Entrées aren’t many at Michael’s, but that provides a fine focus that the restaurant usually puts to good use. A clear example is the branzino con zucchine al vino bianco (sautéed Mediterranean sea bass with zucchini, fingerling potatoes, cherry tomatoes, Gaeta olives and white wine). The fish is cooked perfectly, completely tender to even the [...]

Michael’s on Naples storms the island

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
At first, the servers at Michael’s on Naples seem stuck together, waiting in the back of the place in a single khaki clump. It’s not until the night wears on that the staff is pulled apart, each member running routes with baskets of bread and quartinos of [...]

Space has always been an issue for Angelo’s Italian Deli, a cramped place carved out of one of those claustrophobic Belmont Shore storefronts. But because of that lack of square footage, Angelo’s has always made good use of its close quarters—an economy of stocking that saw all of its products (imported oils, wines, spreads and [...]

Down deep on Mangia-Mangia’s menu is the restaurant’s Sicilian training, represented best by its bucatini. Bucatini is long, spaghetti-like pasta, the difference between the two being that bucatini noodles are actually tubes, thin little cylinders that fatten up to the size of pipe cleaners. But the bucatini is just an accent here—the dish belongs to [...]

Mangia-Mangia says hello from Sicily

PHOTO by RICK POON
There isn’t much to show for Mediterranean tastes these days—disposable houses sewn up in the sloppiest villa-like style, restaurants reduced to nothing but plates of the blandest red sauce. Mediterranean flavors and style have been co-opted, cut up and retouched until the influence is sometimes unrecognizable.
It’s because of [...]

La Parolaccia’s expansion means you now have even more reasons to visit

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Bread sticks at Ecco’s. Minestrone at Brogino’s. House salad (and suckers!) at Domenico’s. Tequila chicken at Pasta al Dente. If you were to trace my years growing up in Long Beach like a progressive dinner through some of the city’s best—and, [...]

Even after expanding into what used to be Toto’s Revenge, La Parolaccia maintains the simple look and feel of the little Italian place up the street. If you’re in the mood for something simple and light, there’s spaghetti con gamberi e asaparagi (Angel hair with bite-sized sauteed shrimp, fresh tomatoes and just-right asparagus, $13.75) or [...]

The first half of Dean’s menu—the Italian side—is probably the biggest draw. Full of the standards—pastas, sandwiches, lasagnas, pizzas—Dean’s Italian food doesn’t offer any surprises but pleases with its low-priced, respectable offerings. The other half of Dean’s menu—the Thai portion—is also packed with staples. From pad Thai to larb, Dean’s Thai offerings follow the same [...]

Learn Italian at Angelo’s Deli

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
It’s unfair, I know, but lately I’ve found myself at an impasse with Italian food, frustrated by the $15 price tags and sagging quality at some of my favorite red-sauce restaurants. The way I see it, I’m better off rolling my own pasta dough, feeding it through a [...]