Italian Food With a Flair

When a friend recently suggested we eat at Alejo’s, I thought of the crowd of people I have seen there, frequently snaking out onto the sidewalk in front of the place. So I quoted that esteemed philosopher, Yogi Berra: “Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.”

But we did go to Westchester, endured a brief wait and found out what the crowd was there for: Alejo’s generous plates of Italian favorites at reasonable prices.

The owner is Alejo Castro, a native of Spain, who began his restaurant career as a dishwasher at a hotel in Bern, Switzerland. One day, the manager watched Alejo prepare himself lunch, rolling out sheets of lasagna with a wine bottle. The manager tasted the lasagna and the next day Alejo was made chef’s assistant.

Eventually Alejo moved on to Los Angeles, where he met Jean Leon, owner of La Scala in Beverly Hills. He worked at La Scala Malibu and at La Scala Presto in Brentwood before striking out on his own. In 1991, he opened Alejo’s in Marina Del Rey, and last year, a second, much larger Alejo’s in Westchester.

A popular dish here is linguine pescatore ($8.95), a heaping portion of pasta topped with clams, squid and shrimp sauteed in olive oil, garlic, white wine and fresh basil. Alejo is proud of his tri-color ravioli ($6.25), in which each individual ravioli is made with three kinds of pasta: green (spinach), red (bell pepper), and the common egg variety. The filling choices are veal, chicken or vegetables.

Spaghetti carbonara con funghi ($6.25) is a rich dish of pasta coated with cream, sprinkled with bacon and topped off with mushrooms and tomatoes. Lighter appetites might choose the refreshing angel hair with sauteed vegetables ($6.25).

A recent daily special was eggplant mama mia ($7.95), chicken breast and fresh Italian mozzarella sandwiched between two discs of eggplant, baked, topped with a marinara sauce and served with a side of spaghetti.

Alejo’s is at 8343 Lincoln Blvd., Westchester. (310) 670-6677. Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Also at 4002 Lincoln Blvd., Marina Del Rey.