Comments (0) BEST AFFORDABLE ITALIAN WITH NO CORKAGE FEE - 2009
Colori Kitchen
Who says Italian food has to be expensive? Between the Mozza empire, the Drago empire, Il Moro and others, L.A. has an abundance of Italian dinner options to set you and your date back a hundred-plus bucks before you've even blinked. It's the wine, especially, that gets you. Yet while you could decide to go the fine dining route and skip the alcohol altogether, you'd also be missing out on an unequivocal truth of Italian culture: Booze goes with food. That's why the phrase "no corkage fee," when uttered in a public place, is guaranteed to prick up every ear within range. At Colori Kitchen, just a few blocks from Staples Center, you can nestle yourself into the spacious and oddly '90s-esque dining room, eat from a menu of basic Italian-American fare, and most importantly, drink freely from your own bottle (or bottles) of wine. Items like tricolore salad, spaghetti and meatballs and spinach ravioli are eaten freely and without judgment, and the cioppino, while one of the more expensive items on the menu, is also packed with enough seafood to make Poseidon weep. A slice of the ricotta cheesecake makes for a nice close to an utterly affordable evening.
—Noah Galuten
