[Los Angemes] [American] Campanile

Campanile
624 S La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 938-1447
http://www.campanilerestaurant.com

A few years ago, sister and I had lunch at Campanile.  We thought the restaurant was beautiful.  But the food was pricey and disappointing.  We decided to have our Valentine's dinner at Campanile simply because of the price.  5 course dinner with champagne for $45 per person.  Now that was a bargain, and worth to give Campanile another try.  I was glad we did.  We had an "almost" perfect Valentine's dinner.



We arrived a bit earlier than our 7:15pm reservation to have a drink at the bar.  The high chair was slippery (or maybe because of my silk dress?) and I "slipped right out of the chair" (yup!) when I first tried to sit on it.  Yes, I felt stupid, and I wasn't even drunk, yet.



Campanile Cosmopolitan

Dr. P ordered a Cosmopolitan for me.  It was sour, strong, and good.



At exactly 7:15pm, the hostess came to the bar to get us.  We were seated in the back dining room.  The table was decorated with rose pedals.  Very romantic.



From our table, I had a good view of the kitchen area.  That was where Chef Mark Peel was for the entire night.  He inspected every dish that came out from the kitchen.


Bread

I am assuming the bread is from La Brea Bakery.  Sourdough and walnut bread.  Both were good.


Champagne

Complimentary sparkling wine.  We didn't know the name of the champagne, but it was sweet and fruity.  I liked it.


Lobster Bisque with Chives

First course was Lobster Bisque, served in a cocktail glass.  No spoon, so we drank it from the glass.  It was a little strange, but in a fun way, to drink hot soup like that.  The lobster bisque was creamy and delicious.  Lots of small pieces of lobster meat (and some crab, too.  I think...) in the soup.  I only wished the glass was bigger.


Blood Orange Salad with arugula, hazelnuts and burrata

Salad for 2nd course.  The first one was Blood Orange Salad.  I took a big bite, and....



No no no! I didn't like it!  Arugula was bitter, blood orange was sour, and the salad dressing was even sour-er.  I know I know.. That's not proper behavior at a fine dining restaurant.  But I almost wanted to spit out the salad.  Dr. P wasn't a fan for this salad, either.


Poached Apple Salad with blue cheese, fris, and cherry vinaigrette

But the Poached Apple Salad was love at first bite!  Sweet poached apple, salty blue cheese, fresh fris, and sweet/sour cherry vinaigrette.  All the different flavors balanced so well together.  We loved this one.


Borgo di Sugame Chianti ($13.00)

We I finished our champagne.  Dr. P ordered a glass of Chianti to go with the rest of the meal.  The wine was smooth and a bit spicy.  Perfect with heavier meat dishes.


Spaghetti with lemon pancetta & chili cream

3rd course was pasta.  Spaghetti looked pretty plain.  But the chili cream sauce was surprisingly spicy.  It wasn't overwhelming spicy, but just enough to give it a good kick.  And they gave you just enough amount to make you want a little more.


Stratichella & Beef Ragout

We had no idea what stratichella was, but ordered the dish anyway.  This turned out to be one of my favorite dish of the night.  The pasta was pan fried (I think) on the outside so it was crispy and crunchy.  But the inside was chewy.  We love the crispy/chewy texture of the pasta.  The beef ragout was hiding under the pasta.  The meat was super tender.  I would go back to Campanile just to order this dish again.


Beef Borginogne with creamy polenta

Moving on to the main course.  The Beef Borginogne was just as good as the beef ragout in the pasta dish.  They tasted like the same cut of meat, but the flavor was different.  The meat with the pasta had more of a tomato flavor.  This one had more of a red wine flavor.  I LOVE the creamy polenta in the sauce.  How good was the dish?



"No I am not done until I like the entire plate clean" kind of good.  I want more I want more!


Grilled Prawns & Calamari chorizo & saffron risotto

The seafood dish was just as good as the meat dish.  The grilled Prawn was huge.  I couldn't resist and had to slurp the shrimp head like us Asians do.  Every bit of it was delicious.  The calamari was probably the best calamari I've ever had.  It was so fresh and tasted like a cross between cooked calamari and calamari sashimi.  The saffron risotto was great, but I still liked the polenta more.


Coffee

Dr. P got coffee to go with dessert. 


Strawberry Cobbler fresh cream

Unfortunately, I didn't really like the dessert much.  The strawberry cobbler tasted like strawberry jam cobbler.  I was expecting more of a fresh strawberry taste.  The jello texture didn't help, either.


Boca Negra cream anglaise

The Boca Negra tasted like very rich brownie.  It wasn't bad, but nothing too special about it.



When we got our bill, we noticed that they didn't charge us for the cocktail nor the coffee.  We were honest and told our waitress about it.  She came back and told us that the bartender took care of the cocktail, and she will take care of the coffee.  So we left her a really big tip.



As we were leaving the restaurant and passing the kitchen area, Chef Mark Peel was right there.  So I asked if I could take a picture of him.  He said, "no, let's all take a picture together."  He got one of the waitress to take the picture.  We told him how much we enjoyed the food.  He was sooooo nice!

I love the food at Campanile (except the orange salad and dessert).  Definitely want to go back again.  Dr. P, thank you for for taking me out for the lovely dinner!

Where did you guys go for Valentine's Day?  Or what did you cook?

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