ARTICLES
OCTOBER 2001 ARTICLES
Contents © 2001
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
Fettucine Cardinal Mahony
By Charles A. Coulombe
Los Angeles has many fine restaurants; Cole's P.E. Buffet and Phillipe's, for example (both dating back to 1908), and Hollywood's Musso and Frank (which opened in 1919). Chancery personnel patronize some of these. Taylor's Steak House in the Wilshire district often boasts monsignori, flush with martinis and prime rib, at lunch. Overseeing construction of the new cathedral, the cardinal may sometimes be glimpsed at Traxx, in Union Station.
But perhaps most closely identified with Cardinal Mahony is an Italian restaurant in Glendale, Far Niente. Located at 204-1/2 North Brand Boulevard, the establishment often hosts executives from ABC, Disney, Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, and Touchstone pictures. Italian style steaks, veal dishes, pasta of every description, and a selection of gourmet pizzas highlight a bill of fare crowned by a wine list featuring Italian and California vintages.
Our cardinal is very much at home at Far Niente. Marking the cardinal's devotion to it, the restaurant has named their signature dish, "Fettucine Cardinal Mahony" -- pasta topped with lobster chunks and scallops in a cognac tomato-cream sauce. Questioned on the origin of the dish's name, the waiter replied, "we used to just call it 'fettucine with lobster,' but Cardinal Mahony kept ordering it, so we named it in his honor. It was popular before, but after the new name, it became very popular, indeed." Asked about the cardinal's choice in wine, the waiter replied, "I can't remember anything specific, but he is definitely a red-wine man." How is he to wait on? "Very nice, very kind, and considerate."
Cardinal Mahony's picture hangs about midway through to the rear entrance of the restaurant. His favorite booth is in the left front corner as you face in from the Brand Boulevard entrance.