We started Drive & Find a few years back because, frankly, we were damn intimidated by the vast Los Angeles culinary scene. It’s a simple concept: two Westside dudes are hungry… they pick an area of town… they take a drive … they find an alluring restaurant … they dine there. This concept has brought us all around LA – from seafood to Thai to total crap – nonetheless our affinity for the unknown remains.
DATE: Sunday, May 2, 2009
RESTAURANT: Cantalini’s Salerno Beach Restaurant
193 Culver Blvd; Playa del Rey, 90293
310.821.0018
www.salernobeach.com
Their slogan: “The Best in Traditional Italian Cuisine.”
Our Slogan: “The Best in Traditional Italian Cuisine … on that part of Culver Blvd.”
Drive Time: 20 minutes
LIKES: Saltwater smell outside. The house band straight out of an early ‘90s Steve Martin romantic comedy. Cozy date spot. The hand-painted walls. Leather booths outside for table waiting. Cute, oddly dressed hostess. A lot of cork popping all around. Locals in beach attire.
DISLIKES: Thirty minute wait at 7:45 p.m. on a Sunday. The enflamed MAC Tools Autoracing parka worn by a dude at an adjacent table. At times feeling like we were in coastal South Carolina. The bread. Their middle school class project website (www.salernobeach.com ).