Palermo Ristorante Italiano on Vermont

One of these days, I will travel to the beautiful country of Italy, with its famed vineyards, its deliciously delectable dishes, and its old world romanticism.

My family used to go to Italian restaurants like the now defunct Mario's that used to be on 3rd Street Promenade, and I'd almost always order the meat lasagna. And then the years passed and I got a little older, a little more sophisticated (or at least I'd like to think so). My repertoire of good eats expanded to lovely pouches of ravioli in creamy pink sauces and on this particular outing to Palermo on Vermont, I ordered the Scampi Alla Becky [13.95] - Tender Imported Shrimps sauteed in Garlic and Butter served over Fettucini in White Cream Sauce and Peas.



This dish was so deliciously creamy and light that I would order it again in a heartbeat. The shrimps were incredibly tender and meaty... and well, anything that's cooked in garlic and butter has GOT to be good. The bright green peas were a great addition to the dish, and my personal vegetable of choice in this kind of pasta. And their crunchy and light garlic bread straight out of the oven made scooping up leftover sauce that much tastier.

My girlfriend TW ordered another dish I eyed on the menu - the Linguini with Clams [small - 9.25]. Her dish was cooked with lots of tender succulent baby clams sauteed in garlic and butter with her requested red sauce. (I would have opted for the creamy white sauce.)

One thing that this place definitely lacked was pretention. Portions were very generous and plated almost with a family home-cooking style, and the service was definitely friendly and attentive. At 5pm this large space of a restaurant was started to fill up with dinner patrons, and we were seated and served quickly. In just one hour, the place was hopping.

Oh yeah, I did also order the Lasagna Alla Bolognese [large - 11.25] to go. Great dinner for MS and great leftovers for me. Absolutely delicious with lots of extra large noodles, meat sauce, and cheesy goodness. Palermo - great Italian eats for reasonable prices, another one of LA's best.

Palermo Ristorante Italiano
street: 1858 n vermont ave in la
tel: 1.323.663.1178 / 1.323.663.1430
fax: 1.323.660.0284
limited delivery available w/$10 min order
[ap 45 min delivery time | 5p -10p)
closed on tuesdays
valet or metered street parking