A Fresh Taste of Italy

Only in the Southland: An Italian restaurant with a Moroccan owner and an unvarying soundtrack of Gypsy Kings music. That’s Notte Luna, a place of mauve walls, Art Deco posters and tables covered with butcher paper, located in an alley just east of Brand Boulevard in downtown Glendale. (It also has a patio facing a brick wall.)

As soon as you sit down, you start on hot bread spread with olive tapenade. After that, you might have classic Caesar salad or radicchio e rugola, two greens splashed with a nice balsamic vinaigrette. There’s a nice bruschetta topped with chopped tomato, basil, olive oil and a robust shot of garlic. No points for the bland, beanless minestrone soup, though, which didn’t have much in the way of flavor or soul.

I was surprised to learn that the pizzas (extra-thin crust models) were made in an ordinary metal pizza oven; they’re so good I suspected a wood-burning oven. Pizza siciliana is topped with tomatoes, capers, pungent olives, basil, oregano and, OK, maybe a few anchovies too many. The nearly faultless pizza prosciutto e funghi comes with marinara, mozzarella, lots of fresh mushrooms and thinly sliced Italian ham.

Most of the pastas are dried, but the kitchen does make a few fresh ones, such as ravioli al funghi, big pockets of dough filled with mushrooms and ricotta, all in a light pink sauce. The place also makes gnocchi with a real al dente bite.

One of my friends raved about his risotto, though I couldn’t understand why. The dish he ordered, risotto alla vegetariana, was basically arborio rice with lots of tomato sauce and chopped vegetables, and the delicate flavor of the rice had all but disappeared under the flood of tomato sauce.

I did agree, however, that angel hair alla checca, topped with chopped tomatoes, garlic and basil (the same topping as the good bruschetta) was perfectly executed. The linguine Bolognese was also quite good, thanks to a fragrant, meaty veal ragu.

New York steak alla erbe is a good piece of meat crusted with green herbs, and next time, I’ll have it without the rich brown sauce; this steak can stand on its own. One more secondo worth a try is paillard Milanese, a lightly breaded chicken breast topped with more of that garlicky checca.

From the dessert tray, choose flourless chocolate cake or hazelnut-crusted butter cream torte. Both are uncommonly rich. The dining scene in downtown Glendale is getting richer as well, and Notte Luna is happy to be part of the trend.

BE THERE

Notte Luna, 113 N. Maryland Avenue, Glendale. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; dinner 5-11 p.m. daily. Beer and wine. Validated parking at the Exchange. All major cards. Lunch for two, $21-$32. Suggested dishes: Caesar salad, $3.99; bruschetta, $3.99; pizza prosciutto e funghi, $8.75; ravioli ai funghi, $8.95. Call (818) 552-4100.