Bites Nearby: Divina Cucina Dazzles

Horatio and Alicia Lavanchy, owners of , serve up authentic Italian dinners and desserts daily. With an intimate and personal setting, Divina Cucina offers reasonable prices on lunch and dinner specials. Lunch menu prices are around $10 and include a choice of  salad, sandwiches, pizzas (prepared in their wood-burning oven), homemade pastas, and chicken and salmon dishes, all served with a cup of soup. The chefs offer their house minestrone soup daily and an additional "soup de jour" may include soups such as creamed carrot, butternut squash, or chicken with wild rice to name a few. Since all meals are prepared fresh, they also welcome guests to "custom tailor" meals to accommodate food preferences or allergies.

Aromatic Italian-seasoned rosemary bread comes out to the table once you are seated and is accompanied by fresh bruschetta atop toasted bread. Depending on your appetite, a simple chopped salad with chicken breast in their creamy house Italian dressing may be perfect, but their entrees, like the Polla alla Gorgonzola is enough for full-sized appetite. My personal favorite meal at Divina Cucina is the Ravioli di Zucca. Visually spectacular, the triangularly shaped peach and violet ruffled ravioli swim in a sea of creamy white sauce. Sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan cheese and filled with steaming butternut squash mousse, this meal left me scraping every last speck off the plate. Wines imported from Italy, France, Portugal, New Zealand and Argentina, as well as domestic wines from California, are available by the bottle or by the glass. Other beverages include Martinelli's Apple Juice, Orangina, fresh squeezed orange juice, sodas, lemonade, fruit punch, iced tea, and Italian bottled waters.

A wide variety of desserts, from traditional crème brulee with fresh seasonal berries to their imported Italian gelatos grace their dessert menu. Their famous "pyramid" dessert combines sweet and creamy dulce de leche gelato with a soft chocolate fudge swirl, then is dipped in dark chocolate and makes ideal conclusion to any meal. A finishing touch of an Italian inspired coffee or dessert wine such as their famous 40-Year Port – Quinta do Noval (from Portugal) will leave one fulfilled.

Try eating family style with several of their dishes such as the Chicken Alfredo  and the Veal Piccata that easily serve four to six people. Divina Cucina also caters events and customizes menus specially designed for your event complete with wait staff so you can relax and enjoy. Reservations are recommended for Friday and Saturday evenings. Divina Cucina is open Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. for lunch and from 5-10:30 p.m. for dinner. Visit their website here 3730 North Verdugo Road. Call them at 818-248-3077.