EPICUREAN’S PARADISE

Murano on Melrose

New chef, new menu, new level of quality

BY ERIC ROSEN

Despite a bit of recent kitchen-turnover, Murano has become a fixture on Melrose. Now that charming Naples native Luciano Sautto has taken over as executive chef, we hope that the new menu he has created is here to stay.

The restaurant’s white-on-white décor is accented by colorful red and purple Venetian glass chandeliers, creating a sophisticated, lounge-like vibe where people-watching is encouraged. One side of the restaurant is now a bar and lounge area where you can try signature cocktails like the Blood Orange Manhattan or the Espresso Martini. The other side contains a small lower seating area, and larger upper dining room.

Start with one of Chef Sautto’s specialties like the crunchy zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta pecorino cheese and cooked tempura style, or the fresh yellow fin tuna tartar over crushed avocado and crispy kataifi pasta.

The insalata mista is made with mixed greens, grape tomatoes, shaved carrots, lightly fried goat cheese and raspberry balsamic; and the spinach salad comes with sliced pears, toasted pine nuts, red onion, taleggio cheese and 15-year aged balsamic.

Naples is the birthplace of pizza, and Chef Sautto’s family has been in the pizza business for over a century, so naturally he has included a few pies on his new menu. There is a classic quattro stagioni, or four seasons pizza with artichokes, tangy black olives, earthy cremini mushrooms and salty porchetta ham. The pizza bianca, with four cheeses, is also lovely and light.

Using a special Italian pasta machine, Sautto has also introduced a few unusual kinds of pasta to the menu like his strozzapreti, whose twisted form inspired its name, which means “strangled priest” in Italian. The contorted strands of pasta are bathed in a tomato vodka crème sauce. There is also a white-and-black pasta with fresh calamari, shrimp, mussels, clams, tomatoes, olive oil and garlic. Less experimental palates should delight in the fettuccini with crème fraiche vodka sauce, lime juice and a dollop of caviar, or the hearty risotto with wild mushrooms, parmigiano reggiano and white truffle oil.

If you don’t do carbs, try the moist Channel Island halibut served with crushed parsley potatoes. The pan-seared filet mignon comes with oven-roasted herbed baby potatoes in a cognac porcini sauce.

Tiramisu means “pick-me-up” in Italian, and Chef Sautto’s lives up to its name, with creamy mascarpone and lady fingers dipped in coffee-amaretto. His sfogliatelle puff pastry filled with sweet ricotta and spiced candied oranges is also out of this world.

Don’t forget to sample the new wine menu that the owners have put together. Though the vinos come from all over the world, the Italian section is a standout, especially the robust but surprisingly smooth Barolo Batasiolo, and the more fruit-forward Gavi Batasiolo. If you want something lighter, try the Monte Antico Sangiovese Blend. Most of the bottles are very reasonable and under $50, but you can also find a few big-ticket vintages to impress your date.

Vital Info

Murano

9010 Melrose Ave., WeHo
310/246-9118; murano9010.com
Cuisine: Italian
The Scene: WeHo wonderboys, Melrose doyennes
Must Try: Zucchini blossoms, pizza bianca, tiramisu
Cost: $$$

Where to Eat

FULFILLED

When you need a snack, a dessert, or even a light lunch, stop by Fulfilled, a creative bakery recently opened near Rodeo Drive. The specialty at Fulfilled is ima, traditionally known in Japan as imagawa-yaki. Bursting with flavor, this treat is a pancake-like pastry filled with a variety of sweet and savory items. In its original version, the pastry is filled with sweet azuki bean (called “sweet geisha” on the menu). This popular delicacy originated in Tokyo in the early 1800s, and in modernizing the ima, owner Susumu Tsuchihashi has created a fusion of Japanese and American cuisine. Savory menu choices include “sumo Italiano” (with prosciutto, smoked ham, parmesan and basil), or “green ninja” (with spinach, feta cheese and sundried tomato). For your sweet tooth, menu choices include “nutty Buddha” (Ghirardelli chocolate, toffee and crunchy peanut butter) and my favorite, “Harajuku monkey” (banana and nutella). 9405 S. SANTA MONICA BLVD., BEVERLY HILLS 310/860-0776 JAPANESE/AMERICAN PASTRIES $ —TONY SPANO, JR.

Hot Plates

THE HALL: Whatever you call The Hall at the Palihouse Hotel, new chef Brendan Collins’ innovative food is unequivocally delicious. There are starters like a weightless and creamy wild mushroom soup, a moist salmon tartare over red beets and ricotta salata that is bathed in Meyer lemon, and sweet and juicy Alaskan king crab over tangy avocado puree. Notable main courses include a crisp arctic char with grilled eggplant and sweet steamed rice, gamey venison over even gamier venison pâté with wild quinoa and fresh huckleberries and a beef bourguignon that makes excellent use of Kobe hangar steak, fingerling potatoes and spinach. Try the crème brulée for dessert, or the chocolate molten cake with caramelized bananas; both will make you melt… 8465 Holloway Dr. 323/656-4020 French Fusion $$$$

Little Dom’s: Los Feliz’s satisfying and affordable Little Dom’s will be damned if he lives in the shadow of Dominick’s, his older WeHo-based sibling. For a lazy weekend brunch, try the surprisingly light ricotta cheese and fresh blueberry pancakes or the savory wood oven roasted eggs with fresh herbs, while sampling a Proper Highball from their fin de siècle-era, Little Italy-esque bar. Monday nights at Little Dom’s are a bona fide gourmet experience packing the ultimate bang for your buck—$15 gets you a three-course meal, and the menu changes weekly. Recent choices included fregole with roasted tomatoes and leakes to start, an entree of milk-braised pork and a lovely tartuffo stracciatella for dessert. House bottles of white and red wines are only $10, and Peroni beer is only $2. Whether it’s brunch or dinner, Little Dom’s has something to offer your palette at an amazing price. 2128 Hillhurst Ave. 323/661-0055 Italian-American $

Take Sushi: Is that a Viper in your bottle or are you just happy to see me? For outstanding, unpretentious Japanese dining on Sunset Strip, duck through the bamboo bead curtains and sit among hanging boxlights, dried blowfish, daruma dolls, and a hodge podge of Angelenos, and experience the cozy authenticity of Take Sushi. Traditionalists will love the sashimi or tonkatsu while club goers may opt for the shrimp in corn flakes or spicy tuna in jalapeno tempura (beef negimaki and sweet shrimp are personal favorites). Larger parties can reserve the room upstairs where lights are dim and the karaoke machine is all yours. Parking in back plus a newly launched happy hour (Mon-Fri 5:30-7 p.m.) make this a must. And yes, that’s a real snake in the habu sake! 8866 W. Sunset Blvd. 310/659-6580 Japanese/Sushi $$

BLVD 16: BLVD 16 at Westwood’s Hotel Palomar is taking their environmentally conscious menu to the next level. Utilizing herbs from their on-site organic garden, the bar menu reaches higher flavorful echelons while leaving a smaller carbon footprint. Among the delectables: the Scarlet Night (peach, lime and orange rum cocktail), and the Ruby Sparkle (a lovely concoction of vodka, pomegranate juice and sparkling wine). The organic New American menu items are delectable, too. (The pan-seared black cod with a chickpea and clam stew is of particular note.) With BLVD 16’s daily “tea time” happy hour from 4-7 p.m., taking inspiration from tea-infused cocktails that pair excellently with the appetizer menu, showing support has never been more fun! 10740 Wilshire Blvd. 310/474-7765 New American $$$

Frida Mexican Cuisine: Frida Mexican Cuisine isn’t your average taco joint. Trendy south-of-the-border designs fill the large, airy restaurant located in the bustling new Americana at Brand mall in Glendale. Cultural classics like tortilla soup, tostadas with shredded chicken, prawns in garlic white wine sauce and mole poblano sate palate expectations. But more inventive plates—ceviche made with shrimp, tuna and avocado, tomatillo and pumpkin seed mole verde and grilled tilapia marinated in a three-chili sauce, served with Mexican rice, fried plantains and a chayote squash stuffed with cheese—personalize without deviating from tradition. Plus, the spicy-sweet carnitas tacos are the best around. There is also a selection of over 30 tequilas to sample—olé! 750 AMERICANA WY. 818/551-1666 MEXICAN $$

Blue on Blue: Never has there been a more cleverly crafted marketing ploy than the happy hour, when restaurants and bars offer too-common cocktails and too-tempting greasy platters. Then there’s blue on blue at Avalon Hotel offering a sophisticated twist to the workingman’s tradition with a creatively delectable menu of fun fare. Among the past seasonal selections: “electoral shooters,” oysters topped with black pepper and citrus are truly shots of seafood bliss for lovers of oceanic offerings; “filibuster” cheese steak, an elegant take on Philly’s best tops a golden brown roll with shredded beef, cheese and succulent caramelized union; and for the health conscious, the “green party platter,” a truly outstanding olive-topped hummus/pita combo. The menu changes regularly, so stopping in to see what’s new should warrant regular visits. 9400 W. OLYMPIC BLVD. 310/407-7791 NEW AMERICAN $$