The Price Is Right

“It’s not going to be very good,” I said, looking at the menu taped to the window. Certainly this new restaurant wasn’t much to look at. It was just a simple store front, with bright lights and travel posters on the wall. They didn’t have a beer and wine license and they didn’t take credit cards. But the thing that made me really suspicious of Il Tiramisu, 13705 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 986-2640, was the prices. They seemed very low.

When was the last time you saw an 11-inch pizza for $4.25? To my surprise it turned out to be pretty good pizza. The fried calamari was better than that; a large plate of cleanly fried squid cost $4.95 and was a real delight. Eggplant parmigiana was another shock; it tasted like it had been made by somebody’s mother--and a generous serving was only $4.25. The Caesar salad ($3.25) was better than a lot of the ones you find around town for a lot more money. The various pasta dishes cost $4.95-$7.95, and the very nice waiter came over and personally grated cheese over our plates. That didn’t do much, unfortunately, to disguise the fact that the chef is a little heavy-handed with the oil. The main courses weren’t much to shout about and the desserts--including the very dish the restaurant was named for--could use some work.

Still, walking out the door I had to admit that for the most part, I’d been wrong.