine with Pheasant and Morel Mushrooms)

It did not disappoint in taste, texture, and complexity. And it is only one of the three sections to try of Morel Mushrooms, Porcini Mushrooms and Fresh Truffles from Italy.

The sauce teased every bit of flavor from the bird and perfectly complemented the fantastical mushrooms capped with the distinctive honeycomb appearance of ridges and pits. They are impossible to cultivate and prized so highly they influence enthusiasts into a madcap hunt for them during the season, no pun intended. And these are the best, from Italy!

The legendary oldest brother Celestino (pictured above at a charity event honoring him), inspired the Pasadena restaurant of the same name, one that translates into a gold standard restaurant since Celestino first opened on Beverly Drive a quarter-century ago. In fact, the inspired, cheery chef is now “Cavaliere Celestino” since the Italian government knighted him a couple of years ago

Celestino Restaurant, 141cLake Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (626) 705-4006. //(//(www.celestinopasadena.com)

Celestino Pasadena Upholds Royal Family Pedigree

The Garum Factory explains how the three wide, flat pasta differs ever so slightly: “Tagliatelle and fettuccine pasta appear identical, but are not quite the same, although you can substitute one for the other. Tagliatelle, of the Emigia-Romagna (which includes Bologna) and Marche regions, is usually made fresh, then cooked. Fettucine, a shade thicker than Tagliatelle, is found more often in Roman cooking. It may be fresh and often dried. (//thegarumfactory.net/2013/11/29/you-say-tagliatelle-i-say-fettucine/)

For example, Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese is a dish on the menu at the Locanda del Lago in Santa Monica. The restaurant specializes in north Italian dishes from the Lake Como area – so northern that they sometimes overlap with bordering (South Tyrol) Austria. “Wheat Pappardelle” is listed in the ingredients along with Roast Garlic, Savoy Cabbage, Yukon Potato, Creamy Bitto Cheese and Sage Fondue. Turns out that Pizzoccheri is a type of short tagliatelle made with 80% buckwheat flour and 20% wheat flour.

Locanda del Lago, 231 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, California 90401, (310) 451-3525. //www.lagosantamonica.com

Pizzoccheri alla Valtellinese

And it turns out that dried and fresh pasta comes in 310 shapes and varieties (over 1300 names), So I’m mystified why this one is such a favorite of mine. Texture? Is it because it reminds me of a childhood favorite, an Austr0-Hungarian wide noodle dish with sugar and crushed walnuts? Thai rice noodles?

My own quest for the best pappardelle began only after I (paleo) had a choice of this pasta or a salad entree on a birthday party menu at Lucille’s Trattoria a few years ago. I loved it. (turns out it is the most popular dish on their menu). Next, I ordered it for my own birthday feast at Locanda Veneta, where this and their charcuterie board remain a lifetime memory. At the moment Locanda has only a Fettucine and a Tagliatelle on the menu!

Second generation operated ethnic restaurants include marino ristorante in East Hollywood. Los Angeles Magazine’s “best” pick restaurant host, Mario Marino, shares responsibilities. Brother Sal (former owner-chef of Il Grano, La Bottega Marino), oversees the kitchen.

(Marino ristorante) is one of the 31 restaurants in Los Angeles to be awarded the The “Ospitalita’ Italiana – Seal of Authenticity”. Restaurants have to pass an extensive series of rigorous tests for authenticity, from a percentage of denomination Italian wines on their list to the menu being written in perfect Italian, and Italian-speaking staff.

Dad Ciro (who passed away in 2009) created Marino Ristorante as an old school formal dining room in 1979. The menu is respected for being as fresh as the fish and seafood the brothers continue to carefully pick out each morning at the downtown markets. Sal is a familiar face at local farmers markets, and has so many tomatoes in his own garden he holds “tomato dinners” at the restaurant each summer.

“Marino” means “the sea,” and here fish and seafood star among the Neapolitan comfort dishes. Marino was the first restaurant to feature whole Branzino (Chilean Sea Bass), filleted table side. The kitchen still offers it three ways: grilled, Blackened and baked in a coating of sea salt, filleted table side.

Marino was once known affectionately as the “unofficial Paramount Studios commissary” for power hitters and celebrities. Those were the days when Frank Sinatra held sway in the back room. There were good feelings after he tried and failed to recruit Ciro as his private chef.

White tablecloth tables and booths still hold political officials, musicians, entertainers and producers with household name recognition though their privacy is respected. The Henry Mancini family and the Bill Conti family still hold family dinner in the back private room

Awards for food are many. Vegan bread is baked in ancient Roman style, with a similar recipe also used in the award-winning pizza crust. Marino’s Chestnut Pasta was also honored with a feature in Los Angeles Magazine. Marino’s organic produce was featured on National Public Radio.

Marino cuisine classic options are also healthy ones. Gluten-free pasta choices, such as the wild mushroom fettuccine shown here, are also a vegetarian and vegan favorite. For carnivores, there is the pappardelle Bolognese (with a beef, veal sauce cooked for three hours) plus steak and lamb dishes. The signature Neapolitan, Chicken Vesuvio, heads the list of poultry dishes.

Ciro was always a cutting-edge trend-setter since his days as head captain at the legendary Villa Capri. He later managed Martoni’s, one of the city’s first celebrity-driven eateries. Sonny Bono wrote, “I’ve got You Babe,” after host Ciro requested he go home and change to follow the restaurant dress code.

Ciro loves to tell the story of his first night working there, “the youngest server and the smartest” who was overseeing the likes of Jean Leon, Matty Jordan and Dan Tana. “If you listen to me, you’ll all own your own places,” he laughs. And they did: La Scala, Maddeo, Matteo, Carmine’s and La Dolce Vita.

When Martoni’s opened with most of the same staff, Ciro was manager. He had already changed his name to Mario to make it “easier for Americans to pronounce and remember.” So Martoni’s was named after him and after his cousin.

Innovator Ciro originated the first outdoor patio dining spot on Sunset Boulevard, which soon became such a popular after-hours hangouts for restaurant insiders, the proprietor did not arrive home till dawn. And he operated the first restaurant “take-away” section, still popular with its kitchen window visible from the street.

When cousin Tony changed his mind about partnering to own Martoni’s, Ciro left the country to raise his young family in Naples. He returned in 1982 to open Marino. The restaurant soon became well known for their award-winning wine list – so extensive it required an additional house to store it, businessman’s lunches and degustation menus.

The anti pasti (shown here), that became so popular it earned a showcase of its own at the door.

marino anti pasti that earned its own case by the door

The signature ricotta cheesecake currently boasts three pages on google, including a video. It has become featured item at many invitational charity events in the city.

Mario and hostess Rita serve the signature cheesecake

www.marinorestaurant.net. marino ristorante, 6001 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038,(323) 466-881. Order online for pick up and delivery. Lunch Mon-Fri; Dinner Mon-Sat. Reservations suggested; children welcome; valet parking, casual elegant, private room.

marino ristorante

Five Must-Try Old School Pappardelle Dishes to “Gobble Up” (and Why)

Second Generation Continues Marino Ristorante Legacy in LA

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