By Brett Callwood
Good Italian food is like an awakening. It danced around your palette like a mischievous sprite, settling on the roof and creating joy there, before skipping over to a segment of your tongue and making something else entirely.
On the other hand, bad Italian food tastes like frozen, bland nothingness. Chef Boyardee in a silver tray. All tomato and no finesse. Thankfully, Lomeli’s Italian Restaurant falls firmly in the camp of the former.
The eatery is the brainchild of Carlo Lomeli, who started his restaurant career in 1968, at age 14, as a busboy for Sala’s Italian Restaurant in Lawndale. He learned how to cook there and, by 18, he was the manager.
In 1978, he bought Big Joe’s Italian Restaurant and, the following year, renamed it Lomali’s Italian Restaurant. The rest is history. Lomeli’s, to this day, is known for quality Italian fare, a traditional, family-friendly environment and very helpful staff.
The strip mall location, by Ralphs and near See’s Candies and a fried chicken shop, doesn;t immediately generate excitement. But when you push through the front door, the ambiance is striking. There’s a warmth, a vibe of authenticity, that flows through the whole place like an Italian wave.
We tried two dishes, both from the “pick your own pasta” menu. We started with the spaghetti, with meatballs and marinara. This is a dish that’s easy to get wrong, as we all know what tinned, or fast food pizza, marinara sauce tastes like.
Here, the sauce is magnificent. The tomato and herbs are blended with expert fingers and an artist’s vision, and the combination floods your brain with flavor. The sauce is so good that you could be forgiven for forgetting about the meatballs, but when you try them you’re delighted that you remembered. The ground beef (we think, although it may be a combination) is perfectly seasoned, and expertly cooked. Finally, the spaghetti is soft but not sloppy and, coated with the sauce, is sensational.
Our second choice was the fettuccine with alfredo sauce, and added grilled chicken. This was an entirely different experience to the spaghetti and marinara, though it’s equally easy to get wrong.
Thankfully, we have no such worries at Lomeli’s. The alfredo is rich and mildly peppered, and it’s absolutely awesome. It works best with a white meat, and the chicken is juicy and delicious. The fettuccine, like the spaghetti, is perfectly cooked. It’s a low bar for an Italian place, that they should know how to properly cook pasta. But they vault that bar regardless.
Both dishes were served with a crisp, buttery piece of garlic bread, and of course parmesan. We had literally no complaints.
Lomeli’s Italian Restaurant is located at 2223 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Culver City 90247. Contact 310-323-7993 or visit lomelis.com.
