Capo, set in a charming little house with a gorgeous wood-burning grill in Santa Monica, is easily one of the top five best Italian restaurants in North America. Opened by long-time L.A. restaurateur Bruce Marder in 1999, Capo specializes in modern Italian cuisine. Order plates of pasta, polenta, gnocchi and Branzino, or get into the local spirit and go for the vegetable tasting menu. The baked Maryland crab cake is sensuous, while the flattened veal chop bathed in capers, butter and lemon with the salty, crunchy, toasted edges is explosive. It’s expensive, but worth it.

jeffrey_merrihue

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