Cucina Alessa

Cucina Alessa in Huntington Beach is an authentic Italian restaurant.

I first came here January 2011 for my friend's birthday. Well last night I went for my friend's engagement dinner party. I am really happy for him. He is a really nice genuine guy and the girl he proposed to is super nice too. I know because she got me a Hello Kitty mug on my birthday and I had only ever met her three times and she didn't have to at all.

The food is really good as in not too cheezy or anything, though they will go around asking if you would like more cheese.

Last time I got the meatballs on the side. They were tasty. This time I got the Tortellini Carne, which is braised ribs stuffed pasta with walnut sauce on top. It was very yummy. I tried to share it with my friend but she did not like it as much because she did not like mushrooms; apparently the pasta is also stuffed with mushrooms. Truffles perhaps. Well, I loved it! I have had something similar at other places and there is a wierd aftertaste with the meat, like it had just been defrosted or something like that. So I was quite pleased with the dish.

My friend loved the fried calamari so we had started off with that for appetizers. I just thought that was ok, as it wasn't fried so that it was crunchy, but it was still tasty, topped generously with green onions and it tasted fresh.

The guests to my right had pizza; and the pizza is thin crust and it looked yummy. Well my friend sitting next to me got a salad, but it was not the type of traditional salad with lettuce. There were slices of tomato and a piece of pizza crust...she thought they made a mistake, but they said it was the salad.

And for desert, i got the tiramisu. I think I should have just stuck with my normal creme brulee. I don't like the tiramisu only because I'm not a huge fan of cream. It looked like a scoop of ice cream, but it was cream with layers of the sponge cake in between. And I'm not that fond of coffee either, to I was not too crazy about the taste. But I think for being tiramisu, it was pretty good, not super sweet or anything. Other people liked it anyway. My friend got the ice cream with chocolate lava cake. I liked that one, though the cake was a bit rich, but I liked the texture, a bit gritty, it was quite lovely.

I am really happy for my friend. They make a really good couple, even though they have just been dating for barely 2 years. I guess when you know, you really know! You don't want it to go over that long, there would just be no point in the relationship otherwise. I am really happy for him, he has a great job he's been with for over 5 years; he just bought a condo, he has his luxury car, and now he's got his girl! Everything seems to be in place, like a complete puzzle.

A restaurant with superb food means you do need to make reservations in advance. The place gets very packed.

Of course, what makes a meal great are the great people you dine with! Enjoy the food with good dialogue and special friends!

Pietro's Italian Restaurant

I stopped by Pietro's on my way home from work. The place is more like a cafe as it is relatively small, though probably better for take outs. There were a few people eating there, mostly adults and their little kids. I got a Ravioli with Meat Sauce.

The customer service is rather poor. I entered to see 2 men behind the counter. They appeared to be busy preparing food, but they could have at least acknowledged my presence and I know they saw me when I walked in. One glanced at me kind of with an annoyed expression. I waited around for about 5 minutes looking at the menu and wondering where to go next if I did leave. The other man asked if I was ready to order and he said it would be just a few minutes to prepare. While I waited, I went next door to the Italian market to see what goods there were. It stank like rotten meat! I couldn't believe there were people shopping inside! I was there less than 15 seconds before I tried as calmly as I could to walk right back out.

The nice thing about Pietro's is that there are chairs placed right next to the door so one can sit and wait after ordering and once the order is ready, one can dash out quickly.

The pasta came with salad and a piece of bread. I was asked what dressing I wanted and I said none. The guy asked if I had my own dressing at home. No...I just don't like dressing because I don't like vinegar which is usually in most dressings.

The pasta was ok. Each ravioli was a pretty decent size with generous amounts of meat stuffed inside. There were approximately 8 pieces. The sauce was ok and I definitely appreciated how the dish was not drenched in cheese. You may order a meat ravioli in some restaurants but inside would predominantly be cheese and the meat would be in the form of bits and pieces found inside the sauce like an Easter egg hunt, which I find rather frustrating.

The salad was fresh; nice green leafy veggies and diced tomatoes.

The bread on the other hand was merely a chunk of a cold weight. It would have been nice if they had offered butter. But I had my own and it tasted very yummy after decorating the cold weight with buttery goodness.

Overall the Ravioli dinner was decent. On the other hand, being that the location of the place is next to a stinky market with a rather tiny parking lot and the demeanor of the staff was as cold as the bread and salad they serve, I would not return to this place, especially considering that just for a few dollars more, and 2 1/2 miles away, I could get a far better pasta cooked with care at Wild Thyme's presented with a warm smile which is priceless.

Maggiano's

After a pleasant hike at Crystal Cove National Park, we headed to Maggiano's for an early dinner at about 4pm.

They served us fresh hot sliced herby bread with a side dish of olive oil & vinegar. Not being a fan of the oil & vinegar I requested butter and they came out with a dish of sliced butter which was very good, but hard because it must have come fresh from the fridge but good.

I had the Creamy Chicken Potato soup to start off with. It was soo good. A shame there were no noodles instead of the potato within as that would surely have soothed the soul. It was really creamy, not fake creamy like with starch.

Two hungry hikers ordered the 4 cheese Ravioli. Because that was part of some special pasta category or some others, they were each offered an extra order of pasta to take home!


Well, I shared a Mushroom Ravioli. It was pretty hearty.
Typical restaurants usually only offer 4 pieces; this plate had 8! The mushrooms were like meaty; reminds me of UK Quorn, a popular meat substitute for vegetarians, made of fungus. Mmmm...fungus. My only complaint would be I don't like my pasta swimming in a sea of cheese as pictured. I like the combination of pasta and cheese to be just right.


And finally the moment everyone waits for- desert! One person ordered the Tiramisu. It looks very delicate.


But as usual, I was more curious about the creme brulee. It was a huge serving, but it did not affect the quality. Perfect texture with the burnt sugar on top and pleasant creaminess on the inside, flavorful but not overpowering vanilla, topped with fresh berries and a sprig of mint. An excellent way to end the afternoon.


On the other hand, service could have been better. Our waiter had a habit of chatting too much with the other waiters hidden along the hallways, keeping us waiting, even when we were ready.

Zelo Pizza

For a unique pizza experience, go to Zelo Pizza where their pizza base is made from cornmeal. The corn pizza is topped with roasted red peppers and of course corn. There is also supposed to be sausage, but I couldn't taste it. Mostly I tasted mozzarella cheese. They put too much mozzarella. This is my second time at this place. My dining partner did not appreciate the lack of marinara sauce.

The place does not offer ketchup. I give it extra points as a non-ketchup lover. Instead it has the Chinese rooster chili sauce and the Mexican Hot Sauce- Tapatio.



The first time I also got the wild mushroom pizza which was very tasty. It is also one of the few places to have Orangina and Pelligrino if one is into those European drinks instead of American sodas.

I don't know what they did to the corn pizza or not did, but it tasted rather bland this second time around. Of course, the first time is always the best. It has a fairly thick crust, but not doughy. The price is a bit on the high side, but it is a different type of pizza and the place is family owned, not a chain restaurant. I'm all for supporting your local business. For two people, there were still 2 slices leftover.

I do recommend it as something different to try. I would like to try their pastas next time. They don't have a wide variety of desserts. Just the homemade Zucotta made from layered ladyfingers.

It is a quaint place; parking could be a problem. There is some parking in the back, but barely any. Street parking may be the best way to go, although some idiot honked us when it was pretty clear we were trying to park.

Osteria Romantica

I went down to visit my Rice University buddy down in San Diego. It's been about a year since we caught up with each other. He invited me to dinner at the Osteria Romantica, carefully chosen by his fellow post docs.

2151 Avenida de la Playa
La Jolla, CA 92037
Ph/Fx: +1 858 551 1221

They made reservations, so we got seated very quickly. Right away, the waiter, a lithe fellow with a pleasant Italian accent, asked if we were ready to order, but there was one more person we were waiting for. Time passed and again we were asked what was our gustatory pleasure, but we were still waiting for the missing postdoc. Alas, it turned out he was not coming and the waiter was more than happy to take our orders whenever we were ready. Some places pressure you to order as soon as you are seated to get their jobs out of the way.

Everyone was happy with their orders. In fact, there began a swapping tasting match with the dishes between two post docs, one who had ordered the linguine mare and fond of seafood.

One post doc from Finland ordered some eggplant dish that was heavily covered in tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. We were then asked if we would like more cheese.

I had ordered the salmon ravioli which sat on a bed of asparagus and delicately topped with black caviar. I had never seen pasta so gorgeous. It passes the aesthetic appeal test. And now for the taste test- there was something somewhat disagreeable to my palette; it might have either been too salmon-y or maybe it was the bitterness of the asparagus. I do appreciate the fact that it was not too cheese-y like many Italian restaurants.

salmon ravioli topped with black caviar

After we ate our meals...that is most of us, we were asked if we would like some coffee. And a few moments later asked if we needed anything else, more coffee perhaps. The post doc that was still eating had said he hadn't managed to start on his coffee, which had in fact cooled, as he was still eating and finishing up his glass of wine, and the waiter insisted on getting him another hot cup.

One of the post docs, the one from Spain, began to choke...I don't know if it was the food or if she was overcoming an illness, but the waiter was kind enough to bring some honey with water without ice. She did, however, complain that the water was not "room temperature" enough as in it was still too cold, even without the ice.

The staff was highly attentive, but not in the way that they are constantly in your face. You feel that you are being well cared for and that your comfort and satisfaction is top priority. The service and ambiance of the restaurant was excellent as was the food; conversations at the table were intriguing with topics such as getting lost hiking in the San Joaquin mountains, learning colorful Spanish words, and eating reindeer meet in Finland. Of course, meals are only as good as the company, which was exceptional.