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By Nate Daniels
The city of Los Angeles boasts many wonderful, unique restaurants. But what to do if you live out in the suburbs and want to take your woman out locally for a romantic evening? Claim Jumper or Chili’s just isn’t gonna cut it. The antidote to the cookie cutter, too-loud, Disney-esque, kid-packed, casual-dining chain in Valencia, California, may just be La Toscana.
Located at the back of an unassuming strip mall complex, between two suburban developments, it’s a bit hard to find. The look of the strip mall will give you pause, but keep going. Once you get inside, the warm colors, mood lighting and friendly service instantly put you in the right mood.
Our waiter was friendly and helpful. Quick service of two glasses of the house chianti (very nice) and garlic knots (a little bit too bready) set a perfect stage for deep conversation and romantic gazing.
We each ordered the recommended specials of the day – mine was a porcini and portobello mushroom ravioli with an alfredo sauce, hers a garlic and shrimp ravioli ala vodka. The mushroom ravioli had a wonderful earthy flavor and the alfredo sauce was perfect – creamy without being too heavy. The shrimp ravioli had terrific flavor and was chock-full of fresh tomato chunks. The food at La Toscana always tastes like it’s made with super-fresh ingredients. One thing - neither of these pasta dishes are really conducive to late-night activity due to the high carb content. If you don’t want to send your date straight into food-coma, you might want to order the Chicken Francaise, also very tasty.
While La Toscana doesn’t rate with the great Italian restaurants of New York, I’d rank it one of the better Italian trattorias in LA. If you’re looking for a romantic place with good eats, comfortably close to your suburban bedroom, this is the place.
XXXX - Dead Sexy
XXX - Sexy
XX - Not Sexy
X - Frigid
$$$$ - Expensive
$$$ - Pretty Expensive
$$ - Not too bad
$ - Cheap
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