70376 Thu Jun 16 00:23:34 -0700 2005 7 2 Los Angeles Area 0 384685 After several weeks of feeling sorry for myself for living in a restaurant desert (having lost Cinnabar, Fresco's Antonia Orlando, and Bric Montrose in the last two months) and several consecutive visits to Bistro Verdu (always good, but you can't live there)and La Cabinita (in a slow, langorous, but undeniable, decline) we were ready to brave the overheated real estate market and move back to Santa Monica. Pasadena has failed to satisfy and even the interesting Eagle Rock restaurant row has increasingly disappointed. In a state of subacute desperation we revisited Far Niente on Brand. Quite a shock: sensitive, intelligent service, imaginative well executed preparations and humane pricing. Four of us had a sampling of the specials, which numbered about 10 in total. Competent pastas - though a little heavy on the tomatoes and always with cream finishes; fresh, well-executed salads, and the best mussels and clams short of Water Grill. Mains included one of the best veal chops I have had in a few years (not on the menu and at a non-bargain price of $35), with fresh (not rehydrated) porcinis and an exquisite deep veal reduction sauce. Pounded rib eye with porcinis and a light, ineffably fragrant rosemary sauce was a revelation. Desert of flourless chocolate cake and a dense vanilla ice cream was flawless and satisfying. Wines were a bargain 2x retail (2002 Duckhorn Decoy for $40) and made the evening softer and even more sublime. Service was the best part of the whole deal - calm, intelligent, highly competent waiter with a sense of timing that would suit the broadway stage. All in all, a real surprise for a Glendale nihilist. Some of the sense of isolation has been ameliorated, at least for now. We will be coming back soon. $80 apeice with a lot of wine, including tax and tip. Thu Jun 16 00:23:34 -0700 2005 0 Griller141 1 384740 Thanks for the great review. Will try it soon, as I am stuck working in Glendale all summer. Thu Jun 16 11:10:37 -0700 2005 384685 0 Adsvino 1 384887 Yeah, it's a bummer here in Glendale these days. Add to the list of losses Gennaro from his namesake restaurant. I'm always ready for Far Niente to start resting on its laurels, but as you described it just hasn't happened, thanks be. And yes, Bistro Verdu is good, as is Harvest Inn for Chinese and Porto's for certain items, like their sandwiches. All in all, however, the upscale scene in Glendale is moribund, with no signs of a revival. I do differ a little though on your assessment of Pasadena. Derek's and the incredible dining room at the Ritz Carlton can stand up to any westside spot in my mind. Pricey though. I think Glendale is best for the relative value of its small ethnic places. Thu Jun 16 16:37:52 -0700 2005 384685 0 SteveA 1 384894 Thanks for the review of Far Niente: I will check it out. I wouldn't be so gloomy about Glendale, however. After all, there's still - Carousel - Mandaloun - Raffi's Place - El Morfi - Portos - Gauchos Village - Polka - Mashti Malone - Zankou - Paradise Pastry - Panos Pastry - La Cabanita - Tortas Mexico - Min's Kitchen in addition to many less spectacular restaurants that are nevertheless worthy of an occasional visit. Plus Glendale's close to Pasadena, Eagle Rock, downtown, Studio City, North Hollywood... Could it be better? Certainly. But it's by no means a wasteland. Thu Jun 16 17:27:18 -0700 2005 384685 0 Ediner 1 384972 Nice review as always. As for the Glendale dining "wasteland": While the Westside no doubt has a greater choice in fine (and considerably more expensive) dining, how often will you be doing that on a daily basis as compared to what's available on the Eastside? To the considerable list of what you'd be leaving behind in the Glendale/Silver Lake/Eagle Rock area, you can also add the many great restaurants in Little Tokyo, SGV, and East LA, all of which are a hop, skip and a jump from Glendale or Hollywood... Thu Jun 16 23:30:59 -0700 2005 384685 0 Briggs 1 385015 Did you try Tre Venezie before you gave up on Pasadena? Fri Jun 17 11:10:07 -0700 2005 384685 0 sally from LA 1 385020 You're right, there's absolutely no food worth eating east of Cahuenga... it's all a wasteland, those of who live and work here might as well just hang ourselves in shame. Having started to combat area code prejudice as it relates to the 310/323 vs. 818 battle, now I see we can safely trash the 626. Never mind that even if I were to grant the premise that Glendale is a culinary wasteland (and I won't), it's five minutes from Silverlake, ten minutes from Studio City, fifteen minutes from Hollywood, fifteen minutes from the SGV, and twenty minutes from Melrose. There are more terrific restaurants within a twenty-minute drive from downtown Glendale than a dedicated hound could visit in a year. Isolation? Please. Move to Rancho Cucamonga, Castaic, San Juan Capistrano or Menifee and then complain about isolation. Besides, there are plenty of good places to eat in Pasadena, Glendale and Eagle Rock. Have you been to Mandaloun? What about Carousel (not my favourite but everyone else on the planet loves it)? Divina Cucina? Star Cafe? La Luna Negra? La Cabañita? Tre Venezie? Ka-San? Olive Branch? One of the great things about Glendale, Eagle Rock and Pasadena is that there are great restaurants without the Westside price tag. Then again, I prefer not to spend much time inside the hallowed halls of cuisine -- I get that fix when I go to Paris or New York. Perhaps that's what you meant to say -- there isn't really anyplace in Glendale where you can spend a gigantic wad of cash on dinner the way you can in Mid-City. L.A. food was never about the temples of gastronomy to me. The thing I love best about L.A. -- and the thing that no other city can come close to -- is the amazing array of cheap ethnic restaurants that are mixed together all over the city... that's what makes great eats possible in places like Glendale. Fri Jun 17 11:57:56 -0700 2005 384685 0 Das Ubergeek 2 385137 Nicely summarized! Sherman Oaks has that same locational value, being 20 minutes from Downtown LA, Pasadena or Santa Monica during non-rush-hour traffic, meaning when I go to dinner. And when one of the gastronomic temples in the 310 can totally mask the flavor of asparagus in its asparagus soup, yet charge nearly $10 for a bowl, its time to find another dining area code. Fri Jun 17 20:08:08 -0700 2005 385020 0 carter