Zero Stars For Firenze Osteria, "Italian Food for Dummies"

Ouch. The subheading says it all, "The food's not the reason crowds are flocking to Fabio Viviani's new place." And to make matters worse, no stars this week for Firenze Osteria, zip, zilch, zero. To start, SIV explains,

"Now, I wasn't expecting Viviani to reinvent Italian cooking or anything big like that, though he does state on his website that he's into molecular cuisine and fusion. But what I didn't expect was a menu so conventional it reads like a tourist trap -- mostly generic dishes from no particular region. Italian Food for Dummies."

The food is pretty much entirely a disaster with few words of promise sprinkled in, perhaps because Fabio doesn't seem to be spending much time in the kitchen. The highlight turns out to be the service which is some of the best SIV has encountered in the San Fernando Valley. But, that's not enough to procure even half a star. [LAT]

The Elsewhere:The Find treks out to Artesia for Mumbai Ki Galliyon Se, Food, She Thought visits R23, Eating LA takes a turn at Bouchon, Gastronomy samples the wares of Good Girl Dinette, Dig Lounge searches for Chicago-style pizza at Masa, Potatomato lunches at Bimi, and Gourmet Pigs slurps noodles and soup at Ichimian Bamboo Garden.

Firenze Osteria

4212 Lankershim Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 916