 Il Grano Restaurant Review: If you have been to Il Grano in the past, and return now, you will think that you have arrived at a different restaurant. The only constants are the name and, fortunately for our palates, chef Salvatore Marino. The dining room, in tones of butterscotch, white and dark brown, is now an elegant showcase for Marino's distinguished cuisine. We have to admit that Marino has learned the lessons of his family, two generations in the restaurant business, quite well. He begins his preparations with meticulous choices of ingredients, which are consistently top quality. All the vegetables are organic, and the chef grows over 40 varieties of tomatoes in his own garden. Marino goes downtown himself to select the fish at the Japanese wholesale fish market, like a top sushi chef. He follows the production of each season so everything is always fresh; therefore the menu changes frequently. Then comes his know-how---and his heart, as he likes to say---to deliver onto your plate a very fine squid ink pasta in sea urchin sauce or calf's tongue in parsley-basil sauce; a perfectly cooked Alaskan halibut with Umbrian lentils in leek sauce or a skate wing with black rice risotto in pea sauce. We like his innovative desserts such as the blood orange semifreddo or the poached pear. The smart Italian wine list includes hard-to-find and rare old vintages, as well as organic wines from Italy and California. There is a good business lunch---guaranteed in 30 minutes---that includes a first and second course plus dessert for $19. Vegetarians, vegans and those on gluten-free diets are always accommodated at Il Grano.
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Il Grano Restaurant is one of GAYOT's 2013
| Top 10 LA Food Rating Restaurants
| Top 10 LA Italian Restaurants
| Top 10 LA Power Lunch Restaurants
| Top 10 LA Seafood Restaurants
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Il Grano featured a two-week promotion of Authentic Italian Food in Los Angeles. Read more on GAYOT's blog.
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