Quintessential Neighborhood ItalianBlairs – Silver Lake (Los Angeles), CA

Italian – Many times –  Last Visit – April 2024

Blairs is the quintessential neighborhood restaurant, which has been nestled in the Silverlake community for 18 years. We have visited on numerous occasions and this is a compilation that starts in 2021 through 2024.

On one visit, we started with two orders of the deviled eggs (four halves per order). These were delicious and rival our favorite deviled eggs we enjoy at Nick’s.  Not an easy task. (not on the menu in April 2024  …  please bring them back)Tracy, Paul and Susan each opted for the Market Salad with lemon dressing and herbs. This was a large salad and could easily have been shared. I passed on ordering due to the large pickle slice on top. Pickles are perhaps my least favorite food item.

Luckily there are numerous other choices, so I didn’t find myself in a pickle when ordering. I decided upon the bruschetta with burrata. Perfectly done on rustic, crunchy bread with a nice layer of burrata topped by fresh diced tomatoes (photo below) … Momma Mia! On our 2024 visit I tried the bruschetta with tomato, garlic and basil.  It was also good, but I think the one with burrata is the best.

For dinner, Susan ordered the eggplant parmesan, which she said was delicious. .Tracy and I went the pasta route with Tracy ordering the gnocchetti with spicy sausage, Swiss chard and pecorino. As you can see, it was a large serving of small gnocchi with a rich sausage sauce, so rich in fact, half went home with us for lunch the next day.  Delectable!

My dish happened to be the “Wow” of the evening, tonnarelli with guanciale (I recently had this again on our 2024 visit). Basically, it’s cacio y pepi with fried pork belly. I should have gotten one to take home!  I believe this is my favorite pasta dish in Los Angeles. On our recent 2024 visit I did take a little home and couldn’t wait to have it for breakfast (:We returned once with Paul to try some additional menu items. This time we sat at the picnic tables in the former parking area.

We shared the sausage pizza, red onions with a side of Ranch dressing to start. Hot and bubbly, crispy crust. I loved the Ranch dressing. This pizza is big and could easily be your meal, but, of course, we could not stop there.For our main courses, Tracy ordered the BBQ pork burger served on a brioche bun with spicy coleslaw and perfectly cooked fries.  Excellent! We didn’t see this on our current menu, but maybe it could return one day.

Paul once again ordered the gnocchetti with sausage, Swiss chard and pecorino, which was even better than the first time we had it. Wow! Definitely getting that for take-out some evening.For my dinner I had the braised short ribs with polenta and braised leeks which were excellently prepared and could easily have been shared, but at dinner I tend not to be a giver.

The next time we visit we are going to try the cheeseburger with caramelized onions and fries (their fries are still out of this world), because Susan said that’s the best thing on the menu. Choices. Choices.

We ordered a Brunello from Blairs’ wine list.

Speaking of sharing, at the table next to us we saw the warm loaf of House Baked Bread with salted butter come out with an Arugula, Radicchio Caesar with Pickled Onion. Both looked mouthwateringly good. Fortunately, we were full or we would have asked for a taste!

Since we always seem to gorge ourselves at dinner here, we sadly still have not made it to the dessert menu. Like I said, the portions here are large, and if you want to make it to dessert, you better share. In an age of hip restaurants opening seemingly every minute, we found going back to an old favorite neighborhood stalwart with delicious dishes fits the bill perfectly.

Mai Tai Tom Rating • 4.6 Mai Tais (out of 5)

Blairs
2903 Rowena Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323.660.1882
Sunday – Thursday 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. • Friday/Saturday till 10:30 p.m.
Ample Street Parking
blairsrestaurant.com