Avanti Italian Bistro & Bar-Closed

Avanti Italian Bistro & Bar
187 N Sierra Madre Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91107
626-817-9180

Avanti Italian Bistro & Bar is owned by the same owners as the now closed Avanti Cafe.  The story is that running two restaurants was just getting too much for the owners. Luckily they brought all the pizza over, but not the wood fire oven!

I went to Avanti Italian Bistro & Bar about 2-3 years ago, had the lasagna and thought it was pretty good.  Of course I didn't do a review.  So, I drove by the other day and figured I should do a review.

Avanti Italian Bistro & Bar is a huge restaurant on a corner lot.  As you enter there is a small bar area.  Then the huge dining room.  They also have a small patio.  At night the lighting is low and it makes for a nice quiet evening.

Calamari, $8 happy hour price at the bar, $12 regular menu price.  This was terrible!  Frozen calamari that was chewy as hell, bland, and just not worth even the happy hour price! 

Spaghetti marinara, $11.  Any Italian restaurant better do a good job of making sauce!  Avanti does a good job!  The marinara was well balance and full of flavor.  The pasta was angel hair and cooked perfectly! A good price for the quality and portion!

I sat at the bar and when the bartender finally came by, I got good service.  It just took awhile for the bartender, or anybody to get there.  Ok, I know it's a slow period.  But, this was an hour or so after the happy hour times had started.  Somebody should be at the bar. 

I may go back and try their pizza.  But, I love the wood fire pizza, and they didn't bring the wood fire ovens! 

The Capri-Updated Review

The Capri
4604 Eagle Rock Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
323-257-3225

The Capri was featured on the TV show Kitchen Nightmares.  A friend who watched that show wanted to to give The Capri a try.  I didn't search for the episode on You Tube until after I went and tried Capri.  The story goes twin brothers loved eating at The Capri, which opened in 1963, that they bough the restaurant about 20 years ago.  About six years ago, they were struggling and turned to Kitchen Nightmares for help.  They must be doing something right, because they are still in business six years after their episode aired.

The Capri has a lot of competition in Eagle Rock, the 800lb gorilla- Casa Bianca, the now closed Brownstone, and the made famous by Ellen, Big Mama and Papa's are all within two miles of The Capri and that's just in Eagle Rock.  A nice, narrow restaurant with wood accents, and concrete floor, but it was a bit dirty.  This place needed a good cleaning, from the condiment containers to the tablecloth  to the chairs and benches.

Tomato and basil spaghetti $9. The sauce was fine, good flavor, fresh ingredients, but the pasta was undercooked!  A few more minutes in the boiling water would have done wonders.  Not an outstanding dish, even if the pasta was cooked perfectly, but not bad and a good price.

Service is friendly but slow! You walk in and don't know if it is counter service or table service.  We walked to the counter and one of the twins told us to sit anywhere, even he saw us walking in!  Later during dinner, a couple walked in and he told them to sit anywhere!  Not a major deal, but come on, be consistent!  After we got seated it must have been five minutes before he came to our table and there were only four other people in the restaurant. The food came out quickly, but refills were slow.  The twins were really friendly and would talk about the restaurant.  But one of the twins was sitting down at a computer and surfing the net.  The other was always talking to customers, which is nice, but other customers need attention too.  He talked to us for about five minutes.  He thought it was slow because of the Thanksgiving weekend.  But, when we drove by Casa Bianca, there were ten people waiting outside!  There were about ten people in The Capri, including my friend and I, the entire time we were there!! 

After eating at The Capri, I found their episode of Kitchen Nightmares on You Tube.  In the show the twins are portrayed as lazy, that's true evidenced by the dirty, dingy restaurant, even after the show, and lacked cooking skills.  I can't compare how the food tasted before the episode, but the food was ok, except for the undercooked pasta, which happens but really shouldn't at an Italian restaurant.

Update November 16, 2016

Large cheese pizza.


I went back to Capri to try their happy hour pizza.  Menu price is $8 and while there is nothing on the menu that says the happy hour price is for dine in only, you can only get the price if you dine in!

This pizza was one of the most disgusting pizza I have ever had.  Give me pizza from a national chain anytime over this garbage!  This pizza is basically flat bread crust, some nasty tasting sauce and a good amount of cheese.  This pizza was bland, no flavor and just disgusting!

Service was lazy but friendly.  One of the twins was there and most of the time he was sitting at his table and surfing the net!  This guy is so damn lazy that after giving me the bill, he just stood there about 2 feet from my table and waited until I paid.  He couldn't walk back to his computer, about 5 feet away and come back!

While I say I would never go back to a restaurant because the food was mediocre or bad, I am willing to give them another try.  Usually I regret it and that holds true for Capri.  No way I'm going back to this terrible restaurant again!  

Monte Carlo Deli & Pinocchio's Restaurant

Monte Carlo Deli & Pinocchio's Restaurant
3103 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank
818-845-3516

A few blocks west of Handy Market BBQ, is Monte Carlo Deli & Pinocchio's Restaurant.  I've must have passed this place a million times but never noticed it, because the front part of the building is blocked by a huge overgrown tree.

Monte Carlo Deli & Pinocchio's Restaurant a huge place with the front of the building an Italian grocery store and the back part the restaurant and deli.  The deli is cafeteria style where the food is on steam or cold tables and you order what you want.

When ordering a sandwich to for dine in, the prices are higher because they include two salads. 

 Small meatball sandwich, $4.75.  WOW, these meats may have been the biggest I've ever had.  The meatballs were huge, moist, and full of flavor!  The meat sauce was kinda of bland, lacking the bold flavors I expect.  The bread did become mushy and fell apart from the sauce.  Interesting that the bread for the sandwiches come with seasame, but the bread for large sandwiches do not.  Overall I did like the meatball sandwich a lot.  I may try their spaghetti and meatballs if I go back.

Large Monte Carlo Combination sandwich, $5.75, mortadela, cotto salami and dry salami, provolone cheese, mayo, mustard, and tomatoes and onions in olive oil.

One thing I won't try again is their Monte Carlo Combination sandwich.  The meats were cheap low quality meats.  I mean you're an Italian deli, at least use a good brand of meats.  The mortadela tasted like baloney and the salami wasn't that much better.  The tomato and onion mixture was fresh, but I'm not buying an Italian cold cut sandwich for the veggies.

Service was good.  The lady was friendly and helpful.

I may go back to Monte Carlo and try the spaghetti and meatballs, because the meatball were awesome!!  But, the bland meat sauce prevents me from rushing back. 

Giamela's-Updated Review

Giamela's Submarine Sandwiches
3178 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Angeles
323-661-9444

Located just down the road from Griffith Park, Giamela's starts what I call Atwater Village's Bar Row.  Starting at Giamela's and going east on Los Feliz, you have Big Foot Lodge, The Roost-a dive bar, and The Griffin all within about a quarter mile.

I was meeting friends for a drink at Big Foot Lodge and didn't want to drink on an empty stomach.  I asked the bartender at Big Foot Lodge if they served food.  He said no, but I was welcomed to bring in any food I wanted.  Since Giamela's is a couple stores down, I went for it.

Giamela's is a small restaurant with seating for about 12 people.  But, it was very uncomfortable inside because there is no air conditioning inside the restaurant and on a hot day it is hot as hell inside, especially in the afternoon when the sun is blazing down onto the restaurant.  

Small Italian cold cut sandwich, $6.54, salami and mortadella, provolone cheese, mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes.  The best part of this sandwich was the sesame seed roll, which was soft and chewy and a good texture.  The meats were very generic and plain.  If people want to call Boar's Head the Oscar Meyer of cold cuts, fine, but Giamela's doesn't even use Boar's House but some off brand cold cuts.

Service was good.  The lady was nice and helpful. 

I would not go back to Giamela's again.  Somebody in our group ordered a slice of pizza and while I didn't taste the pizza, it didn't look appetizing at all.

Update October 31, 2016

I was at a get together in Atwater Village and they had pizza for everybody.  I tried it and thought the pizza was very good.  I asked the host where they got the pizza and they told me Giamela's.  So, I figured I should go back to Giamela's and give them a try.

Large vegetarian, $12.45.  Normally with mushrooms, onions, olives, bell peppers, I asked for no olives or bell peppers and jalapenos.

The crust is very good-firm holding the toppings well, sauce has a mild flavor, and toppings were plentiful, especially the cheese.  Pizza was pretty good but not as good as the pizza I had at the get together. Not sure why the inconsistency.

Service was TERRIBLE!  The young girl with major attitude should not be working in customer service.  Most pizza places I have been to are more than willing to substitute items on their vegetarian pizza.  Not Giamela's and girl with the attitude.  I was originally charge the price for three toppings, even though I deleted a topping from the regular vegetarian pizza.  When I brought it to her attention she said there are not substitutions.  I told her there is nothing on the menu that says no substitutions.  She cooped her attitude and said here's your dollar.  She should have told me that there are no substitutions when I placed my order, or she could have given good customer service and not worry about the money, especially when they are saving money by not including a topping!  Again I have substituted jalapenos for olives on a vegetarian pizza at many other places and got the vegetarian pizza price.  Now here is the kicker!!  Giamela's has three other locations and I called one of their Burbank locations and asked about substitutions on the vegetarian pizza.  She said it would be the same price as the vegetarian pizza!!

I would like the owner of a pizza place to answer this question; why not just say up to 4 veggie toppings for a vegetarian pizza?  Especially if the price of the toppings are the same!  Why not let the customer decide what kind of veggie pizza they want?

I will not go back to Giamela's again.  What terrible service! 

Pietro's

Pietro's
920 N Lake Ave
Pasadena
626-791-1826


In 2006 I went to The Fishery in Pasadena and noticed Pietro's a couple doors down. I had planned on going to Pietro's much sooner, but just didn't make it back. Recently a drive to Historic Christmas Tree Lane, reminded me that I need to try Pietro's sandwiches or pizza.

Pietro's is a fairly big sized restaurant with a few tables. The kitchen and counter where you order you food, is huge. My understanding is that Pietro's used to be owned by the Romo's, an Italian market next door, but they are now owned be two different people. Parking can be a bit tight as there is a very busy laundry mat a few doors down.

Hoagie, salami, mortadella, and salami cotto, $8.54.  The best thing about this hoagie was the great Italian roll with some sesame seeds on top.  The bread was light and very soft, with a nice chewy texture.  The bread was cut into three pieces just like  Mario's Italian Deli & Market.

The meats were fine, nothing great or outstanding about them.  But there was only a thin layer of each of the meats and the quality of the meats didn't justify the fairly high price of the sandwich.

Service was below average.  I walked to the counter to order and the guy working there was too busy doing whatever, to greet me.  I must have waited five minutes before he came to the counter and asked if I needed help.  He was nice and made the sandwich quickly.  But, he isn't blind.  All he had to do was greet me and say he would help me soon.  But, no greeting no acknowledgement of my waiting is very bad service and doesn't make a good impression for the restaurant.

I wouldn't go back to Pietro's again.  The sandwich was on the pricey side and I don't think the meats were that great to justify the high prices.  Plus the service needs improvement.

Mario's Italian Deli & Market

Mario's Italian Deli & Market
740 E Broadway
Glendale
818-242-4114

I reviewed Mario's Italian Deli & Market, over six years ago. While I did say I would not return, I changed my mind, because I wanted to try their Italian cold cut combo sandwich. It's weird, as recently as two years ago I had never had an Italian cold cut combo sandwich anywhere!! Then I got one at Capri Deli & Kitchen, and it's my usual sandwich at any Italian deli.
 
Mario's is both an Italian market and deli.  The deli counter is huge, it goes about the length of the store.  If you're ordering a sandwich make sure you take a number.  They have a good selection of soda including many imported sodas.  There are about 6-8 tables if you want to eat there.  A Glendale fixture since 1961, which was also the first year of the Los Angeles Angels. Real baseball fans know that the LA Angels played their first season at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. Unlike the drunk, idiot, loser Chicago Cubs fans, they also know that the first night game at Wrigley Field was in 1961, not 1988 when the Chicago Cubs continued their losing ways. Hey loser Cubs fans leave Bartman alone!! It wasn't his fault, it was your loser players who lost the game and series!! I love knowing the Cubs best chance of winning the World Series ended when the Houston Astros moved to the American League. If the, then Florida, now Miami Marlins had moved to the American League, the Back to the Future 2 prediction may have come true. Isn't it pathetic that the sorry loser Chicago Cubs fan base have to rely on a stupid movie for their World Series title hopes? There is no such thing as a curse!! It's about loser players, owners, managers, and especially fans!

The best play ever by any Chicago Cubs player; Rick Monday, who at the time was playing for the Chicago Cubs. He save the American Flag from being burned by two pinko gutless losers.:

Italian cold cut combo; $8.65, mortadella, salami, cappocollo, and ham.  Mario's still cuts the bread into three pieces.  The Italian roll is a bit too hard and chewy for my taste.  The triple cut is weird and unnecessary.  But, the meats are good quality meats.  The salami was had a very nice flavor.  The cappocollo was also very good.

Service was better than last time.  It still takes a bit long to make the sandwich, but overall the people were friendly and helpful.

The bread is just too tough and chewy for me to come back for a sandwich at Mario's.  But, the quality of the meat is very good.  I would come back and get a few pounds of each and make a sandwiches with better bread!

Soleto Trattoria and Pizza Bar

Soleto Trattoria and Pizza Bar
801 S Figueroa
Los Angeles
213-622-3255

If the address looks familiar it should, this used to be the terrible Zucca Ristorante, which is now closed!! Shocking!! Zucca was part of the Patina restaurant group; where the restaurants are overrated, overpriced, and serve average food !!

I came here with a friend who recently moved to LA and she picked this Soleto for Dine LA Restaurant Week. Dine LA offers three course meals for $26, $35, and $45 during restaurant week.

Salad first-tomato, cucumber, carrot, red onion, mushroom, and soleto vinaigrette. This was a light salad, with lots of fresh veggies, but the dressing was flavorless and didn't add much to the salad. Most vinaigrette dressings have a tangy flavor but this was bland and flavorless.

Grilled Salmon Scallopini-grilled mushrooms, arugula, confit potatoes, red pepper dill vinaigrette.

The was very good. The salmon was cooked perfectly!! Moist, flaky, tender fish. The red pepper dill vinaigrette added a nice flavor to the salmon but didn't overpower the salmon. The confit potatoes were cooked perfectly and just melted in your mouth.

I got the tiramisu for dessert, which was pretty good. Sorry but I forgot to take a picture of the tiramisu.

Service was average. The server was nice but a bit slow. It took forever for our drinks to arrive, it took forever to get refills on drinks, but it didn't take long for our bill to arrive. Though it did take long for him to come back and take the money.

Soleto has been open for about a month and I was surprised it was a bit slow on a Saturday night. Maybe things will get busier in the fall when events at Staples Center start happening on a regular basis. I liked how Soleto completely gutted and renovated the space, no signs it was the terrible Zucca. They will need to improve service a bit. But, I was impressed with the salmon entree and would order it again.

Pepz Pizza and Eatery

Pepz Pizza and Eatery
726 S State College Blvd
714-991-9900

I have known about Pepz Pizza and Eatery for a few years but never made an effort to give them a try, mostly because they are behind the Orange Curtain. But, I was in the mood for some broasted chicken and decided to give Pepz a try.

If the building for Pepz Pizza and Eatery looks familiar, it should, it used to be Zito's Pizza, which I reviewed in 2006.

Pepz Pizza and Eatery was started by two brothers and the name, Pepz, is a combination of pepperoni, pep, and pizza. There are six location, all behind the Orange Curtain. They have a pretty extensive menu, including pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads, and broasted chicken.

A friend had a coupon for eight pieces of chicken, 3/4 lb of potatoes, and a medium one topping pizza for $26.12 with tax. Not a bad deal. So we got a half pepperoni and half sausage pizza.



The menu price of a one topping pizza is $12.49 + $1.25 per topping. The This was one of the best sausage pizzas I've had in a long time. Full of flavor, with good quality meats and spices the sausage was the highlight of this pizza. The crust was pretty good, a medium thickness, crust that held up to the large amount of cheese and toppings on the pizza.

The cheese was piled high and was gooey, a bit greasy, but overall pretty good.

The pepperoni was standard pepperoni. Nothing outstanding or bad about it.




Regular price for broasted chicken with 3/4 lb. of potatoes is $14.49. The chicken, I only had the breast piece, was dry on the inside. But, the skin was much different than skin from broasted chicken I've had before. It tasted more like regular deep fried chicken. I was looking forward to broasted chicken but I got either a bad example or regular fried chicken.

Service is good. The people there are nice and friendly.

I would go back to Pepz Pizza and Eatery for the sausage pizza, but I wouldn't order broasted chicken again.

Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery

Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery
1517 Lincoln Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 395-8279

After I reached my storage limit on The New Diner, I decided to start The New Diner 2. Any fellow bloggers please change your link to direct readers to The New Diner 2.

It figures, the first review of The New Diner 2 had to be on a westside restaurant. Yes, the hate for the pretentious jerk people of the westside will continue from The New Diner to The New Diner 2.

Bay Cities has been on my list of places to try. But, with high gas prices, thanks worthless Obama, and just my general contempt for the westside, I haven't made any real effort to go.

But, a beautiful Sunday in March and I'm in Santa Monica and finally make it to Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery.



I got the famous Godmother,large size with mortadella, cappacola, genoa salami, ham, prosciutto, provolone, $8.35. WOW, wow, this was an awesome sandwich. The meats, they use Boar's Head meats, was such good quality and freshness. There were layers and layers of good quality meats. But, I think what makes this such a great sandwich is the freshly baked Italian rolls. That toasted crust, just adds so much to the sandwich. A great great sandwich.

Service is good. But, expect a long wait!! First, make sure you take a number. Then be patient. I must have waited 30 minutes in line before my number was called. A lady was telling me the amount of people there would be considered a slow period. WOW, but I'm not surprised.

What I was surprised was their pricing for condiments. A large costs $8.15. A large with the works-mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, dressing, is $8.80. But, if you wanted a "custom" made sandwich with condiments you choose, it's 10 cents per condiment, with mayo and mustard free. So my lettuce and tomatoes added 20 cents to bill. Come on, are delis and sandwich shops going to nickel and dime people that much?? Ok, I saved money not buying the works, but to add a dime here and there, stupid.

Overall, I enjoyed my sandwich and experience at Bay Cities. While I don't like their nickel and dime condiment pricing policy, the sandwich is great, and I'll be back. Though it maybe awhile, since I my level of tolerance for pretentious, jerk people has been reached!!