Monday, November 21, 2011

Slow Mondays at Ombra Ristorante

I can't believe I hadn't even heard of Ombra in Studio City. Now I find myself recommending it to friends who live and work in the area. I recently had the pleasure of attending a comped dinner during Notte Slow Mondays. Every Monday for $35 you get a lovely three course dinner. For an extra $12 you can spring for a special carafe of wine. All month of November, the restaurant is featuring mushrooms on the menu.

Shockingly, I was the first person to arrive at dinner, so I was glad to have the bread and caponata to tide me over. It seemed that most tables were being treated to arancini and I can never say no to a fried rice.

Eggplant Caponata

Bread

Arancini

The first part of the main meal was a poached farm egg with truffled fonduta and swiss chard. The truffle aroma hits you the second the dish gets to the table. It's rich, but not overpowering and just the right amount of green from the chard.

Poached Egg with Truffled Fonduta and Swiss Chard

I probably would never have ordered the potato ravioli with fresh porcini mushrooms and tomato sauce on my own. Mushroom and potatoes don't normally do it for me, but this was great. The housemade pasta was perfectly cooked and the sweet tomato sauce helped balance the potato and mushrooms.

Potato Ravioli with Fresh Porcini Mushrooms

Dessert was gorgonzola cheese with fresh persimmons and aged balsamic. It sounded strange, but the chef explained this is a fairly common dish in the Parma region of Italy. This is without a doubt, my new favorite flavor combination and I can't wait to try it at home as long as persimmons are in season.

Gorgonzola with Persimmons and Aged Balsamic

As an extra little treat, we had the chocolate salami served with cannoli cream. This is basically a chocolate log with pieces of nougat and nuts made to look like salami. It's as delicious as it is fun.

Chocolate Salami

I'm still sort of in shock that I never knew about this place and it's so close to my home. I always poo poo going to the valley, but Ombra has certainly given me a reason to go back (often).


One year ago: Crostini with Poached Pears, Gorgonzola, and Honey
Two years ago: Apple Gruyere Tart
Three years ago: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls


Ombra Ristorante
3737 Cahuenga Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 985-7337
Website
at

7 comments:

  1. marlaNovember 21, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    Lucky you having this quality of restaurant so close to your home :)

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  2. Kristina VanniNovember 21, 2011 at 2:19 PM

    This is right down the street from my house! Can't wait to try it.

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  3. NancyNovember 21, 2011 at 8:22 PM

    You are definitely my "go to" resource when I need a restaurant recommendation for LA! This sounds fabulous!!

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  4. JoanneNovember 21, 2011 at 8:42 PM

    I can definitely see why you'd recommend this place...everything sounds refreshingly decadent!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Georgia PellegriniNovember 22, 2011 at 10:22 AM

    This looks like quite the menu!

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  6. susanNovember 22, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    I ate there a few weeks ago and loved it! Need to go back with you and try more dishes

    ReplyDelete
  7. lisa is cookingNovember 22, 2011 at 4:05 PM

    Gorgonzola with persimmons and balsamic sounds fantastic. I can't wait to try this! I should be able to find persimmons at the farmers' market tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete

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