Last Wednesday Gino Angelini's La Terza bid farewell to summer truffles by holding a 7-course black truffle dinner. I thought for $75 this was a pretty good deal so of course I skipped class and went!
The server took quite a while taking our drink order and giving us the check at the end, but at least the dishes came promptly and smoothly - much much better than the 5x5. Of course they are not nearly as crowded. I guess Italians just like to take it slow ..
First course, we started with Scrambled eggs and black truffles
I don't know how he does it but his runny scrambled eggs are always so delicious. The intensity of the color also tells you how great the eggs themselves were as an ingredient - full of flavor.
Tuna tartar, assorted citrus, black truffles and Sicialian pistachio
An interesting flavor combination, with the citrus and the nuttiness (and slight crunchiness) from the pistachio. The truffles added to the nuttiness flavor.
Pan roasted whole quail, soft polenta and black truffles
The roasted quail was great. A pretty gamey bird that was flavorful and juicy. The skin is slightly crisped just the way I like it. The black truffles seem to be an afterthought here though since the quail already stands out so much and frankly needed nothing else.
Open ravioli, porcini mushrooms, black truffles and cream of parmigiano
I think the truffles worked the best in this dish. The combination of the truffles and the porcini mushrooms really make the flavors (and aroma!) stand out.
Veal Shank Agnolotti with Black Truffles
This may be my favorite dish of the night. The veal shank inside was just absolutely ... oh I'm at a loss for words. Basically I wanted them to put a pound of this stuff in front of me so I can eat it up! Not only was it flavorful and juicy, the tenderness was wonderful. The shank juice mingling with the black truffles also enhanced the truffle aroma, making the dish as a whole work so perfectly.
Beef filet, quail eggs, black truffles and port reduction
I was really stuffed at this point and trying to finish this filet was getting painful! :P
I liked the addition of the quail egg. Again here I felt the black truffles were just an excess addition - if it wasn't truffle night they could just serve this dish without them. Not that I am complaining about the abundance of truffles in this meal, it just would've been amazing if the dish and the truffles work together better.
The meal ended with Vanilla and Black Truffles Gelato
I was skeptical of this at first, but as it turned out, black truffles on gelato is an awesome idea. Second favorite dish of the night. Or maybe third after the quail, I don't know. The truffle aroma actually really enhanced the flavor of the vanilla gelato. It's hard for me to describe it, but I will say that I absolutely loved it.
And to think, this 7-course meal was cheaper than my one white truffle pasta dish at Angelini Osteria a year ago. I'll definitely be looking forward to more dinners like this one again! When I accept the fact that service at La Terza tends to be slow, I actually have a really enjoyable meal there.
La Terza
8384 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Phone: 323.782.8384
