"How have I not written a review for the amazing J.Trani yet???? Near us for Italian, we 've always had a soft spot for Giorgio (the man himself! and Giorgio 's in Rolling Hills (which is very good in its own right, although we do miss the old school ambience of the old location up the street from The Red Onion but looking for a change-up perhaps 6 or 7 years ago now, I, possibly regrettably (poor Giorgio 's! , found J.Trani in nearby San Pedro. Ever since then, when choosing great Italian food with great service and ambiance, we usually choose our daughter 's favorite over Giorgio 's. I 'm so sorry, Giorgio! Before kids, we were at Giorgio 's a lot...since kids...we are slaves to them and their picks. Jeez, if only they paid! Anyway...the daughter 's longtime favorite at J. Trani that leaves her wanting to come back again and again is the spaghetti and meatballs (even though her mother 's own homemade version is absolutely fantastic as well . The usual standouts for me have been The Peppers and the Sunday Sauce . First, I 'll talk about those traditional Italian peppers : Tempura shishito peppers, sweet chili beurre blanc, feta cheese, basil (description taken straight from the menu...minus the traditional Italian peppers part, duh . I think these were suggested to us by the waiter on our very first visit and I was VERY skeptical. Okay, a little confused too. BUT NO MO! These things are the bomb...and as is typical with shishito peppers, some peppers are harmless and some bomb your mouth with burning heat...so beware! I can 't tell you how awesome these things are; I even feel guilty eating them. If I were Catholic, I 'd have to go to Confessional. Side story: When restaurants first opened up again after Covid, my wife and I chose J. Trani as our very first date night (outside on the street, of course ; sorry, daughter! And the only thing on my mind was...HOLY ****, WE 'RE EATING OUT AT A REAL, HONEST TO GOODNESS RESTAURANT AGAIN! well, yes, that too but also THE PEPPERS. Seriously, not the amazing pasta, great cocktails, well everything else that is amazing (Oh, also post-Covid Freedom ...my mind was laser focused on THE PEPPERS. So order the peppers, ok? Next...that Pasta with Sunday Sauce. Truly one of the best dishes I 've ever had. I love me a real hearty beefy/short-ribby (or boar-y ragu. If I recall correctly, Sunday Sauce is the tomato sauce made with anything else a cook has left in the kitchen at the end of the week. Kinda like how San Francisco 's Italian fishermen in the late 1800s would take their leftover catch and throw it in a pot with tomatoes, herbs and olive oil and voila, Cioppino was born. Ya didn 't know that, did ya? Come to think of it, I don 't recall ever seeing Cioppino on J. Trani 's menu...ahem...hint hint...it is, after all, one of my favorite ever dishes. But I digress. Order the Sunday Sauce; it 's wonderful. And one time, they served it over cooked leftover pieces of pasta used in other dishes, carrying on the leftovers theme. I 'm a sucker for a good story/theme, so I eat that **** up...and how, I did! Over the years, my family has also enjoyed the delicious pork belly appetizer as well as the fish carpaccio appetizer and the meatball appetizer and the pizza. My wife and son repeatedly order The Best Veal (and sometimes pork chop parmesan, a massive dish, usually cooked on the bone and comes with a side of delicious penne with a slightly creamy tomato sauce. On our last visit last Friday for my daughter 's 14th birthday, J.Trani and our wonderful server did not disappoint, making for one of the best dining experiences ever. Truly. We had such a great time, we chose to put a family dinner at J. Trani 's on the books monthly so we 'll be back Friday, October 6th...and Friday, November 3rd...Life gets really busy and this is the first time we 're trying something like this so hopefully we can continue, you know, until high school when our kids turn into monsters. On our last visit, we tried the Calamari Milanese appetizer for the first time. The waiter suggested it prepared this way rather than new style (a more traditional fried calamari with a Thai aioli which I must say is a pretty bold suggestion for a typical 14 year old girl and 11 year old boy but he had our kids ' numbers alright because they are far from typical kid eaters. We absolutely adored this dish, which disappeared in seconds (ok, not really, we wanted to savor it . But we are definitely ordering this again (and again . The calamari was cooked perfectly We stuck with just one appetizer and the yummy warm, fresh bread to start in order to save our appetites for the main entrees. For dinner, the girl, of course, ordered the Spaghetti and Meatballs. The wife and boy ordered their usual The Best Veal chop (I 've had 2 rounds of leftovers of it this week and I 'm going to polish it off for dinner tonight...not joking . Oh no! I 've reached the maximum limit! I had the truffle carbonara and it was epic!"
