"Homemade Goodness - Since 1978"

...and that's about how long my family has been going to Al Gelato. Located on the southeast corner of Gregory and Robertson, Al Gelato is a family-run establishment, serving up homemade Italian food, gelato, and some of the most unbelievable cakes and pies you've ever eaten. I completely credit my taste for good food to those who raised me, and one of my earliest memories of Al Gelato is meeting George Gaynes (a.k.a. "Henry") from "Punky Brewster" at the gelato counter and getting an autographed pic of him.

Al Gelato brings some of the best Italian food in L.A. The portions are huge, with meatballs the size of a large apple, the sauce is sweet (there has to be crack in it), the pizza is...wow...and the desserts have a fan base of their own. My dad loves the Devil's Food cake, my brother loves the yellow cake with chocolate frosting, my cousin, Matt, loves the bread pudding, and I will always have a spot in my heart for the Deep Dish Apple Pie, heated up with caramel sauce. I'm not a huge fan of gelato, in general, although that's what Al Gelato is known for.

The place is cash only and metered parking is easy to find. When my brother and I went last week, we ordered a large cheese pizza, a half portion of rigatoni with a meatball, yellow cake with coffee crunch gelato, and apple pie, and the bill ran us $55. Seem expensive? We had leftovers that lasted us for days. This place is reasonably priced and well worth it. Do not miss it if you're out in the city.