House of Pasta in Culver City

A restaurant featuring a fresh concept in Italian Dining is a welcome addition to the Culver City Neighborhood near Jefferson and Mesmer.

House of Pasta is a “choose it yourself” type of venue, the kind of restaurant that is great for picky eaters.

The menu features pick your components pasta dishes and salads. If you want Linguini with in Maranara with Chicken, it's yours, if you want Penne with Alfredo and Peas, you can get it.



As my friend discovered, it helps to have a knack for food combining. This eater didn't appreciate his own creation, an everyday Penne with Alfredo and Chicken, and was jealous of other more creative combinations.
Our favorite creation was the Pesto Linguini with Veggies.

As he says, it helps to be a good cook.

I liked the food at House of Pasta, and the service couldn't have been better for what is essentially a take out place. Every one of the staff, probably all invested in the restaurant, came out to ask us how our meal was.

My only complaint is that I wish for a more dine-in-ish experience when I eat at the restaurant. I think the quality of the food calls for a plate, rather than a paper bowl when eating in. The food was worth that sort of presentation.





11800 Jefferson Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
Tel 310-313-6077
Delivery 310-313-6078

My Healthier Lasagna

I'm watching my figure, so
I made a traditional heavy Lasagna recipe a little lighter. I used low fat ricotta and provolone, but left the mozzarella full fat for better flavor.






My Healthier Lasagna
Serves 8
7 Weight Watchers Points per serving

6 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
26-28 oz can or jar tomato sauce
1/3 pound cooked lean ground turkey
1 Tbsp ground oregano
1 tsp McCormick Ground black pepper
2 tsp table salt
1 1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp dried parsley
2 egg
2 serving Sargento Reduced Fat Provolone
1 1/2 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese (yes, you could use skim mozzarella)
1 cup spinach
9 pieces Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Pasta Lasagna Noodles


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown Turkey in a large Pan.

While browning meat, in a large bowl, mix
Ricotta, 3/4 Cup Mozzarella, Parsley, Eggs, and 3 Tbsp Parmesan.

Drain turkey and add tomato sauce, salt, pepper, oregano, water. Stir and Simmer for a few minutes.

In a 13x9 baking pan, Pour a cup of the turkey sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan.
Lay down 3 sheets of lasagna noodles in a row on top of the sauce in the pan.
pour 1 cup of sauce on the noodles.
Lay out half the spinach (rinsed and dried)
on top of the noodles and sauce.
Spread half of the cheese mixture on the layers.
Lay down three pieces of pasta.
Pour one cup of sauce over this pasta.
spread remaining spinach and then remaining cheese for the next layer.
Place three more slices of pasta down.
Pour the remaining sauce over the layers.
Sprinkle remaining grated mozzarella on top, add the slices of Provolone, and the remaining Parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover and Bake 10 Minutes more to Brown the Cheese.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Good Company

One of the joys of dining is getting together with people you like. On this particular night we were with two of our favorites - Cousins of Food.
We were cruising in our van trying to decide where to eat when we came upon the Liberace museum and Carluccio’s Tivoli Gardens next door. CoF asked if we had ever eaten there. We hadn’t but would like to try it.

Carluccio’s was originally designed by Liberace and is quite eclectic. The hostess said there would be a short wait and asked if we would like to have a seat in the English lounge complete with carved bar imported from a English pub. Next to this room is the piano lounge with it’s autographed mirrored piano and mirrored walls. This would be a perfect spot for a celebration of less than fifty people. The main room is an indoor patio with gardens and fountains. It was filled with groups and families enjoying themselves. I almost felt that I was at an Italian wedding. There are two more rooms and each one is different.

Our food was tasty, the portions large and the service was good. Overall it was good value. I had lasagna, Mother of Food had Chicken Francese and Cousins of Food had Pasta dishes. Entrees come with fresh hot bread, a side of pasta and a choice of soup or salad. The menu is quite extensive with a variety of chicken, veal, seafood, different types of pasta and Sicilian pizza.

We ate we talked, we ate we laughed and when the meal was finished we talked and laughed some more. I like good food but I love good company.