On the Westside, a True Trattoria

Los Angeles must have enough Italian restaurants to feed the citizens of Rome or at least Palermo, enough that everybody here has a favorite neighborhood trattoria. And since I’ve eaten at more of them than most, I can say with a certain authority that Alto Palato stands out from the crowd.

Under young Roberto Perotti, 30, who has been chef since the restaurant opened in 1994 on the border of West Hollywood in the old Pazzia (and Fennel) space, this swank trattoria just keeps getting better.

As at trattorias in Italy, if you’re a regular (and I am one), he’ll cook you whatever you like. Owner Danilo Terribili or Gino Rindone, the genial manager, will quickly run through the list of the day’s fresh ingredients and the possibilities. Perhaps a simple grilled sole with a little lemon? A bowl of stracciatella (egg-drop soup, Italian-style)? A plate of burrata (fresh mozzarella with an irresistibly creamy heart) seasoned with black peppercorns and a thread of deep green olive oil? Or, here’s one, Terribili will say: “Have you ever had cacio e pepe?” It’s a Roman specialty, spaghetti tossed with pecorino (salty sheep’s milk cheese), lots of crushed black peppercorns and a little rendered guanciale, or cured pork jowl. Another strong-tasting, utterly captivating option is spaghetti ai ricci, with raw sea urchin, available only when a fish supplier from Santa Barbara makes his rounds.

Last year, Alto Palato initiated a series of three-course regional dinners on Wednesday nights, which are a terrific bargain at $25. Without having to buy an airline ticket, you can sample the pleasures of, say, Emilia-Romagna, Basilicata (in the south of Italy) or Trentino-Alto Adige (close to the Alps in northern Italy). It’s a chance for Perotti to really show what he can do. And when he cooks a menu from his home region, Piedmont, he pulls out all the stops. Plus, every bottle of wine is 40% off on those evenings, so you have the chance to drink well above your normal budget and make the acquaintance of some really splendid Italian wines.

Most of the time, though, if I’m dining out on my own money and want just a casual, comforting meal, Alto Palato comes immediately to mind. First, for the pizzas. I can’t get enough of these thin-crusted, Roman-style pies. The Margherita is always good, smeared with just the right amount of loose, freshly made tomato sauce and relieved only by a pretty scattering of mozzarella and basil leaves. Add anchovies, and the pizza becomes a Napoletana. Another choice involves sliced potatoes strewn with rosemary. Recently, I tried a version from Abruzzi that Rindone was very enthusiastic about: sausage and onions with tomato sauce. It was terrific, like all the pizzas here, not so overfreighted with toppings that you can’t taste the slightly smoky, crackling crisp dough that was baked in the wood-burning oven. I’m also a big fan of the carciofi, or fresh artichoke, pizza.

Actually, artichokes are something of a theme here. The current menu features the Roman antipasto carciofi alla Romana, braised in olive oil with mentuccia, a Roman herb that’s a relative of mint. But my favorite, which appears as an occasional special, is carciofi alla Giudia, the way it’s prepared in the old Jewish quarter of Rome--deep-fried to look like a flower on its stem, each petal nutty and crisp. I sometimes get two orders, it’s that good. Perotti’s artichoke repertoire also includes an excellent rendition of raw artichoke salad drenched in lemon and salt cod with fried baby artichokes.

I can’t forget the calzone, a circlet of dough folded over to form a half-moon filled with molten ricotta cheese and emerald spinach leaves. Ricotta and spinach are one of those combinations destined for each other.

I also come to Alto Palato for bucatini all’ Amatriciana, a thick tube spaghetti sauced with tomato, onion and guanciale. The sweet little nuggets of guanciale add something indefinably round to the sauce. It’s rich all right, but, still, I’d skip almost any dessert to relish pasta with guanciale more than once in a while. But even something as ordinary as linguine ai frutti di mare is unusually well-executed. I’m fond, too, of the new timballo, spaghetti sauced with a delicate squab rag turned out of a spinach-lined mold. Gnocchi, though, are not particularly memorable and, on an off night, can be really quite awful. And the one risotto on the menu right now also seems to suffer from overkill, with both saffron and squid ink along with a panoply of seafood.

I’m enamored of Perotti’s earthier creations, such as the trio of Piedmontese appetizers: sliced veal tongue in a piquant green sauce, roasted peppers in olive oil, anchovy and garlic and a classic vitello tonnato, cold roasted veal with tuna sauce. Meaty roasted pork ribs with stewed cabbage comes in a trencherman’s portion. A particularly adept pollo alla cacciatora, sauteed in garlic, anchovy, rosemary and a little vinegar and white wine, makes a nice light supper. And sometimes, by request, you can get a whole roasted chicken stuffed with diced potato, garlic and wild fennel, a specialty of the Lazio region, and made here from Terribili’s mother’s recipe.

I’m less taken with the fancier additions to the menu such as tournedos Rossini, which simply gilds the lily, topping the beef with sauteed foie gras and chips of black truffle in a Madeira sauce. Lobster ravioli is too rich and cloying.

Alto Palato’s desserts have improved. There’s a superlative tiramisu--neatly layered espresso-soaked lady fingers and genuine mascarpone--served elegantly in a martini glass. And don’t miss the beguiling warm chocolate tart served with vanilla gelato. Rindone, who learned his craft in the top bars of Turin in northern Italy, is the genie behind the Italian ice creams and sorbetti. And as for that after-dinner espresso, he is a master. Each tiny cup is never bitter and has the perfect amount of schiuma, or foam. Which is about the biggest compliment I can pay to the true Italian cooking here.

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ALTO PALATO

CUISINE: Italian. AMBIENCE: Stylish trattoria with wood-burning pizza oven and lovely outdoor patio. BEST DISHES: Pizza Margherita, carciofi alla Romana, bucatini all’ Amatriciana, pollo alla cacciatora, regional Wednesday night dinners. WINE PICKS: 1995 Icardi Barbera, Piedmont. FACTS: 755 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 657-9271. Dinner nightly; lunch Friday and Saturday. Antipasti, $6 to $13; pizzas, $9 to $12; pastas and primi, $10 to $14; main courses, $15 to $29. Corkage $10. Valet parking.