La scala to go1/8/2024 We did not order the chopped salad, which has become the signature dish of the restaurant, and the reason a lot of our friends go there. We liked the crab cake a lot, and I liked the mussels, but the broth could have benefited from more salt and a lot more garlic. One companion had the swordfish, which was good, if a touch dry, and we also shared mussels and a crab cake. I had a veal chop, which was good with a particularly rich balsamic reduction sauce served on the side. The menu had a lot of pasta dishes on it, and I’ve had several of them before. Our waitress was a pleasant blonde woman who was clearly not Italian and who had trouble pronouncing the Italian names on the menu. The restaurant is quite popular, so it’s often filled to capacity and very loud. The tables are close together, and you are sitting as much with the unknown person next to you as you are with your dining companions. Canon Drive is a large room more like a factory than a fine dining restaurant. I believe it was the first Italian restaurant in Los Angeles to feature pasta made on the premises, and it was famous for the pasta dishes. The restaurant was located on Little Santa Monica Boulevard. Jean Leon was unfailingly polite and a great host. In the late 1950s La Scala was at the pinnacle of the Italian restaurants. Finally, after I pleaded my case, the hostess grudgingly agreed to seat us at a table for two, with another table for two adjacent to it for our friends when they arrived - if it wasn’t already taken by then. So what are we supposed to do for 30 minutes? Not seeing a bar or reception area with seating, what I wanted to do was to be seated and order a glass of wine and an appetizer. But we were meeting friends who are usually 30 minutes late. When you enter La Scala, the first tip off is the sign displayed at the front desk that states the restaurant’s policy: “If the party is not complete, the folks who arrive first will not be seated.” We are usually on time. Are the people in the restaurant more interested in the customers’ experience, or in just getting the patrons in and out with a swipe of the credit card? One of the most important parts of the experience is whether or not I am treated well, like a guest. It’s not just about the food, it’s the experience. I too have high principles, including what kind of restaurant I like to go to. Groucho Marx used to say, “I’m a person of high principles, and if you don’t like them … I have others.”
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