Dine Like Fellini

 
8 1/2 Taverna gives Valley paisano pizza-lovers a place to call home.

The owners hail from Naples and Torino, so the pizza's legit. (They use imported flour and mozzarella by LA-based Italian transplants Angelo & Franco, a.k.a. "The Mozzarella Guys.")

Then they top the pies with non-pedestrian toppings of braised pork, sweet corn, mascarpone fondue and eggplant.

Steak, seafood and pastas dominate the always-changing list of daily specials. On the day we stopped in, there was a short rib sandwich that was richer than the Medici. Everyday pub grub a la Italy ranges from Mediterranean cod fish and chips to a foie-gras-flavored mozzarella pesto burger.

Patio dining and communal tables give a gang’s-all-here feel to an otherwise urban loft space. Affordable wine bottles from Tuscany to Sicily are available, as is Italy's best beer, Le Baladin Nora, among thirty draft and bottled beers.