Luigi's - Huntington Beach

You know what? I liked Luigi's. I've walked past the quaint little Italian restaurant on Main Street probably 1000 times, but never stopped. I heard once from a friend that it was terrible, so I'll admit that I didn't necessarily walk in with an open mind. I also wasn't in the friendliest mood, so winning me over wasn't going to be an easy task.

We were seated immediately and given menus. I was looking the menu up and down, taking my sweet time. Dear Ben asked what I was thinking about getting, and I asked what he was thinking about getting. That's when I realized that I was holding the only menu at the table. I wanted something simple: the cheese ravioli with pink aurora sauce with a house salad. Dear Ben went a tiny bit more exciting with the mushroom ravioli.

As we were waiting for our food to arrive, we were brought some deliciously hot, grilled bread. I'm pretty sure it was homemade. I would have been happy with just the hot bread, particularly since it was buttered perfectly... but you also get a bit of kalamata olive tapenade and separate plate of pesto for dipping. On top of that, each table has balsamic and olive oil to use at your pleasure. I love sauce and a variety of taste sensations, so this was a very pleasant surprise. I think they're starting to win me over.

Homemade Bread

Very soon after the bread arrived (like 1 minute), our house salads came around. I was impressed that the salads included so many toppings: tomato slice, cucumber, carrot ribbons, red onion slices, and a good amount of mozzarella cheese. I hate when restaurants give you lettuce and croutons and call it the "house salad," so Luigi's took it up a notch. Dear Ben and I both chose the Creamy Italian dressing over the balsamic. I think we made a good decision.

House Salad with Creamy Italian

It was a good ten minutes before our entrees arrived. We were both drinking water, and I think a glass of wine would have made the wait a little easier. It was worth the wait though. Our large oval platters of ravioli were presented beautifully and topped tableside with a bit of shredded parmesan cheese.

Mushroom Ravioli

You need to really like mushrooms a lot to enjoy this heavy dish of Mushroom Ravioli. Mushrooms in the middle and mushrooms on top. I love mushrooms, but I'm not sure I'd want a whole plate of it. Dear Ben had no trouble finishing off his plate though. I think the tomatoes on top were completely necessary to lighten the flavor a bit.

Cheese Ravioli with Pink Aurora Sauce

You could also order the the cheese ravioli dish with marinara sauce, but I chose the Pink Aurora Sauce since our waitress said it was "more tasty." It was the sauce that really made my meal too; it's a combination of marinara and Alfredo. Each of the five raviolis were fully stuffed with a combination of ricotta, mozzarella, fontina, Romano & Parmigiano cheese. It actually left such a great taste in my mouth that dessert wasn't necessary.

It was an ordinary night of simple flavors that brought me much satisfaction. While I'm not jumping out of my seat to tell you it's the best Italian food you've ever had, I will say that I bet you will be pleasantly surprised at how good the food really is. Go ahead and give them a chance.

Luigi's

221 Main St #B

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

714-536-2234

http://www.luigishb.com/