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Angeli Caffe

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Angeli Caffe

The BF was craving warm, fresh baked bread and Italian food, so we went to Angeli Caffe on Melrose. It’s a small Italian restaurant with pretty good fresh bread and pasta. For such good food, it’s strange that it’s so under-appreciated, but that’s good for us because that means we don’t have to wait to get a table.
Angeli Caffe

We started off with a beet salad with burrata, which I had on the side so the BF could share it with me. The beets were sweet and went surprisingly well with the arugula that also came in the salad. The burrata’s creaminess balanced the sweet and tart dressing out well too.
Angeli Caffe

We also had the minestrone soup which was more like pureed minestrone soup. It was delicious and had a nice spiciness to it. I could have had a big bowl of it and some of the fresh bread and have been happy.
Angeli Caffe

As a main dish, I had the gnocci of the day, which was in a butter sage sauce and topped with crispy fried shallots. The gnocci was the perfect chewy consistency without being too starchy or too soft. The butter sauce and shallots made the gnocci richer than it already was, but it was washed down perfectly with the wine we also ordered.
Angeli Caffe

The BF had their spaghetti with grape/cherry tomatoes, mint, zucchini, and zucchini flowers. The flowers tasted great and the spaghetti was nice and al dente, but the mint in the dish made it taste weird. I think if they used a little less mint, the dish would have been better.


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Angeli Caffe
7274 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 936-9086

Dinner: Focaccia

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Thyme and garlic focaccia
Tonight was my first time making focaccia and I was surprised how tasty it turned out. I didn’t use a recipe since other than starting with the sponge from this bread recipe. I let the sponge do its thing overnight +8 hours (while I was at work) and then mixed in flour, salt, water, and olive oil. I mixed the dough mostly by feel and then put it in the stand mixer to knead, so I didn’t get exact measurements.

Then, I let the dough rest for another hour or so while it doubled. After, I poured the dough onto an oiled baking sheet, stretched it into a somewhat rectangular shape, and let it rest (covered by bigger roasting pan to protect from drafts) for about 45 minutes. Finally, I dimpled the dough, brushed on a mixture of rosemary-infused olive oil, dried thyme, minced garlic, and salt. Lastly, I baked for about 25-30 minutes at 450 degrees.

The focaccia came out with a crunchy exterior and a soft, buttery interior. I think next time, I’ll let it rest a bit longer the last time so that the dough can develop more bubbles and maybe add a pinch more salt to the dough while mixing it to give it more flavor. Baking it with fresh rosemary and slices of onions on top might be good too.