3/31/2009

Affordable Dining and Delicious Eggplant Parmigiana at Minestraio on Third Street


Good bye La Terza, hello Minestraio. Gino Angelini of the famed Angelini Osteria on Beverly Blvd. (one of the best Italian restaurants in Los Angeles) changed more than just La Terza's name. Minestraio has a new, reasonably priced menu with Antipasti ($7-12), Paste ($8-14), Secondi ($14-19.50), Dolci ($6).

We sat at the communal table in the bar area near the entrance, a good spot for people watching.
The star dish was the Eggplant Parmigiana ($7), what seemed like millions of very thin layers of eggplant, pasta, cheese and tomato sauce. This is definitely the dish to order, perfectly balanced and satisfying. Don't miss it.

Minestraio is open for lunch and dinner 11:00 am-10:00 pm Sunday through Thursday, 11:00 am-11:00 pm Friday & Saturday. They have the same menu throughout the day with the addition of Panini for lunch: Vegetarian ($7), Chicken Breast ($9), Turkey ($8). Valet Parking ($5.50 with validation) available via the hotel's entrance on Orlando.

The name of the restaurant sounds like Minestrone (also on the menu for $5). Curious about the meaning, I called Minestraio to get some information. The person answering the phone told me "It is a region in Italy where the Executive Chef comes from, and it is also the name of a pasta focused restaurant in that region."


Minestraio
8384 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 782-8384

Minestraio on Urbanspoon


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4 comments:

gourmetpigs said...

I love eggplant parmigiana. Will definitely give this one a try! Prices seem very reasonable. The problem with La Terza though was always the slow service. Hopefully Minestraio isn't just a change in the name and menu, but will have better service also.

Alli & Win said...

Burumun:
Service was average. Keep me posted. Cheers! Alli

Anonymous said...

Oh no, no, no.
Service is just as awful as it ever was...in fact worse!
Ate here yesterday. Pasta is good but I thought outrageously priced for what you get. Better load up on the bread! And the wine list is way over priced IMHO
I can't believe they closed & remodeled this place. What has changed? I swear its that same exact crappy carpet upstairs!!

Alli & Win said...

Yikes: So sad to hear that. The bar area is different, not fab. We sat there. Did you try the Eggplant? It was delish.