Pasta Perfect

For all the lost souls on jury duty downtown wondering where they can possibly get good Italian food and still get back to the courthouse by 1:30, here’s one address that will give them a brisk 10-minute walk each way and a restorative lunch before they return to the wheels of justice. Vivere Ristorante is only a few months old, yet it’s been discoverd by enough of the courthouse crowd, mostly lawyers and judges, to fill the large dining room weekdays. Placido Domingo, artistic director of the L.A. Opera, eats here, too. Nowhere else downtown can you find such authentic Italian cooking.

At lunch Vivere, which means “to live” in Italian, adds panini and pizza to some of the antipasti and pasta items that appear on the dinner menu, although at slightly lower prices. These are true Italian panini, or sandwiches, not overstuffed American versions. A model of the genre is the panino with prosciutto and provolone. Made on a large, round flatbread called piadina, it’s cut in quarters, the easier to pick up, with molten cheese and good prosciutto inside. On top is a nicely dressed salad of greens, and you get a handful of thick-cut golden roast potatoes. It’s a steal at $7.25. There are also panini filled with grilled vegetables, white albacore tuna or marinated chicken breast and roasted sweet peppers.

Despite the lack of a wood-burning oven, the pizzas are comparable to the ones you might find at any neighborhood pizzeria in Italy. They’re thin-crusted and not overloaded with toppings, which is the way Italians prefer their pizza. Along with the basic pizza Margherita, there’s quattro stagioni (four seasons), in which the four quadrants of the pizza each have a different topping: eggplant, artichokes, zucchini and sausage. Capricciosa is a “capricious” mix of several different ingredients, in this case, roasted red and yellow peppers, dark kalamata olives, finely sliced prosciutto and the occasional mushroom. Add a nicely dressed salad of organic lettuce, or, even better, the insalata ai frutti di mare, a lovely seafood salad of steamed mussels in the shell, shrimp and calamari with olives, sweet peppers and cucumbers, all in a sprightly lemon-drenched vinaigrette.

At dinner time, Vivere does a brisk pre-theater business. It’s just across from the Music Center, so close that you can walk to the performance. But after 7:30, sadly, it’s almost empty, except for the residents of the high-rise apartment complex across the street, who seem to be using Vivere as their private restaurant. Lucky for them. If the restaurant is not filled, though, the banal decor and nondescript setting become all too evident. The only thing that personalizes it are the quirky paintings of fish-eyed people seen through martini and gimlet glasses.

Vivere may not be the best choice for romance, but it definitely is for food and professional service. Owner Orazio Afrento is a familiar face from Drago in Santa Monica. He was the best waiter there for years, before he left to open Cucina Paradiso (now closed) in Redondo Beach with three Drago co-workers.

At Vivere, the warm and energetic Afrento seems to be everywhere at once. He’s there at lunch and dinner, greeting you at the door, running interference with the kitchen, reciting the fish special along with the footnote that he himself picked it out at the fish market that morning. The restaurant doesn’t have its wine license yet, so he encourages patrons to bring their own, which he’ll comment on and pour with the panache of a seasoned sommelier.

Listen to his advice: If he offers to put together an antipasti misti (mixed antipasto plate) for the table, take him up on it. It’s a generous plate of grilled zucchini and eggplant, good quality prosciutto di Parma, maybe some salami, and, of course, a little cheese, which could be anything from an Italian goat cheese to pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Another favorite of mine is grilled Hawaiian prawns with cannellini beans, fresh tomato and sage. The beans are infused with flavor and the shrimp bright and fresh. It’s a smart, contemporary take on the classic tonno e fagioli (tuna and beans). Finally, here’s somebody who knows how to cook beans.

Bresaola, thinly sliced air-dried beef, is paired to effect with some buffalo mozzarella, oil-slicked roasted peppers and basil. And tender crespelle (crepes) are delicious, filled with sauteed wild mushrooms. Even the carpaccio here is above par. The thinly sliced raw beef, in this case, filet mignon, is showered with arugula and slivers of Parmigiano-Reggiano. All the basics are very well done.

I have to say, though, the pastas are this restaurant’s strongest suit. When I order the farfalle, those little bow-ties are cooked so perfectly that the “knot” is al dente. They’re cloaked in a vibrant tomato sauce laced with crumbled fennel-scented sausage. Chef Jose Luis Santoyo isn’t Italian, but he gets pasta better than some Italian-born chefs. His light hand is evident in penne tossed with shrimp, zucchini and garlic. Orecchiette, the “little ears” from the south of Italy, make a heartier dish tossed with broccoli rabe, sausage and tomato. And gently folded inch-wide pappardelle are a fine match with pheasant and intensely musky wild mushrooms, the sauce smoothed with a little cream. Nothing is over-sauced--with one exception: the agnolotti stuffed with lobster. Why does every restaurant--even some so-called trattorie--feel compelled to offer pastas made with luxury ingredients? Here you can’t really taste the lobster, because it’s covered by a heavy tomato and pesto sauce. So what’s the point?

Maryland crab cakes don’t have enough crab to make any kind of impression, either. And, occasionally, something will be inexplicably bland, like the vegetable minestrone one day, which needed both a stronger stock and some salt.

The main courses are not as compelling as the pasta, which is true at most Italian restaurants--unless there’s goat or lamb roasting over the spit or pork chops grilling in a fireplace. Here, I’d pay attention to Afrento’s specials. One night the fish is orange roughy. Cooked with olives and capers, it’s one of the better fish dishes I’ve had lately. Osso buco is straightforward and hearty, and the saffron risotto underneath the massive veal shank tastes like the real thing. I can also recommend the roasted veal chop flavored with a thin slice of prosciutto and fontina.

For dessert, try the tiramisu, which is made with more mascarpone than cream. It’s fun to see an orange panna cotta on the menu, but this one got an overdose of gelatin, so it isn’t as fragile in texture as it should be. Oh well, there’s always the torta della nonna, or grandmother’s cake, which is filled with a sweet, dense almond paste. If you’re lucky, Afrento will offer a taste of his wife’s limoncello. Boozy and sugary, this cordial ends the meal on a note of lemons and sunshine and the south of Italy. Not a bad thing when you’re deep in the heart of downtown.

All in all, Vivere is a solid Italian restaurant and right where we need one--downtown. If you stop in often enough, you can mark the progression of the work on Frank Gehry’s massive Walt Disney Concert Hall. You can’t beat that: pasta and monumental architecture.

Vivere Ristorante

710 W. 1st St.

Promenade Plaza

Los Angeles

(213) 437-4937

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: *1/2

AMBIENCE: A nondescript carpeted space with upholstered chairs, double tablecloths and gallery of paintings. SERVICE: Warm and professional. BEST DISHES: Prosciutto and provolone panino, antipasti misti, crespelle, pappardelle with pheasant, penne with shrimp and zucchini, orecchiette alla Barese, roasted veal chop, osso buco, tiramisu. Dinner appetizers, $5 to $12. Main courses, $10 to $22. WINE PICKS: No wine and beer license yet. FACTS: Lunch weekdays. Dinner Monday through Saturday. Valet service and parking in lot below Promenade Plaza (entrance on 1st Street).

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. eeee: Outstanding on every level. eee: Excellent. ee: Very good. e: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.