The competition for the distinction of best restaurant in Silver Lake gets tougher all the time — great new restaurants are opening in the neighborhood practically weekly. But Alimento still holds the crown. Zach Pollack's Cali-Italian storefront spot is both a perfect neighborhood restaurant and a worthy destination eatery. It's casual and fun, a place you'd want to stop by on a random Wednesday, but once the food arrives it's clear you're dealing with something above and beyond a modest trattoria. Dishes that were favorites back when Alimento opened in 2014 –— such as the cheeky mortadella pig-in-a-blanket and the silky escolar crudo — have lost none of their shine, and newer menu additions live up to the greatness of those early successes. There's a bracing, Italian-leaning Caesar salad that makes glorious use of white radicchio's natural bitterness and its compatibility with sharp cheese. Pastas remain flawless. The braised-lettuce bruschetta utilizes the creamy smoosh of burrata in a way you've never experienced, and that's saying something in a town overrun with burrata-on-toast variations. This is a restaurant you can take for granted, in the best possible way.

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