A Nifty Angeli Clone Rises in the East

Atwater looks like the little town that time forgot. Walk along the broad expanse of Glendale Boulevard, with its thrift shops and its shoemakers and its laundromats, and you’ll find it hard to believe that you are only minutes from downtown. What you may find even harder to believe is how many people are already making their way over to the newest little restaurant on the Boulevard.

What’s this chic little spot doing over here anyway? And isn’t there something vaguely familiar about Osteria Nonni, 3219 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 667-9588? Indeed both the architecture and the menu bear a family resemblance to Angeli. You’ll find the same cool, casual look and the same sort of food. There’s a good antipasto plate, great pizzas, fine pasta dishes, a couple of simple entrees. For dessert there’s a tirami su soaked in enough coffee to really deserve its name (“pick me up”).

The restaurant itself is also deserving of its name. “Nonni” are grandparents--in this case the parents of some of the Angeli principals--and they’ve turned this nice little spot into a sort of Angeli East. No wonder the place is already packed.