Reasonable family style Italian in 3rd & Fairfax / Park La Brea area

My friend always complains to me that there are no neighborhood Italian restaurants around his apartment. He is looking for something like you would find in New York.....reasonable....nice portions......homemade recipes.....around the Parh LaBrea / 3rd & Fairfax area....can anyone help out???

Absolutely the best is on 3rd just east of Beverly - Angelino's. The Funghi pizza is so thin that the crust occasionally disappear's altogether. Everything is homey, reasonable and wonderful. And you get a complementary cookie at the end of your meal. MMMM!

My favorite "local place" is Frankie's on Melrose near La Brea. It is very New York, more like a nightclub though. They have an excellent lobster special and a great lobster or shrimp fra diablo, almost equal to Dan Tana's and much cheaper. The soups are very nice and everything benefits from careful cooking.

If you ask nicely, "Frankie" will make you a martini. Also, there are guys who look like they used to be in the mob in the corner which I really like.

It is more costly than a true local place but I can walk and it always feels like home when I get there. They have had the same staff for years.

Girasole and Puran's are both great recommendations. There's also the swanky but good Pane Vino (Pane y Vino?) on Beverly near Crescent Heights - sit on the patio if you give a hoot about celebrity watching, as I almost always see someone "fabulous" whenever I'm there.

I'm also fond of the very, very humble Miceli's on Las Palmas at Hollywood Blvd....a bit further afield, but a guilty pleasure worth the trip for painfully "normal" pizza and pasta, singing waiters and fun ambience.

I too agree that this city and that area specifically lacks affordable and solid Italian.

In light of these circumstances, however, I'd recommend two places, one a little east, and the other slightly to the west of PLB. Girasole on Larchmont is "neighborhood-y"--small and charming. Overall pastas excellent; I haven't tried the meat/fish/poulty entrees. It's pretty cramped so may require reservations and/or getting there early.

For better physical dining comfort, there's LA Trattoria/La Vera Pizza on 3rd just east of Crescent Heights. It's gone downhill a bit in recent years, but the decor is nice and simple and service pleasant. They have separate sections and menus; the Pizza section is more casual, but because this is LA that doesn't mean the other half is formal. I think you can order from both menus regardless of which part you dine in.

He should check out Puran's on La Brea. And Farfalle, also on La Brea, is okay.

Actually, I think your friend is right! This is very much not like New York; we're a sprawling city yadayadayada...

Anyway, Ca' Brea is not too far away. I haven't been there in years but it used to be pretty good.