Dinner at Firenze Osteria, Toluca Lake
Posted on Dec 18, 2010 under Archives | No Comment
Main dining room
Top Chef contestant Fabio Viviani’s Firenze Osteria specializes in regional comfort cuisine. Divided into three warm yellow and brown eating areas, diners can enjoy specialty cocktails and appetizers at the long bar, get a glimpse of the celebrity chef cooking in the open kitchen from the main dining room, or share an intimate meal in the back dining area. The extensive simple rustic Florentine menu includes a variety of choices.
Bar area
I recently sat down to speak with Fabio about his thoughts on cooking, his experiences on Top Chef, and his upcoming projects (see last blog to hear interview). After we spoke, he cooked a wonderful tasting dinner for me – here is what I sampled.
duck and truffle pasta
Chef Fabio started us off in traditional Italian style with the pasta dish first. We were delighted to devour this tasty pasta dish made with duck and truffles. We could have eaten an entire pasta pot of this dish. Yum.
mozzarella with parma ham and sun dried tomatoes
Next we got a special treat – mozzarella with parma ham, sun dried tomatoes and 25 year old balsamic vinegar. The mozzarella was the best I have tasted since my last visit to Italy. It was creamy and rich and the parma ham provided a nice salty flavor to the dish. I would come back just to eat this dish with a nice glass of wine. We both loved it.
dumplings
Our next dish was the spinach ricotta dumplings in a warm brown butter sauce with fried sage. My friend Todd and I loved the crispy sage and rustic dumplings, a comforting dish I thought about and craved after leaving.
Lamb with braised pistachios
Our next to last course before dessert was the clever lamb and braised pistachios, Chef Fabio’s take on pork chops and beans. The dish appears as if two pork chops are resting on a mound of baked beans, but the ingredients are really perfectly cooked lamb and braised pistachios. This exemplifies why Fabio was one of the last chefs standing on his season of Top Chef, very clever, delicious and perfectly executed.
lemon cheesecake
Dessert was a nice little lemon cheesecake with raspberry sauce.
Me and Chef Fabio
Lucky for me I live just around the corner in Toluca Lake and can visit Chef Fabio and dine on his delicious food regularly. I would highly recommend a visit to Firenze Osteria for outstanding rustic Italian dishes, reservations recommended, 4212 Lankershim Boulevard, 818/760-7081.