felix, venice.
hello hello! i've taken a bit of a breather from the blog while i got settled into 2018. everything was go-go-go all of 2017 that i'd been feeling a bit burnt out. this year is off to a slow start, a lot more eating at home and weekends without plans, and it's been a welcome and needed change.
bloody knuckle: rye whiskey, aperitivo select, sloe gin.
but, let's jump back in time just a little bit. we finally managed to get reservations at felix in early december and it was a great meal. james used to live in venice, so it was fun making it back to his old neighborhood. i, of course, was excited to eat all. the. pasta.
from where we sat, we could just barely see the pasta room.
sfincione: focaccia siciliana, rosemary, sea salt, olive oil.
we tried three out of the ten pasta dishes on the menu that night, and all were so good. you really can't go wrong with what you order here i think! however, what you absolutely MUST get is the sfincione. we almost didn't order it because it's a focaccia, which i'm not the biggest fan of usually, but our waiter insisted and i'm so glad he did. it is HEAVEN. it may be the best thing i ate last year. not a week has gone by in the three months since that i haven't thought about how badly i want to go back just for the sfincione. imagine a deep fried cloud - it's the best way i can describe it! except it's baked, and covered in olive oil, speckled with salt and rosemary. super light and fluffy with the most delectable softly-crunch exterior. i'm salivating just thinking about it right now.
sfincione closeup.
arrosticini: grilled lamb skewers & green garlic salsa verde.
okay, enough about sfincione. the lamb skewers were bomb, and i wasn't expecting it. super juicy and flavorful, and the salsa verde just put it over the edge. all the pasta was excellent, which i was totally expecting. i can't pick a favorite, we decided to order three very different pastas, and they were all so good in their own ways. whatever you're in the mood for, you really can't go wrong (again, unless you don't order the sfincione, in which case my heart breaks for you just a little bit).
tonnarelli cacio e pepe: black pepper and pecorino fulvi.
spaghettone al ricci di mare: santa barbara sea urchin, peperoncino, parsley.
orecchiette: sausage sugo, broccoli di cicco, peperoncino, canestrato.
the scallops at the end of the meal was the only not-amazing part of the meal. mostly because we were so full at this point, i'm not sure we would have truly enjoyed anything, but also because it came after the very meaty orecchiette. at the time, i wished it had come out before it, but it's a secondi and that has to come after pasta, right?
capesante: diver scallops, black trumpets, celery root, black truffle.
anyway, that's where we ended our meal at the super popular, super packed restaurant. it totally lives up to all the hype. go! (and don't forget to get the sfincione!!)
1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
