2.18 Il Chanti
Posted on May 20, 2008
Filed Under Best of the Best, Italian, Japanese | 5 Comments
Il Chanti is a hidden gem, I tell ya, because although I had heard that there’s a nice Japanese Italian place in Lomita, I could not have guessed that it was THIS good. This is definitely one of the best meals I’ve had so far this year. There’s tons of pictures today, so let’s get right to it.
The Menu is HUGE! Here’s Amy reading the menu. Lots of good stuff on the very seafood-centric menu. There’s a ton of seafood appetizers, about 20 kinds of pizza, another dozen choices for pasta, good selection of salad and risotto, and daily specials.
We ordered a liter of house Chianti. I’m not a big wine person, but I liked the Chanti, it’s smooth and mellow. $17.
Caribbean Salad (Large, $12.70) Packed with seafood. The salad itself was very impressive with some nice fresh pieces of seafood, but it was the dressing that made it stand out. The dressing was spec-ta-cu-lar. I started eating the bread with it. Yes, I broke the rules, it’s that good.
Baked Eggplant with Cheese ($5.50) Rich and baked to perfection was this combination of sliced eggplants and cheese. This was also perfect with the bread.
Baked jumbo sausage. ($9.50) This thing was about 2 foot long and came on a long thin wooden… plank? Served with lemon and mustard. The meat in the sausage was loosely packed, giving it a different texture than regular sausage. This is very flavorful and had a great texture that just screamed homemade.
Seafood Pizza. (Small, $10.30) Baby clam, egg, dried tomato, garlic and caviar. This is the first time I’ve seen egg on a pizza, and it was a little runny. I had to take a big bite and love it. It’s definitely not your typical pizza.
Squid Ink Spaghetti ($11.50) I’ve never had squid ink before and was very excited to try it. I was not disappointed. It’s hard to describe squid ink, but I think it has a “oceanic” taste to it. The mushrooms and sausage adds to the complexity and it all comes together very well. Fantastic.
Sea Urchin Gnocchi. The Gnocchi is made from potatoes and looked like pasta shells. It had an rough inner texture as you bite into it, and the sauce with sea urchin is rich and delicious.
Blue Crab Risotto ($13.80) This was a special of the day and the Risotto is served in a sizzling stone bowl. This was just exquisite, the flavor of the blue crab was subtle but very pleasing, the soft Risotto perfectly complimented by the sprouts’ crunchy texture. I loved this dish, definitely one of the top three of the night.
Lamb ($23) This, again, is a special of the day and is not found on the menu. The specials are written on a blackboard. IN JAPANESE. I’m glad I had Japanese friends with me to order this for us. Lamb is served bone in, rubbed with spices, flavored with some sort of wine and a good amount of rosemary, which was very aromatic but almost overwhelmed the lamb. The lamb itself was very good, perfectly seared and just a tad salty, it felt like the meat had a little bit of a bite. This might be the second best lamb I’ve ever had, the best at Babbo in New York CIty.
Cheesecake ($5) This is Tofu Cheesecake!? I’m told it’s tofu, and it IS a bit lighter than I had expected cheesecake to be, but it tastes too good to be tofu. I don’t know, it was delicious, if it’s not tofu, that’s fine, if it IS tofu, I’m going to order two next time.
Tiramisu ($5) Rich, smooth coffee flavor. Liked it.
Blood Orange Custard ($5) Sorry, not sure if this is a custard, I’m tempted to call it a flan or a pudding. It’s really tangy refreshing and the fresh blood orange they had in it was awesome. My favorite dessert of the night BUT I FORGOT WHAT IT’S CALLED!!! Lame. Sorry.
The place is beautiful and had a quiet majestic feel to it. It’s divided into several smaller rooms and we were hidden away in the back. It felt like I was relaxing in some mansion, enjoying a decadent meal cooked up after hours by the resident chef or something. The kitchen is open to the main dining room and so you can see the action from there. Service was polite, charming and professional, but we were in the back and so we got less looks than we should have. Waiters were responsive when we managed to flag one down, though, so no points are docked. I’m planning to come back with the girlfriend, good food, great ambiance.
Il Chanti
24503 Narbonne Ave
Lomita, CA 90717
(310) 325-5000