Alejo's Presto Trattoria
8343 Lincoln Blvd.
Westchester, CA 90045
It's been a long while since we've been up in this neck of the woods. It's been about a year or so since we've taken our good friends Chaz and Stephanie to LAX, so they can jet off to visit their grandkids in South Carolina. We have a simple agreement, we battle Friday evening traffic up the 405 in exchange for a free dinner. It works out great for all involved. They avoid paying the outrageous parking fees at the airport, while I get to pick a restaurant in a part of So Cal that I would usually not be around.
Chuck and Stephanie were pretty much up for any kind of food, but I know that they are partial to Italian, so I went to Yelp to find a spot near LAX that serves classic Italian cuisine. Mission accomplished. Alejo's is situated a few blocks north of the always busy runways of LAX, they had a four-star Yelp rating with over 600 reviews, and most importantly, their prices were pretty modest, which is a big plus for Chuck, (although it is fun to watch his eyes bug out when he sees the check come at more expensive places).
The story of this restaurant is a pretty interesting one. It was started by Alejo Castro, a native of Spain. After a few stops across the globe, he mastered the art of making pasta. He next made his home in the US, where he accepted a position at the now-shuttered La Scala in Malibu. Chef Alejo then branched out on his own and opened La Traviata in Hermosa Beach. A return to Spain resulted in that restaurant being sold. Missing Southern California, Alejo opened this current version of his namesake restaurant in 1991.
Now run by his sons, Tony and Christian, they have kept things relatively the same since the days when their father ran the place. They make all of their pasta, bread, and pizza on the premises. The large menu is dotted with all of your Italian favorites; pizza, pasta dishes, lasagna, chicken and seafood options, and of course some salads. Almost all the items on this menu list two prices which I assume is for smaller portion sizes. Only a few things at Alejo's pass the $20 threshold.
We arrived here on a Friday evening at 7:30. Parking can be a little tricky along this section of Lincoln, but we were fortunate enough to find a spot in their tiny lot behind their restaurant. The dining room is pretty laidback, with very minimal decor populating the space. There's a wall that features framed pictures of famous people that have eaten here, some, what I assume to be, family members portraits, and community awards they have received throughout the years and decades they have been in business. Let's check out the food to see if this was a great sendoff for our friends on their way to the East Coast.
Probably one of the most overflowing bread baskets we have ever received during the ten year run of this restaurant blog. After seeing how quickly this disappeared between the four of us, I guess they knew what they were doing. The Bread and accompanying Garlic Dip were addicting, to say the least. There was also oil and vinegar as well, but for any garlic lover, the garlic sauce is what you want. It's bordering on pungent, but man was it awesome. I had the taste with me for the whole car ride home. The bread was good as well. The cut-up ciabatta bread was a great vessel for either the garlic or the oil and vinegar.
Both Katie and I opted to get salads to start our meal off at Alejo's. She had the Chopped Salad ($8.95) which came with garbanzo beans, tomatoes, diced up salami, and mozzarella cheese, with finely chopped greens and their house dressing, which seemed like a creamy Italian from where I was sitting. Katie loved this salad, which was chopped nicely so it was easy to handle, and the flavors kept her interested during the short life of this salad. She'd probably try the Alejo Salad the next time, which is this same salad with turkey, bacon, and red cabbage added.
I went with my usual salad, a Caesar ($7). This traditional version of my favorite salad came with chopped romaine, anchovies, croutons, a sprinkle of parmesan, and Caesar dressing. This was a wonderful start to my time at Alejo's. The greens were fresh, there was just the right amount of dressing on this, and the anchovy added a burst of saltiness that perked up my tastebuds. Bear in mind that these are the half portions, which were more than enough for someone that's getting something else to eat in a few minutes.
Katie had the Spaghetti Carbonara ($15.95) this evening. Carbonara was one of the first meals I made for her when we started dating all those years ago, but this one blew mine away easily. This version utilizes a pink sauce and comes with crumbled bacon and mushrooms to round it out. A very rich dish, but she polished this off with no problem. The fresh pasta and the wonderful pink sauce made this non-traditional carbonara a winner.
Not wanting to get too full on their flight, Chuck and Stephanie agreed to split this Pepperoni Pizza ($17) between them. They were also generous enough to let me have what they did not eat on this evening, which was three of the slices. The pizzas at Alejo's are cooked in a brick oven, the dough is made daily, and kneaded by hand. You can taste the quality of the ingredients. There was no orange grease running down your arm eating this and the cheese and pepperoni tasted very fresh, even after being heated up the next day. It would be hard for me to come here and not get the lasagna that I had, but the pizzas would be a close second choice.
Alejo's ended up being a great place to eat before Chuck and Stephanie jetted off. We have taken them to LAX at least 20 times, and this is one of the best places we have eaten at up this way. This is the kind of restaurant that you wish was in your neighborhood. I feel a slight animosity towards the people of Westchester, who get to eat here whenever they want and some who probably even take it for granted. It's a good, honest, and low-key Italian place that serves some really solid food. With so much good going on here, I do have to mention that the service was not the best. After we were seated, it took about five minutes for us to be acknowledged, but our waiter did improve slightly throughout our stay. Even with the mediocre service, Chuck has mentioned that we need to come back here the next time we take them to LAX. That's fine with Katie and me, especially since he will paying.
Out of five owls, (because not only is Westchester the home of LMU, but also the Otis College of Art and Design, and their mascot is Otis the Owl), five being best to zero being worst, Alejo's Presto Trattoria gets 3.5 owls.
For more information about Alejo's Presto Trattoria, head to their website here: https://alejosrestaurant.com/
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