Prizzi's Piazza

Parking: Valet
Live Performances Cozy, Romantic Moderately noisy All Ages Outdoor Seating

Situated on a unique block of Hollywood's Franklin Avenue, this stylish trattoria offers some interesting twists on the ubiquitous dishes found at the scores of trattorias that have invaded L.A. over the past two decades.

In other words, its menu (thankfully) is not virtually interchangeable with those of its many peers. In addition to the usual L.A. trattoria appetizers (e.g. calamari fritti, minestrone), you'll find items such as butternut squash-stuffed fried gnocchi, tiger shrimp in a spicy Marsala-pomodoro sauce, and an excellent tuna carpaccio with a mustard cream sauce and chiffonade of radicchio, arugula, capers, onion and garlic.

For entrees, consider intriguing dishes such as blackened tilapia filets in a Grand Marnier-orange juice reduction, sauteed salmon, and a charbroiled New York steak finished with Marsala wine. Pastas include wild mushroom ravioli in cream sauce and tagliatelle with the house's famous pesto sauce. Thin-crusted pizzas are big favorites, too. Gelato, cheesecake, tiramisu and crême brùlée round out the desserts.

The sleek, contemporary dining room features brick and stucco walls (one with a prominent black-and-white photograph of Jimmy Cagney), a polished granite bar at the entrance and a sexy loft for patrons who like to dine above the fray. Like all of the European-style cafes on this stretch of Franklin Avenue, there is plentiful al fresco seating and the kitchen is open late. -- Roger J. Grody

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