Piccolo Venice

When people ask me where to travel during DineLA, my first response here on forward will be Piccolo Venice.  For $45, I was able to sample FIVE delectable courses on a quaint winter evening on the cusp of Venice beach.  The location seemed appropriate considering my mind wandered to Italy over the course of two hours.

pomodori

tomatoes, burrata, basil, olive oil

The first dish was a modern interpretation of caprese salad.  Layered like tiramisu, pomodori had delicate layers of salted tomato puree, creamy burrata, and fragrant virgin olive oil.  My taste buds had arrived first class to Milan in a matter of minutes.

garganelli

rabbit ragu, spices, white wine

The second course was slightly more adventurous, with bits of rabbit sprinkled throughout a penne pasta.  This was my first experience eating rabbit, and I must say, it was delicious.  Consider this unparalleled dish a day trip to the glorious stadiums near Rome.

plin

fontina raviolo, parmesan butter sauce, truffle shavings

What is an exquisite meal without truffles?  This aromatic pasta delight was perhaps the most coveted dish of the meal.  Light wafers of truffles contrasted with dense fontina ravioli made for an impressional bite of food. Reminiscent of the Renaissance period, my mind floated to Florence to savor the memorable details of this piece of art.

rana

monkfish, kale, cinzano cream

For the main course, I savored a chunk of monkfish wrapped in a spinach and kale dressing.  While I appreciated the creativity of this dish, I found the monkfish was in fact too dense.  Perhaps the culinary masters need to spend some time in Genoa, Italy's principal seaport, to fine tune this dish.

bignole

puffs filled with valrhona gianduja chocolate

The grand finale was a cherished bite of chocolate puffs with vanilla cream sauce.  My heart recalled the last scene of Romeo & Juliet, and flew me to Verona to savor this incredibly sweet moment.

As you sip your last drop of wine, you come to the realization that your tour around Italy is over.  For those of you looking to spend an adventurous night out in Venice, California, beware of the portal that takes you to Venice, Italy.