LA Trip June2011 - Fritto Misto

The last night in LA we went to dinner with some friends. I looked up a few different options and decided on Fritto Misto in Hermosa Beach. I had actually looked at going to the Santa Monica location last time we were in LA. They sell wine yet they are also BYOB. You just pay $2 per person for corking fee. That's a pretty good deal! Plus the reviews online were great so I was sold!

FRITTO MISTO
316 Pier Ave.
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
(310) 318-6098
http://www.usmenuguide.com/frittomisto.html
Price: $$

Just FYI...they only take reservations for parties 8 or more. It's not a very big place either. Also, parking can be a pain so I would get there ahead of time.

We were immediately seated when we got there. And our waitress was super friendly. Shoutout to Holly! (I normally don't mention any names...but she was great!) She took our drink orders and went to go get an ice bucket for one of our wines.

We chatted and browsed the menu. There were so many choices that looked good. Then the Holly returned to present the specials of the day. They all sounded soo good.

After we made our orders, we got some bread and butter. The bread was pretty good. Nice crispy crust and soft center. It was warm too!

I got the Caesar Salad (Individual Sized) $4.50~ Even though it was individual sized, it was pretty massive! Definitely enough for 2 people to share as a starter. It was really fresh with just a hint of dressing which I like. I hate it when salad is drowning in dressing.

I finally decided on the Special: Pumpkin Ravioli (in Sage cream sauce with sundried tomatoes and caramelized onions) $14~ It was originally with another type of sauce but since I had asked Holly about the Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage cream sauce earlier, she recommended that I take the Sage cream sauce from that dish and put it on the Pumpkin Ravioli. What a great suggestion! It was amazing! Probably the best ravioli I've had in a longgg time. Usually I don't order ravioli because the portions are small and the filling is nonexistent. This was a hefty dish and tons of pumpkin puree in the raviolis. The pasta was cooked al dente with the soft and sweet pumpkin in the middle. The cream sauce was awesome and the caramelized onions and sundried tomatoes just elevated all the flavors. DELICIOUS!! I was also super impressed that Holly was able to take my questions and understand what I liked and made the proper suggestions. :)

One friend ordered Cajun Seared Chicken Pasta (spicy chicken tenders, garlic cream, tossed with red bell pepper fettuccini, garnished with green onions) $10.50~ She also added Artichoke Hearts, mushrooms, and something else for $4.25~ It was also a massive plate of food. The pastas were all made in house and were cooked perfectly. Tons of different ingredients in there and everything worked together well. The cream sauce was tasty!

Another friend got the Pasta Pancetta (Italian bacon, sundried tomatoes, caramelized onions, garlic cream, tossed with tomato fettucini) $12~ Added mushrooms for $2.25~ I was also looking at this one. I love pancetta and it was great in this dish. It was quite similar to the Cajun Chicken pasta since it had the same garlic cream sauce, but the pancetta really made it that much better.

My bf ordered Artichoke Shrimp and Mascarpone Cheese Gnocchi (gnocchi stuffed with an artichoke/macarpone pate tossed with shrimp in chardonnay lemon sage cream) $14.50~ This was the smallest portion of the bunch. But gnocchi is usually kinda heavy so it was definitely enough. The gnocchi was a little soft for my preference but the shrimp was cooked perfectly and the flavors were all great.

Lastly, another guy ordered the Special: Short Rib Ravioli $16~ It was also tons of ravioli. I really liked the sauce...it had a hint of spicy in it. And the raviolis were filled with plenty of short ribs. YUM. I still liked my Pumpkin Raviolis better tho. hehe.

We sat around and chatted after dinner and they never came to rush us. At one point they asked if they could move us to another table because they needed our table for a large party. We would've done it anyways, but they offered to throw in a free dessert. Sweeet!! :)

We ordered a few things to share...

Flourless Chocolate Cake (rich, dark and dense with whipped cream) $4.50~ This was dense and rich and chocolatey. Warm and gooey, I wished it came with a scoop of ice cream. hehe. YUM.

Creme Brulee (silky custard with caramelized sugar topping) $4.50~ I usually don't order creme brulee because I find it kind of generic... but this was really good. It was my favorite dessert of the night and it doesn't even have any chocolate!!! hehe. Creamy with a great sugar crust on top and it wasn't overly sweet.

Baby Misu (lady fingers soaked in espresso, layered with cocoa and mascarpone cheese) $4~ They have 2 different sizes of Tiramisu so we got the smaller one. It was pretty good, light and fluffy.

They ended up giving us 2 desserts for free. YAY! :) And before Holly left for the night she came over to chat with us. She actually said the Hermosa Beach location is much more relaxed than the Santa Monica location. I think the Santa Monica location is smaller and always packed so they have to keep turning over the tables. I'm glad I picked the right location too! hehe.

It was a fantastic dinner. I'm really glad I found this place. I would really like to go back and visit Fritto Misto as well as the Hermosa Beach area next time I'm in LA. It's a really cool area with a nice vibe. Plus there are lots more on the menu for me to taste!! hehe.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~