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"Bad Language," Great Italian Food At New La Parolaccia

Open for a little more than four months, La Parolaccia is a steadily grabbing market share. What, you say? Another Italian resturant?

Yeah, but not another red-sauce-pasta diner in any way, for La Parolaccia is destined to take its place among the best Italian eateries in town.

Located on Broadway next to the original Toto's Revenge, La Parolaccia took over a small space that had been the home to a local pizza joint for years. But the owners transformed the space into a cozy dining room that seems much bigger than it is. And they threw away the pizza menus at the same time.

Jennifer and I stopped for dinner, certain of the location, but unsure of what to expect. Before we entered, we scanned the nightly specials. Cioppino, halibut, filet and gorgonzola, were definitely not pizza shop entrées.

We entered. Roberto showed us to a table, dropped some menus, and took our drink orders. The menu is extensive, with plenty of pasta choices, salads for those who prefer, and main courses with chicken and veal. Add in the daily seafood and beef specials and you have a wide selection.

Partners Nicola and Stefano brought with them a touch of Milan and Rome to Long Beach. In the process, they upped the ante for every Italian-style eatery in town.

Jennifer opted for the linguine fruitti di mare. I decided on the rigatoni tric and trac, but first we sampled the fritto misto appetizer.

Four large shrimps were plated with a generous portion of calamari and a spicy tomato dipping sauce. The calamari was cooked to a perfect juicy tenderness in the salt batter. That's where the La Parolaccia calamari is totally different. The salt batter is light and crisp and salty. I'm not a salt lover, but I found the taste wonderful. Jennifer is a salt lover and waxed ecstatically about the taste.

The spicy dipping sauce was spicy. Combine the zing with the salt and you have a unique approach to calamari, an approach that begs you to try another and another and another.

Roberto brought our dinners as soon as they were ready -- no heat lamps here. Jennifer's linguine was a tour de force. Large shrimp, clams, mussels, chunks of whitefish and salmon, and bay scallops completely obliterated the pasta. When was the last time you had linguine frutti di mare in which the seafood was more abundant than the linguine? The aroma was intoxicating. Jennifer was truly surprised at the quality of the dish. It's probably the best in town.

My rigatoni tric and trac consisted of large tube pasta, bigger than the typical rigatoni, tossed with porcini mushrooms, Italian sausage and a sherry-cream sauce. The first aroma is the sherry, oak-aged-sweetness, followed by the earthy aroma of the mushrooms. The sausage comes with the first bite. Damn! What can I say? If I hadn't had company coming the next night, I would have gone back for round two of tric and trac. Cream, porcini mushrooms, sherry and sweet Italian sausage make a great combination.

The menu says that La Parolaccia means bad language. The owners felt that the name expressed the casual nature of their neighborhood restaurant, a place in which you would feel comfortable on your first visit. It's a place where you might tell stories and utter an occasional bad word or two. Well, I doubt you'll hear bad language at La Parolaccia. I bet all you'll hear will be the sounds of the feed.

Go soon before the lines wind around the block. It won't be long before you'll gladly wait two hours for a table.

La Parolaccia Osteria is at 2945 E. Broadway. The restaurant is open for dinner at 5:30 p.m. every day except Monday. Call 438-1235 for details. Dinner for two is $25 to $50.