Earlier today I was talking to my friend Bonny Stern; she thought that it would be nice to visit Vitellos Italian Restaurant, which caught me by surprise as she is someone who loves good restaurants…maybe things have changed for the better? I drove into the parking lot this evening to have dinner with the star of an upcoming new series on CBS and my son. Now this parking lot is attached to this so-called “Studio Citys Favorite,” and the last time I was here you could park for free…well these kings of milking you of every dime found a new way to dig even deeper into your wallet, now you get to pay for parking. Then HoseA and HoseB put up a fight about letting me park myself. Well, I am not cheap but no one parks my Bentley, no one. Most smart establishments don’t want the liability of parking one of these autos (Huh, this place is not smart). The yellow carpet service does not stop in the parking lot, it continues inside…you know the rule, dirty restrooms = often dirty restaurant and shitty attitude in the parking lot or at the door will carry on inside also, NEVER FAILS! Well I go in and ask to speak to the manager and tell him of my encounter with these two idiots in their parking lot and he tells me, they don’t work for us anyways. Note: If you park in this lot and something happens get ready to be told that it is not their problem. And as for the entertainment in this place it is as good as the food…STINKS. Opera night is a little like visiting a slaughter house, the noise that both of these places generate are very similar and you know what? They both stink. Folks, this place is the classic example of a couple of owners just getting every nickle, dime, and whatever they can from us, the victims of this so-called Italian eatery. The only thing that this place is known for it is where Robert Blake took his soon to be DEAD WIFE for dinner before someone shot her in the head! Hmm, could it have been after having a plate of this dive’s greasy food that she shot herself in the head for being so stupid for even eating here? Well, after getting the yellow carpet treatment we are not so stupid, we leave.
Sooooo, we go over to Caioti Pizza Cafe, 4346 Tujunga Ave, Studio City, Ca. It is across from the carnival lit signage dump called Vitello’s. We were greeted promptly and you got the feeling that they really wanted you to come in and eat. And eat we did, the spinach salad was the best, we had three different pizzas and that too was even better. The place was clean and well-lit (Vitello’s is dark and dank, bring a flash light and ear plugs). And the service was great! Our garlic nuggets came late to our table, that was the only glitch…because you can’t get to them fast enough, they were sooooo delish, warm, fresh and full of garlicky flavor. Also they have several brands of sodas all in bottles, just like the places I had eaten when I was a kid (many made with real cane sugar). We were so stuffed we took our freshly made strawberry cheesecake with us, Big Yum! Friends, do yourself a favor and skip Vitello’s and go to a place where fresh and friendly is the rule of thumb. Caioti has been around for 14 years…I am telling you to visit once and you will see why.
Vitello’s? Visit once and try and figure out how they have lasted and why are you sitting in this dump on Toojoonga.