TESORO TRATTORIA

Since I started “Karen’s Restaurant Revue” many years ago, when people find out how extensive my list of dietary dislikes is, they always say, “How can you be a food critic?!” To which, I always reply, “I never said that I’m a FOOD critic; I’m a RESTAURANT critic.” There’s a big difference.

I let my viewers/readers/friends know what the total experience is. Dining out should be about so much more than the actual food, though of course that’s one of the main components. To me, the most important aspect is what you get out of it. Did you want just great food that night, or a hip scene, or to meet cute guys/girls, or convenience? All this goes into my decisions of where to send people.

My friend, Marcia, and I recently attended the ballet at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles. Knowing how crazy traffic has gotten in LA, she suggested we get there early and have dinner before the performance. I did a lot of research to find a restaurant with shuttle service to the Music Center, as that was our priority that night, convenience.

I usually like to try new places, but as I was still concerned about time, we chose Tesoro, which had served this same purpose for us a few years ago. The service was pleasant enough, and, on top of the shuttle, they validate parking for the building they’re in, which is a rarity. But before you say my favorite word, “Jackpot”, read on.

We shared an appetizer, entrée, and dessert, and agreed on the review of them all. The Caesar salad was just okay. The veal marsala was pretty good, but nothing special. At least it was a generous portion. When we asked for the dessert menu, our waiter brought over one of those dessert trays, designed to entice your taste buds into ordering more than you would if you just saw the descriptions in print. I never get tricked by those and they usually make me go the other way because to me, they never look as good as they sound.

This time was no exception, but needing chocolate to finish off the meal, Marcia and I agreed to a four-sided chocolate bar box-type structure, filled with chocolate mousse and cake. We both thought it was pretty awful, which is sad to us big-time chocoholics.

I figured that at least we weren’t hungry anymore (nauseated was more like it, in my case, after that pedestrian meal), and now we’d get that shuttle to the ballet, especially welcome because it had gotten pretty cold out while we were eating, and Marcia had a slight injury. They promised the service would start at 7PM, which is bad to begin with since the show was called for 7:30. We waited awhile and it never came, so we hoofed our way to the Music Center.

At least we’d have the quick ride back, which was necessary because I don’t really recommend walking around downtown late at night. I want all of you to guess if the shuttle showed up after the show. If you guessed “of course not,” give yourself an A. A shuttle from a different establishment took pity on us and gave us a ride, but dropped us off kind-of far away and very downhill. Which means we were walking uphill, in a scary neighborhood, in the cold, late at night. That defeated the whole purpose of eating at Tesoro to begin with!

Tesoro Trattoria 300 S. Grand Ave. 213-680-0000 www.tesorotrattoria.com

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And lastly, speaking of ballet, it’s “The Nutcracker” season again. Yay! I’ll be attending the Universal Ballet production at the Shrine this week-end. I’ve seen this company before and love them. Based in Seoul, Korea, their dancers and staff hail from fourteen nations. There are only four performances, so get in on it while you can!

The Nutcracker running Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2006 Shrine Auditorium 665 W. Jefferson Blvd. 213-480-3233 www.ticketmaster.com