Restaurant Minestraio
![Friends enjoy a drink at the bar at Minestraio trattoria, which has replaced La Terza in the same space.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d720e25/2147483647/strip/true/crop/586x407+0+0/resize/586x407!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fef%2F4b%2F70ef2dae0867afeaaca62ea8531c%2Fla-fo-review01b-klaxxanc.jpg)
Friends enjoy a drink at the bar at Minestraio trattoria, which has replaced La Terza in the same space. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Minestraio offers a handful of starters including some delicious little veal meatballs in tomato sauce, a couple of salads and a lovely eggplant parmigiana. But the best one to share is battilarda (seen here) a wooden board with Italian cold cuts. Its not the most generous platter around, but perfectly fine, especially for the pistachio-studded mortadella folded like handkerchiefs. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
![la-fo-review03B_klaxtknc.jpg](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fb784ed/2147483647/strip/true/crop/586x386+0+0/resize/586x386!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa1%2F28%2Ff3f68c779f8eb7ebfcc4647e6d78%2Fla-fo-review03b-klaxtknc.jpg)
A good choice among the main courses is the breaded pork chop alla Milanese. It’s about a half-inch thick, fried to a golden brown and served with a decent potato purée. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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Customers enjoy dinner on the patio at Minestraio. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
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For dessert, try the vanilla cooked cream with strawberry. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)