Primo Italia Enters Torrance With Fresh Italian Done Well

Recently I heard that a new Italian restaurant opened in Torrance. Named Primo Italia, I had to see for myself what they were all about.

Michelangelo Aliaga is the executive chef for Primo Italia. Co-owner Lou Giovannetti described “Mic”, as his brother from another mother. He added that he’s a true heritage based Italian chef and he’s passionate about Italian cooking and its deep history.

Lou remarked: “We taste a lot of San Marzano tomatoes looking for the right level of sweetness. Even when we select one, we continue to monitor them for changes. It’s part of our family heritage. We strive for fresh ingredients and our goal is to keep things simple”.

Piping hot calamari fritti with a spicy tomato sauce

Heirloom Tomatoes with Fresh Burrata and Basil and virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar

For appetizers, we selected calamari fritti and the heirloom tomato and burrata salad. Simply tasting the calamari, you can tell that it was extremely fresh. It was paired with a spicy tomato sauce. The heirloom tomato, burrata cheese, virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar provided an exciting beginning to our meal.

Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese

An example of their strategy for freshness is their Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese. It was served in a traditional bolognese meat sauce tossed with their housemade tagliatelle. This is a wide flat noodle that clung to the meat sauce. The freshness of the pasta made this a pleasing dish to eat.

Braised lamb osso buco with tender asaparagus

The osso buco was braised and I did not need a knife to separate the meat from the bone. After I applied my fork, the lamb simply dropped from the bone. The lamb was of high quality, very lean and crisp around the edges. The grilled asparagus was probably locally sourced because it was extremely tender.

Pink Lemonade and Lou’s Old Fashioned

For our drinks, I tried the Lou’s Old Fashioned. It came with a choice of bourbon or rye whiskey; I selected rye whiskey. It was combined with bitters, a homemade turbo liqueur and citrus oils. It was extremely smooth and I can see why they branded it with owner’s name.

The use of Charbay Meyer Lemon vodka certainly raised our eyebrows in the drink named Pink Lemonade. Clear Creek cherry brandy, canne shrub and pineapple is added to this lemon vodka base. This was a refreshing citrus drink that goes well with the warmer temperatures that we are now experiencing.

Their beverage list contains a good selection of domestic red and white wines. They excel in their selection of Italian red wines. If you are into trying new varieties, you’ll appreciate that they have over 20 wines available by the glass. They have an impressive set of wines from Tuscany.

In addition to homemade pasta, Primo Italia also specializes in wood-fired pizzas. Lou explained that they purchased a huge cement Morelli pizza oven and had to lower it by crane. They ended up designing the restaurant around the pizza oven.

Cannolis stuffed with fresh ricotta cheese, served with fresh berries and a raspberry sauce

For dessert we split a cannoli. Fortunately for us, we discovered that the menu should have said “cannolis” as we were served two. It was stuffed with fresh ricotta cheese. What made this interesting and unique was that one end was dusted with crushed pistachios and the other was dusted with chocolate. We enjoyed this unique offering.  

Live entertainment is available on Friday and Saturday evenings from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Lou or one of his many friends will perform alongside a live piano. If you haven’t heard Lou sing, it’s worth a visit to enjoy music and fresh Italian food well executed.  

Primo Italia
http://www.eatprimo.com/