The Factory Kitchen is open in Downtown Los Angeles by Veteran Valentino Chef Angelo Auriana and former business partner of Celestino Drago, Matteo Ferdinandi. The Industrial style space located in the Arts District of downtown is large is size with a bar on one side and casual tables on the other.
The menu starts with small plates of Italian fare like minestrone soup, fennel and orange salad and steamed clams. 24 month aged prosciutto tops fried sage dough and oven baked beets with Asiago cheese as well as Focaccina or unleavened focaccia topped with Crescenza and ham, arugula or tomato and capers follow. The focaccia tasted like a lightly crunchy crepe with decadent, but simple flavors. Loved this dish!
The pasta station in the restaurant humming in production with large sheets of dough being rolled out and dried slightly, sits to the left of the main kitchen. The house specialty pasta is Mandilli di Seta or handkerchief pasta with almond basil pesto and Sardo cheese. The Casonzei filled with veal, pork, and sausage was hearty on the inside, but the brown butter sauce got lost in the meat flavors.
The meat section includes another house favorite – Porchetta as well as Duck Spezzatino, Oven roasted Chicken and Flat Iron Steak. But after a long week of Thanksgiving eating the Swordfish wrapped in Speck with Roasted Cauliflower and Romano Beans seemed captivating. The fish was thinly sliced and seared delicately and the speck added a nice saltiness. It reminded me of an old school Italian dish, Saltimbocca.
The Factory Kitchen is a nice addition to the downtown restaurant scene. The service was exceptional for only being open just a few weeks and the food and ambiance casual.
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