‘Mangia' your troubles away

The Mare Caldo includes shrimp, calamari, clams and mussels tossed with garlic, lemon and olive oil. (Credit: Marilyn Chung )

A friend and I decided the other day that we'd had it with all of the gloom and doom financial news and needed a break. Comfort food is definitely in order these days, so we headed for Le Donne Cucina Italiana on El Paseo.

This little gem is sandwiched between Vons and the old TGI Fridays. Owner Heather Frame opened Le Donne 16 years ago and is fortunate to work with her original chef, Guillermo Cruz. Over the years, they've perfected their recipes and developed a loyal following.

Le Donne starts your meal with bruschetta, along with fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven sourdough with olive oil for dipping — great to enjoy while you're perusing the beer and wine list. Many wines are served by the glass, which is great if you're dining solo.

Le Donne serves many of the standards from Le Crema, Kendall Jackson and Beringer. Wine lovers will recognize such brands as Rombauer, Ruffino Ducale, Lucente and Yangarra, which consistently receive high marks from Wine Spectator.

We started with a classic Caesar salad ($4.75/$6.75) made with fresh romaine and tossed with Le Donne's creamy, homemade dressing — a popular choice since portions are generous and flavorful. For those who like to make a salad your main course, try the Mare Caldo ($11.50) and savor shrimp, calamari, clams and mussels tossed with fresh garlic, lemon and a touch of olive oil.

Before you move to the main course, be sure to check out the daily specials. We enjoyed a lightly grilled white fish, fresh clams, mussels, shrimp and spinach all served with rigatoni in a fabulous marinara sauce. For $21.95, you can't make that at home even if you wanted to. This could have easily served two people, but who are we kidding? I took my leftovers home.

Frame told us that the Pollo Parmigiano ($15.95) is one of the most requested dishes, and I can certainly see why. The generous portion of chicken was lightly breaded and topped with a marinara sauce and mozzarella.

Also high on the request list is the Veal Piccata ($19.50), sautéed with capers, onions and lemon.

Be sure to try the Risotto ai Carciofi ($12.95), made with artichokes and finished with a fragrant pinot grigio sauce or the Risotto Putanesca ($10.95) with tomatoes, capers, olives, garlic and finished with a wonderful red sauce.

The bottom line: With prices like these, let Le Donne do the cooking.

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