Friday Quickies #11: Celestino & Paletas....

Ok, so my holi*days* turned into weeks and almost a month before I remembered "Oh yea, I should be putting this in my blog". Anyways, I hoped you all had a wonderful holidays and a happy '08 with many more good eats to come.

Celestino: Celebrated a friend's birthday recently and since he was jones-ing for pasta, I decided to take him to Celestino and get a first impression of the place. In short, it reminded me of Il Fornaio, a little more unique & a little bit pricier. The starters were great - my friend and I shared their salad of the day (a simple but fresh-tasting spinach/radicchio with hearty slices of romano cheese & citrusy vinaigrette) and the warm mushroom souffle with a fontina cheese center & a hint of black truffle. Our pasta main courses, however, were underwhelming and looked better on the menu than they did on our table. His pennette with proscuitto in vodka sauce wasn't particularly flavorful and lacked noticeable slices of meat. My duck & mushroom mezzelune in blueberry/mushroom sauce was tastier, but didn't deliver the interesting fruity punch I expected. So overall, it's OK, but I doubt I'd visit again for mid-priced Italian.

La Mich Paleteria: For my east San Gabriel Valley readers who don't feel like trucking all the way to Scoops or even Fosselman's in Alhambra for a decent scoop, there's La Mich Paleteria in Duarte (off Huntington in the Target plaza). As the name indicates, they serve plenty of paletas, Mexican ice cream pops made with fresh fruit, and their ice creams are silky-rich and mildly sweet. The flavor selection is very authentic to what's offered south-of-the-border, including rompope (rum), cactus, cajeta (Mexican caramel) and spicy mango. So far, I'm swooning over the pecan and cajeta ice creams and can't wait to discover more wonderful delights.

Future Foodie Stuff: Like every other local foodie, I too am stoked about LA Mill's opening today and can't wait to enjoy good joe and good grub. And of course, DineLA is looming even closer ~ and I have a few more places to add to my list of must-trys.