1633 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice, CA 90291
Most of you that know me well might have thought that this post would be about my own carbonara - taken from Jamie Oliver, but alas, I finally found one that I enjoy more. In an effort to stay local, all of my posts so far have been about places in NYC, but in order to stay honest about the best carbonara I ever had...welcome to a west coast review. Last April I traveled to LA to visit a friend and to celebrate a birthday. For the celebration, our hostess chose The Tasting Kitchen - I came prepared for an amazing meal after stalking the menu and reviews for weeks before the trip. We started our meal with some champagne and a plethora of appetizers, mainly creative salads and vegetable dishes. To be honest, my memory of the meal is so clouded by the amazingness of my pasta, that I only vaguely remember the starters, simply the fact that they were all amazing. There is nothing like being in the comfort of best friends, eating homemade pasta, and drinking great wine. Two of my friends ordered the Bucatini alla amatriciana, a dish that brought them back to their time spent in Rome. I couldn't resist ordering the Pasta carbonara, and I had high expectations based on the breadth of carbonaras in my past. I'm pretty sure I actually gasped when my pasta arrived, it was everything I had ever dreamed of: thick spaghettoni, sauce with the perfect amount of creaminess, thick (yet still crispy?!) guanciale, warm peas, and an egg yolk on top. I stuck my fork into the egg yolk - the final touch - and enjoyed every single bite. There were many high points to this meal that will stay with me forever, the food, the company, and of course the carbonara - Best I Ever ate.
* I never photograph food, but the thought of never seeing this masterpiece again was too painful.
**I like a lot of carbonaras in NYC too, particularly the ones at Otto and Maialino
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