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| Veggie Market - by unknown |
Fresh & Delicious
Honest eating starts with fresh ingredients, flavorful recipes and good cooking techniques. This page is dedicated to the discovery of taste sensations wherever they can be found: home cooked recipes, hole in the wall cafes, and amazing restaurants across the U.S.
Breakfast @ Fratelli Cafe - 
October 2011 - I had the pleasure of stopping in for a quick bite at Fratelli Cafe on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles recently. The cafe boasts an artfully displayed menu board listing the many (including vegan) versions of their omelettes, breakfast burritos, waffles, bagels, paninis, sandwiches, burgers, salads, crepes, wraps, cookies, yogurt, muffins and assorted pastries. Whew, if that menu makes your mouth water, there's also a variety of drinks to choose from at Fratelli Cafe. There are 16 varieties of teas, a coffee bar, smoothies, fresh juices, wine, cocktails, beer and other cold beverages to quench your thirst. 
All of the breakfast plates are served with potatoes, your choice of toast or bagel, and cottage cheese or fruit. I ordered the tofu scrambler which consisted of tofu, sauteed spinach, mushroom, tomato, olives and avocado with a side of toast and a cup of hot tea. The plate presented nicely and held enough food to feed two people. It was nothing short of fresh & delicious!
The service was quick and friendly and the price of the food was comparable to other eateries in the area. $9.95 for the breakfast plate and another $1.95 for the hot tea felt like a reasonable value. The place wasn't too busy during my morning visit and except for the owner (who was reading a paper at an entrance table), we had the place to ourselves. As I sat sipping my tea and watching traffic through the windows, I knew I'd be returning to Fratelli Cafe to sample the rest of the menu.
Check out the full menu and info at fratellicafe.com.
*All copyrights reserved by the Honest Despot unless otherwise noted. All photo credit reserved.
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July, 2011 -
Over the fourth of July holiday, I visited several restaurants from Ojai to Los Angeles, CA and I came across a small Italian style restaurant that was unforgettable.
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| View at Ojai, CA - photo by Honest Despot |
I was visiting in Ojai for a few days and during that time I ate at 2 Italian restaurants; Osteria Monte Grappa was the first. The hostess greeted my guest and I and we were seated immediately. Glasses of water and a plate of bread with olive oil were set on the table right away. Within minutes, I was holding a menu and listening to the house specials. My choice was the Insalata Valcavasia which was a salad of mixed greens, seasoned nicely with a light dressing, along with fresh mozzarella slices on a bed of ripe tomato slices.
The large salad was so filling it was almost a meal by itself. Next, I had the Cappellini Alla Checca - angel hair pasta with tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil. The pasta tasted homemade and the dish was almost perfection. The roasted garlic slices were a little too strong for my taste and I would've preferred it raw or lightly sauteed, but the dish was excellent. For dessert I ordered the Tirimisiu which was tasty, but so moist it was reminiscent of Tres Leches cake. All in all, the entire meal, atmosphere and service was a delight. The service was flawless.
My expectations were very high when I visited another busy Italian place in town. 15 minutes after being seated we were passed four times (yes I counted) by waitresses, without being brought menus or water. Only after flagging down a server did we receive both. When the food arrived it was giant portions of supermarket type processed food so horrible my guest & I left after eating only a few bites. The prices were more expensive than the 1st restaurant too, so we felt robbed.
I would definitely recommend the 1st place - Osteria Monte Grappa; delicious, authentic Italian food at a reasonable price.
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