At this time of year, I ask myself “What is one lesson you learned (or relearned) this year?” My lesson learned and relearned is that hope is not a strategy and that we must expect the unexpected by being prepared.  

With all the uncertainty surrounding COVID, 2021 was no ordinary year for Maria’s Italian Kitchen and my fellow restaurant owners. This past year I was privileged and honored to serve as the Chair of the California Restaurant Association. We participated in daily communications to state and local authorities representing all restaurants from small family owned to larger groups. Thanks to the hard-working staff and leadership, the CRA was able to help keep restaurants open by helping modify the alcohol laws allowing off premise sales and permission of sidewalk outdoor dining. We were able to survive another year of the pandemic and all the challenges it continued to bring to businesses; daily changes in safety regulations, supply chain shortages, staffing, wage inflation and daily increase in cost of goods. 

I am grateful to our loyal customers who understood when we faced challenges and showed appreciation by their continued support.

I am proud and grateful to work with people who truly define hospitality. Our continued goal is for customers and communities to enjoy nostalgic Italian food, with the first ingredient being love, served with a smile and a genuine “Thank you.” This was possible because of our amazing team whom I consider members of the Maria’s Italian Kitchen family. 

We are fortunate to work closely with our vendors, who were also facing challenges, and consider them partners in Maria’s Italian Kitchen.  With an emphasis on mutual respect, and empathy we share to improve the customer and staff experience.  I believe that kindness is not a sign of weakness it is a sign of strength. Kindness was a key part of the solution. 

In our spirit to give back to our local community we made donations to some of our favorite organizations: Concern Foundation, Inclusion Matters, She Angels, Village for Vets, Piece by Piece, Girl Scouts Greater Los Angeles, Villa Esperanza, LA Food Bank, Restaurant Cares, California Parks, National Park Foundation, LACMA, Library Foundation, Downtown Woman Center, Carousel Ranch, Children’s Hospital, LA Mission, my Alma Maters, University High School, UCLA and the many local grade schools who held fundraisers at our restaurants.  

I can’t believe all that we have accomplished in 2021. I am excited and motivated about the future for 2022.

We are blessed to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Maria’s Italian Kitchen, built my parents, Maria and Donald Alfano, out of the tiny one car garage adjacent to the Village Mart Grocery Store in Brentwood Village 1972.  

I wish for you and your loved ones a Happy and Healthy New Year.

And remember,  Food and Love… Same Thing

Maddy Alfano

My mother Maria would tell us to eat lentils on New Years Eve. Why you ask? The answer is very simple, because her mother Luisa said that it is an Italian tradition in Naples. Just as Food and Love is the same thing, so are Lentils and good luck.

Each year my mother Maria would make a big pot of lentils on New Year’s eve. She would take out a big stock pot and start simmering lots of chopped onions, carrots and Celery (mirepoix) with either pancetta (Italian bacon) or Italian sausage for flavor. Once the sausage was

 browned and the onions translucent, she would remove the sausage and serve it later on the side. Then she would add homemade chicken broth, cleaned lentils (she would stand over a colander cleaning the lentils to make sure there were no little pebbles mixed in), strips of canned pomodoro tomatoes, and cubes of cleaned potatoes. I am not sure what made her lentil soup taste so delicious, 

Was it was her singing over the simmering stock pot? Or the shared memories of her mother making this special traditional dish? 

Today we want to share this family tradition with you. With a vegetarian twist on her original recipe… no sausage or pancetta.

We make it purely vegetarian, using freshly make vegetable stock, and only fresh local vegetables with cleaned lentils. 

Being the inquisitive kid that I am, I researched in many of my mothers cookbooks (pre internet) why Italians eat lentils on New Years.

The lentils, with their coinlike shape, represent luck and prosperity.

We all need a big yummy bowl of lentils to warm our tummies and our hearts with hope of a better year to come. Food and Love, Same Thing.

Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Hopeful for 2022

Maddy Alfano

St. Valentine was a Christian martyr who lived in the third century A.D. His basilica stood just opposite the gate of the Holy City; the gate itself was called after St. Valentine, before it became known as the Gate of the People. It was in Rome during the fifteenth century that St. Valentine’s feast day became the day devoted to affianced couples. Italian emigrants took the tradition to America, where it became the feast day of lovers.

It has been suggested that St. Valentine’s Day be adopted as Italian Restaurant Day for a number of reasons. Firstly, to commemorate the Italian origins of this holiday. Secondly, because the whole ethos of the food, wines, desserts and atmosphere of Italian cuisine is traditionally geared to being together, to friendship and love. Lastly, because there has never been a love story which did not, at least once, involve a visit to an Italian restaurant.

So How could you have anything but Italian food for Valentine’s Day?

We have created a very special complete Dinner Kit for Two, which you can view here.

Set your table, light the candles and you can pick up or we will deliver a romantic Italian meal to you.

Please order two days ahead as these meals will sell out fast.

This menu will be prepared for Friday the 12th, Saturday the 13th, and Sunday the 14th.

(If available, you may order these special menu items on our Ala Carte menu)

We will be taking orders early because we anticipate they will sell out fast.

It’s Delicious!

It’s Amore!

Its Maria’s Italian Kitchen

Steps for SAFE SERVICE:

Call to Reserve a Table, Order Your Meal Ahead, Join us! WE miss you.
Our mission at Marias is 100% guest satisfaction and our culture is based on the foundation of caring for our customers, coworkers, and communities, and treating them like family.

WHY?

In an effort to follow the LA County Health Department regulations and due to our Limited Seating we have created a program that will allow our customers and staff a safe environment while offering quality time to enjoy a meal within an hour.

How it Works

Customers Call ahead to Reserve their table.
We Take their Name, Phone Number, and Email, and time and day the want to join us; Number of guests is Max 6 persons.
We check available time slots and if the time slot is full, we can offer alternate times that are available.
Times will be on the hour and allow 10 minutes for sanitizing between guests.

We ask that guests order their meal ahead.
Don’t know what you want? That’s ok, Download our Menu and we will call you back on the DAY of your reservation between 1 pm – 4pm to take your order. You can always add on when you arrive.
Taking the food order ahead will allow more time when guests arrive to sit down and enjoy the experience of Dining Out Again. 

We Greet you, Seat you, and tell the kitchen to prepare your hot food while we bring beverages and our Famous Hot Rosemary Bread.

Our goal is to allow our guests to enjoy a meal outdoors, so we are testing an Order Ahead for DINE-IN at Marias program.

Eat, Drink, Smile…  Thank you for your Loyalty, Maddy Alfano

Here are other ways we are keeping out guests and coworkers safe:

Clean and Purified Air

• HVAC Air Scrubber (Hospital Grade)

Disinfection Service

PPE (Personal Protection Equipment)

• Face Shields
• Masks
• Gloves
• Plastic Aprons

Safety Protocols

• Employee Temperature and Symptom Checks before and during the shift
• Handwashing, especially after each exposure
• Hand Sanitizer stations for Guests and Employees
• No Contact Payments
• Sanitized Pens for Guest Use
• Routine Sanitizing for each work station
• Required Physical Distancing
• Following all current CDC and Local guidelines

Comprehensive Employee Training

• CV-19 Safety Certification Course Required
→ In House
→ Delivery
→ Pick-Up/Takeout

• CV-19 IIPP (Injury Illness Protection Program)
→ Complete Action Plan to Protect Guests and Employees

• Ongoing Training
→ Daily Pre-Shifts discussing safe work habits
→ Communication regarding all CV-19 Updates
→ Consistent communication regarding Safe Practices outside of work