Helen I went to an old favorite last night for dinner, Ca'Brea, an Italian place on La Brea at 4th. I started with the "little oranges," which are fried wild mushroom risotto balls on greens with a white truffle oil-based dressing. Yum.
My main was lamb chops in a black truffle sauce. Good, but not quite as good as the risotto. The potatoes were okay, the broccoli with garlic was excellent.
Ca'Brea has a very reasonable corkage charge (just $16/bottle), so even though they also have a very good (and reasonably priced wine list), I dug around my cellar to find something ready to drink but still young that it wouldn't need decanting. The 2007 Jayson Napa Valley red wine was ideal. Big, forward fruit and chocolate flavors. Delicious.
All in all, a delightful evening at a deserving favorite.
