Bottega Louie: dined, drooled and now deaf.

Lauded by some as a one of the better new casual Italian restaurants in LA, I found myself agreeing with those “some.”

Not for the romantic nor the intimate, Bottega Louie is a veritable uproar of conversational eating where the noise level bounce-back from the stark white warehouse-style walls is almost louder than the food. The French moldings and white marble floors do little to ease the pain. But alas, the restaurant saves itself with its surprising and affordable Italian lunch and dinner menus.

Walking in, you’re greeted with smiles and a display of pastries fit to feed even the snobbiest of the LAPD. The menu doesn’t disappoint either. Apparently from the 600+ Italian recipes juggled by the kitchen staff (and thankfully not memorized), you’ll be able to pick from some classic favorites for the timid folks or some “new Italian” for the loud and outspoken.

In the interest of keeping this blog from this nobody somewhat interesting and also to prevent boring myself to death as well, I opted for the Portabella Fries to start. For you mushroom and fried fat lovers out there, this appetizer combines the best of both worlds. Take slices of Portabella mushrooms shaped like steak fries, batter them and fry them to golden brown perfection and provide a special sauce worthy of its own spot on the menu and you’ll have a winner. Scrumptious.

Portabella Fries

After that, I selected the Trenne pasta entrée dish thinking how it could it possibly compete with these orgasmic fries? Another winner, Bottega Louie has created a twist on traditional penne pasta with meat sauce. Individual pieces of penne are fried to a soft crisp and placed on a bed of Braised prime rib-eye with Tuscan black kale. The crunch of the pasta with the hearty rib-eye meat balances out to create a new and delicious take on eating pasta al dente. ..really al dente.

Trenne Pasta

I wouldn’t come here expecting food like how Mom used to make (unless Mom knew how to bust out 600+ recipes), but expect some pleasant surprises.

P.S.
Bring earplugs and save the dinner conversation until after dinner. If you're willing to bring a date, ask your date to forgive you in advance.

http://www.bottegalouie.com/