“At one point, at 47, I realized that I wanted to open my own restaurant. Everyone thought I’d last two or three months, but after 18 years I’m still open.” Gino Angelini, a chef from Rimini, but transplanted in Los Angeles since 1995, and considered one of the best Italian chefs in America, proudly tells me while offering me what’s on the menu for the day. I choose some fish and artichokes from the appetizers list, which he prepares revisiting his grandmother Elvira’s recipe. “She used to add anchovies and breadcrumbs, I like to cook them a little lighter.”