Tucked away on the corner of La Brea and 1st is a little Italian restaurant called Cafe Verona. Walk through the plant archway and enter into a quaint, romantic, ever-so-charming spot filled with outdoor seating surrounded by lush greenery. I've only ventured to Cafe Verona for breakfast and brunch but sitting in a little booth awaiting my brunch today I look around and see twinkle lights not yet turned on for it is too bright out, and I think how beautiful it must be in the evening. At the table across from me sits a couple chattering between bites of their delicious looking panini, the table right next to me sits four girls chattering away sipping on mimosas while they too await for their food to arrive. Yes, it's that kind of place, a place where girlfriends get together and couples have brunch- how delightful it all is. And even with La Brea and its many cars whizzing by the city seems so far away.
Cafe Verona is dog friendly and they sit quietly, sleepily next to the tables, each dog has a waterbowl filled with water, I could have sworn I saw a poodle on the other side with ice in his.
When the food finally arrives, and I say "finally" because it does take a bit of time, it always has I've never known Verona to be otherwise but this never really bothers me, good ambience (and this, Cafe Verona does have) makes for good happy conversations.
Mr. Borscht's Salmon Bagel plate drew a helpless "Ohhh" from my mouth, from the moment his plate was set I couldn't help but amorously eye the already creamed bagel, sliced red juicy tomatoes and the beautifully laid smoked salmon sprinkled with capers and topped with thinly sliced red onions. If only all salmon bagels came this way.
I on the other hand who ordered the Quiche Piemontese was expecting to see a small plate with a simple square piece of quiche, as I often see it done at most other restaurants, but once again the plate was eye-poppingly laid out and presented, simple no doubt with cucumbers, quiche and mashed sweet potatoes all sitting in their respective corners... but their flavors were anything but simple. Although only a few ingredients went into creating the quiche and mashed sweet potatoes the results were heavenly. The large sliced cucumbers were topped with cucumber dill yogurt which accented perfectly the fresh juicy cucumbers. The sweet potato mash tasted of sweet potato mash with a texture to die for and was topped with sour cream, and while one might imagine sweet potato mash as being sweet it was less so and this made it quite delectable.
The Quiche Piemontese consisted of spinach and mushrooms, neither of the featured ingredients were too overwhelming and blended quite nicely to create a mild yet delicious and large (I should add) quiche. Unlike most other quiche I have tasted this quiche was crustless and while I do very much like the crust on everything especially on quiches I cannot say that a crust would have made the Piemontese any better.
The Piemontese itself is not the best quiche I've ever had but I have to say that the presentation of the platters at Cafe Verona is something to see, rustic, simple and yet... charming, very much like the ambience. When it comes to rating the food of Cafe Verona it is definitely above average and even some the best I've had, the ingredients are simple, none of the platters seem to take on too much extravagance but I think that's the beauty of this place, sometimes less is more, and Cafe Verona is definitely a restaurant where one can agree that, "yes, less is definitely more".
Total Damage: $23.00 -/+
Mushroom Spinach Quiche
Lox Bagel
Cafe Verona
201 S. La Brea
LA CA 90036
(323) 934.6142
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