We had a good week at the office (mostly things were quiet and so we made lots of progress on everything – very nice), so I left early and Aviva and I tried an Italian restaurant she wanted to check out.

Il Tiramisu (13705 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 – 818.986.2640) is located on Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks on the northwest corner of Ventura and Woodman, making it very convenient from the 101.

I started dinner with the Capesante con Cabernet, scallops with cranberries in a light cabernet sauce; I didn’t like this much, the scallops were fresh and soft (not chewy), but they were unevenly browned and tasted bland (and American!). Aviva started with the Insalata della Casa, a basic house salad, which was fresh.

Aviva ordered the special, a Salmon Lasagna. She liked it, but I thought it was too fishy. I ordered the Crespelle di Zucca, which are pasta rolls filled with butternut squash & ricotta cheese, light sage cream sauce. My pasta course more than made up for the antipasta – the pasta rolls were thin and delicate (if the pasta wasn’t home made I’d love to know where they buy it) and the filling reminded me of things I had in Italy; the sauce was creamy but lightly applied and added nicely to the flavor.

Il Tiramisu is known for their deserts, so Aviva had their Tiramisu alla Katerina, which she felt was a little small but very well flavored with coffee, and I had the Pera al Forno, pear filled with mascarpone cheese, baked in a cabernet reduction. I loved my desert – it was a perfect size, easy to eat, and the flavors blended nicely without any one part overwhelming the others, which I think is difficult when working with pears.

The cost for the meal was reasonable given what restaurants are charging around here. I’d recommend this one.