Da Pasquale UPDATE - Beverly Hills

Back again. And a lot sooner than I thought. But someone says "birthday party", and I come running.

Why mess with a good thing? Birthday boy loves Da Pasquale, and I'm not about to argue. We get the Proscuitto San Daniele again because it's too good not to, and the burrata is still some of the best I've had. 

The quality of the service is less consistent tonight, as our server tries to give away my appetizer and my wine multiple times, but the quality of the food can always be counted upon. The Carpaccio di Manzo is new for me, and it's awesome. A tender filet mignon is sliced paper-thin, and it finishes savory and rich as it melts in your mouth. 

I wasn't feeling the heavier meats after the apps so we clink glasses over a Pappardelle con Asparagi e Pollo. The ribbon pasta is at the usual level of perfect, and al dente makes a good contrast with cooked-but-still-crisp asparagus spears and a softer, neutral chicken. I wouldn't call the sauce light pink, but it's an apt description for its much lighter, not-so-tart tomato base. Not my favorite, but still well-made. 

The Spaghetti alla Pescatora is a an ocean on a plate. The clams are briny, the mussels are soft, and the shrimp are tender. There's a small spicy kick that brings out the freshness of the tomato sauce, and it flatter the seafoam saltiness that permeates the dish.

The birthday boy gave me his ice cream for dessert. Before you give me that what-kind-of-person-eats-the-birthday-boy's-ice-cream look, he can't have dairy. And anyway, that light raspberry sauce is worth some scorn. 

It's still good. And I still like it. That's really all that matters. What also matters is that Da Pasquale is full of genuinely good people cooking and serving genuinely good food. Da Pasquale, don't ever change!

Da Pasquale - Beverly Hills

I love Italian, but when I heard that Da Pasquale was in Beverly Hills, I had serious second thoughts. The traffic is a nightmare, a wondrous weave of one-way streets preceded by a freeway that doubles as a parking lot. 

It takes a lot for me to even consider a trip in that direction, but Da Pasquale is WORTH IT.

Everything in Beverly Hills screams extravagance, and considering the prices, everything sure does feel like a luxury. Da Pasquale isn't cheap, but there's real value in their vittles, a genuine quality to the ingredients that makes the import fees and authenticity cost so WORTH IT. 

Take the Proscuitto San Daniele, for example. Those thin, salty-pink slices finish sweet, silky against a backdrop of soft-yet-bold burrata. The cream tastes like Tuscan sunshine, cold rays on a crisp bed of bitter baby arugula.

The Mezze Maniche alla Posillipo is their perfect pasta, floppy kaleidoscope-tubes spreading a colorful blend of spicy tomato, al dente sea-legs of dense crab and tender shrimp.

A river engulfs an unsuspecting Osso Bucco, a muddy gravy of peas and mushrooms in a hearty stew.

The spinach and potatoes come as a side, lest they drown.

The Lemon Sorbet comes not a moment too soon. Like much of Da Pasquale, this tangy, tart, feather-light delight doesn't forget where it came from. Sitting pretty in its original rind, it does double duty as a palate cleanser and a wake-up call for the osso-bucco coma.

The Panna Cotta is right on. A clean, blank slate dotted with a bright berry sauce, it finishes creamy and sweet, an exquisite texture as smooth as satin.

The Affogato al Caffe will keep me up all night. A potent shot of espresso will make even the most tired of hair stand on end, as it engulfs a scoop of a textbook gelato.

There's so much glitz and glamour in Beverly Hills; it's hard to tell what's real. Da Pasquale may be the only restaurants that continues to keep it real, and it makes them the only place I'll go. The ambiance is the kind of genuine warmth that usually gets lost under the harsh city lights, an old-school charm commonly dwarfed by the surrounding skyscraper. Yet Da Pasquale has it all: a cozy dining room as familiar as chianti, a server who learned her Italian before her English yet somehow masters both, and the most amazing thing of all, a chef who still cooks all her food. Walk by the kitchen and catch a glimpse of Anna, so engrossed in making every meal as perfect as the last that she may not look up all night. This is why Da Pasquale stands strong, and I hope it always stays like this.