I think they are all separate owners.
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!!! Great infographic. What’s your day job?
I’m both amazed and let down at our city’s endless appetite for Italian restaurants.
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I think greater LA is short on great Italian restaurants compared with the abundance of excellent Chinese, Mexican, Korean, Thai, Japanese, etc.
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It’s no surprise the concentration of expensive italian in a certain stretch of town
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price aside, i really enjoyed everything, not a single miss. execution was very high with sergio in da house, service was friendly and knowledgeable, and pacing was perfect, unlike mother wolf.
highlights were the cheesy onion puff pastry, focaccia with sauce and anchovies, citrus with anchovies and red onions (new combo for me and it was brilliant), panzanella, trofie, orecchiette, all the desserts were really good, meringue panna cotta was the favorite.
cipollina catanese - pane soffiato, sugo di cipolla, provola ragusana
polpette di picchiapo - carne al less, cipolle stracotte, cicorietta scottona
sfincione palermitano - focaccia siciliana, sugo di pomodoro, acciughe, caciocavallo stravecchio, mollica
agrumi - citrus, cipolla rossa, filetti di acciughe, origano selvatico, extra virgin olive oil
la panzanella - pomodori e pomodorini, cucumber, spring onion, basil, pane fritto
diavola - fior di latte, salsa di pomodoro, salame napoletano, peperoncino, olio santo
trofie, sori, liguria, sofia - pesto genovese, parmigiano reggiano, basil
mezze maniche alla gricia - guanciale, black pepper, fava beans, pecorino romano dop
orecchiette, bari vecchia, puglia, nunzia - battuto cima di rapa, salsiccia, peperoncino, pecorino pugliese
branzino alla brace - mediterranian seabass, insalata di carciofi crudi, lemon, extra virgin olive oil
torta di cioccolato - trufflebert farm hazelnuts, pralina, gelato di vaniglia
cannoli siciliani - murray farm cherries, pistacchi di bronte, madagascar chocolate
meringata - granita di mandarino, finocchio candito, vanilla panna cotta
funke hand soap
fin
the e-funke
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How did the sfincione palermitano stack up against the regular sfincione, which I presume you have had before, at least at Felix (I note the Funke menu offers both)?
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For me, it’s more fun than the regular version and not really much of an upcharge. The crunchies on the top add a nice extra texture to the pillowy bread. Flavor is good! I’m a sucker for buttery pastry and onions which made the cipollina catanese the winner in the breads for me.
The nice thing about Funke is that you can get a range of techniques that aren’t all available at his other places (no extruded pasta as far as I know at Felix, no handmade pasta at Mother Wolf).
Room is nice with quite good acoustics (at least in the main room). @PorkyBelly noticed that they put felt on the underside of the tables to help manage sound, and that have an entire 2 story wall that is acoustically treated. Mother Wolf is loud and it’s hard to hear people talk. Felix is more dark and intimate, but less good on the acoustics.
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i liked it just as much at the regular sfincione. the palermitano with the sauce and crispy breadcrumbs is great just on its own, whereas the regular i would always want to save a piece to mop up any remaining prawn sauce or pasta sauce.
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Seems like the the Roman pastas at Funke are made with dried noodles vs. fresh noodles at Mother Wolf. I like Mother Wolf but I’m in the camp of only dried noodles for those Roman pastas.
looking forward to checking it out.
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a server mentioned a focus on sicily.
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that would hide the italian marble table tops 
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In Rome, pasta alla gricia, all’amatriciana, cacio e pepe, and alla carbonara are always made with dried semolina pasta. What does he use at Mother Wolf, freshly extruded semolina pasta?
The real distinction is three different ownership groups wanted to work with funke 
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Love the takeout-box-branding with an In-Funke-We-Trust postage stamp!
And the Amalfi coast lemon pizza was killer!
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hungry minds want to know what are in the other boxes?
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There is a whole lot going on in the three story - multiple bar setup at Funke.
Fried Carciofi had a nice hit of anchovy
Amalfitana (lemon) pizza was so tasty
Fettuccini Bolognese was very delicious and rich/unctuous
Fennel slad withgrilled artichokes also terrific.
Very congealed, goopy saucing on the Spaghettini Zuchcine e ricotta but taste was great. Noodles were all stuck together like a thick boatyard rope. I am sure not the way postage stamp generalissimo funke would want it. And he was there expediting.
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a far cry from the post-bucato days when, at least the way it seemed from the Funke documentary, janet zuccarini was taking a big chance on him. Felix almost feels quaint now, in comparison to the new additions…
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This! Thanks for the Felix tip on that one. 
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