Cafe 322 * * * * $$

Who? Themos, Dora, Costas, Jun
Where? Sierra Madre
How much? $25

This is a different place. Depending on the night, they may feature jazz, blues, or tenors night! There is live music and most of the tables are very close to the stage so there is no microphone needed. The food is not great but it is very cheap considering what they offer. It mostly consists of italian dishes like pizza, pastas, and some seafood here and there. The environment is very friendly and the waiters polite. You wouldn't expect to find such a place almost in the middle of nowhere! The shows start usually at 7:30 but you may want to go there a bit earlier too get a nice table.

Ciao Trattoria + + + + $ $

Who? Steier Group
Where? Fig and 7th

Light, refreshing Italian food in the heart of downtown. Nice, high interiors.

Bistango + + $

Who? Steve and Andrew
Where? Vermont and 29th

Cheap, good Italian food. Bread is decent, average portions. Cozy dining environment complete with a 42" plasma for sports. Penne Pollo is quite driedtomatoey and filling. A welcome changeup from Pasta Roma.

DiVino + + + + $$

Who? Siao, Tim, Allan, Kristy, Kenny, Marc, Andrew, Jo, Jenn x2, Nam, Howie, Sushu
Where? Brentwood, Barrington Court

Really nice looking Italian restaurant, romantic ambience and with high ceilings. Excellent wine selection - the Ripassa Valpolicella 2003 was recommended and it didn't disappoint. Bread is average. The little cheese ball appetizer was nice. Very well run establishment - waters topped off, wine glasses filled, meals all arrive at the same time. I had the gnocchi with chicken ragu which was extrememely good. Portions are a bit on the smaller side but ample. Reservations required.

Pasta Roma ** / + + $

Who? All kinds of USC people, mostly Steve and Andrew
Where? Fig and 30

Cheap food for USC students! Show your USC card and get 20%(?) off your entree. Portions are a great size and quite tasty (except the Ravioli which is small, and you only get two (2) meatballs with the spaghetti and meatballs). Throw on some chilli flakes and some grated Parmesan and eat to your heart's content! Add to your meal an unlimited supply of garlic rolls and olive oil/balsamic vinegar. And you can understand why Pasta Roma is now officially the dining location of choice for the "Andrew and Steve Workout Team". The "best" cheap place around USC.

Angeli Caffe + + + + $$

Where? Melrose and Poinsetta
Who? Steve, Andrew and Adam aka. Los Tres Amigos

Nice looking place, very modern, and compact. Bread is very good (and compact too, incidentally). Penne special with sausage and baby spinach was excellent. Cool looking gnocchi. How was it Adam? Large choice of wines and desserts. Waiter was sometimes unintelligible. Parking is a major problem - expensive valet.

Puran's + + + $ $ $

Who? Steve, Adam, Andrew
Where? Hillhurst, just south of Ambrose

Great place for a threesome guy date - nice ambience, quiet and candlelit. All the food is organic. Very good service and nice wine. Peppercorn lamb is tasty but expensive. Caprese is good starter. I like the little toasty appetizer breads. Creme brulee is trop brulee but, as Steve says, it's sweet, creamy and white - who can resist?

Il Capricio on Vermont * * * * $$

Who? Themos, Dimitri
Where? Opposite of Dresden, Hollywood
How much? $20
Zagat: * * * *, $27

That was the first place we tried following the Zagat guide only. Initially it looks like a hole in the wall, the decor is not the best but the food is absolutely first class. These guys have the best bread I've tried so far in LA, plus very fresh pastas. I don't need much more than that :-)

Maggiano's Little Italy * * * * $$

Who? Themos, Erdem, Bing, Xiaodong
Where? 16th Street Mall, Denver, CO (Also at the Grove in LA)
How much? $15
Zagat: * * *, $27

The best thing in italian restaurants is the beggining: the bread and oil (or combinations and variations of them). Maggiano's has low (extremely low!) lit atmosphere, Sinatra music (or similar) and very friendly service. After Xiaodong mistakingly ordered and ate the $27 filet mignion, he pointed out that he has ordered the $21 10oz one although they brought him the 16oz one. They immediately charged him for the 10oz filet. Overall the portions were very generous, not suited for asians :-)

Bravo Pizzeria * * $

Who? Themos, Panos, Sotiris, Xouros, Dafni
Where? Main Street, Santa Monica
How much? $3
Zagat: * * *, $21

This Zagat-rated place has really great pizza, with fresh ingedients and big selections. However I cannot place more than 2 stars because 1) It's not italian, but NY style instead 2) It's not a restaurant, but rather a on-the-go and/or delivery place. The huge plus is that they stay up very late (=after midnight) so it's an excellent option if you are hungry and happen to be around.

Buca di Beppo * * * * * / + + + + + $$

Who? Fabien, Siao, Andrew, A. Lok, MichelleP, Shusan, Howz, Erika, Michellios
Where? Citywalk
Who? Themos, Stayros, CostasZ
Where? Santa Monica
How much? $20
Zagat: 15, $22

This place is awesome. Everything we got was far beyond your average italian restaurant, the decorations are awesome, and also this place allows for a lot of people. I think it is better than C&O Trattoria, because it is not semi-authentic: they are a chain that kept their quality of recipes high and they admit it. The small portion of pasta challenged my capabilities, but at the end was happy:-)

Louise's Trattoria * * * * $$

Who? Demetri, Themos
Where? Studio City
How much? $17
Zagat: * * *, $23
Again, I would grade this place with 3.5 stars rather than 3. I think that was the first restaurant that I've been here that is not at ground level! The food is excellent, the service is flawless (they kept refilling our drinks automatically), and the enviroment is quiet and very relaxing, with a view at the Studio City plaza. In studio city the people were not students or youngsters: there were families, colleagues, couples. Plus a realistically cute waitress.

Trattoria Farfalla + + + $$

Who? Wan, Andrew, Steve, Adam

The Old Spaghetti Factory * * * / + + + $

Who? Andrew, Rajay and Themo
Zagat: * *, $17

Themo's Take: This one of the best choices for a $10 sit down restaurant. The food is decent for the price, and the enviroment looks interesting as a fake-retro attempt. Don't forget to try the greek cheese Mizithra Spaghetti, a dish you won't forget for a long time.

Andrew's Take: It gets an extra star from me because I like the decor... and it made Rajay puke. Nice place to take a date.

MIcelie's * * * * * $$

Who? Themos, Roubos
Where? Hollywood
Zagat: * * *, $23

Located in Hollywood, this is the oldest Italian restaurant in Los Angeles - and it's really good. Everything is so anti-American: terrible service, narrow tables, great food. They have booths carved in the wood and bottles of wine hanging from the ceiling, plus live piano music. Most of the stuff cost $10-$15. Various celebrities have eaten there, ranging from JFK to the Beatles. I may have given it a 5th star if the service was better.

C&O Trattoria * * * * * / + + + + +

Andrew's take:Located at Venice pier, this beautiful patio-garden restaurant boasts a super-busy, fun and loud atmosphere. Right from the get-go, they gouge you with little bread buns of garlic butter covered goodness. When the main meal comes, you wonder if there is any pasta left in Italy because the portions are large enough to feed entire armies! I know I say this all the time but I really mean it this time - all five of us took home boxes! And that was the "normal" size dish. Apparently there's also "gargantuan" (I'm afraid to ask). I had the Calamari and the Chicken Pepperonata which was quite good, although a bit too stewed for my liking (I still have a whole chicken breast left). However, the prices are excellent for the amount and quality of food you get ($8-11/entree). In between bites of your meal, you can indulge in the singing of "That's Amore", an event that stops the entire waitstaff for a few minutes as they parade around the room, clinking everyone's glasses, to the waltzy tune. Unfortunately, I didn't have an opportunity to try the self-serve Shianti deposited in the large barrels around the restaurant. But I have to say, any place that has crayons where you can draw on the table is tops in my books. Park on the beach ($3), and take a stroll on the pier/beach after. You'll need it. Thumbs up.

Themo's take: Good pasta, good value for money, good location, good atmosphere, good prices: This place has a little bit of everything. I had 3 garlic breads outside while waiting, 6 more after we sat down and while waiting for the main meal, 4 while eating, and 7 more for dessert. After eating these 20 garlic breads I could only eat half of the gargantuan pasta full of meat sauce. The normal sized dishes are pretty big but I wouldn't call them huge, anyone who didn't have 2 meals before on the same day and is not skinny asian can handle them.

Who? Andrew, Chris+MichelleY, Su-chizzle, Howie

Olive Garden + + +

An excellent place to have a nice sit-down meal. Be it a dinner date, a business dinner, or in my case a recruiting dinner - all fit well in this more "upscale" Italian restaurant chain. The flavours are fresh, light and simple. And the presentation style makes it feel like home. There is one tucked away in beautiful Westwood. Thumbs up.

Who? Andrew, Steve, new PhD student+girlfriend

Pomodoro Italian Cuisine * */ +

Who? Andrew, Themo, Ravi, Rajay
Zagat: * * *, $19

Themos' Take: Decent quality for price Italian chain restaurants - I tried the $6.95 spaghetti and it was pretty good. Niam niam.

Andrew's Take: The quality is very average and the portions are a little on the lean side. The nice setting is not enough for me to recommend this place. Thumbs down.