Jame

"Located in a downtown El Segundo strip mall, Jame looks more like a Panera bread than a very legitimate Italian restaurant. But make no mistake, this tiny spot is home to some very good food. Whether it be the giant plate of prosciutto, the pesto mandili, the pork shank, or the best kale salad we’ve ever eaten, the food at Jame is delicious across the board, and everything outside of the big plates falls under $25." - brant cox, nikko duren, kat hong, garrett snyder, sylvio martins

"The Dish: Mandilli Pre-pandemic, asking for a ride to LAX was basically akin to asking a friend to donate an organ. But over the past year, whenever someone needed a ride to the airport (which happened exactly twice), I’d jump at the chance - mostly to swing by Jame Enoteca. It takes exactly eight minutes to get to their El Segundo outpost from Terminal 7 (United), and you’ll receive a beautiful, silky smooth handkerchief pasta in a nutty pesto sauce that’s both a breeze to cut through, and surprisingly easy to twirl while driving." - kat hong

"Your Order: Kale Salad Jame Enoteca is one of our favorite places to eat pasta in the South Bay. Or anywhere, for that matter. But if you come to the tiny Italian spot in El Segundo and only concentrate on rigatoni, you’re missing out on one of the better dishes on the entire menu: the kale salad. We could point to the razor-thin chop on the kale itself, or the slightly pungent parmesan cheese, or the sweet and spicy almond vinaigrette lightly dressed throughout. But what makes this salad great aren’t the individual elements. It’s the balance of everything together, taking this dish from being just another kale salad to one you intentionally seek out." - brant cox, sylvio martins, arden shore, garrett snyder, nikko duren

"We know this is a pasta and a glass of wine guide, but sometimes you need more than just those two things. Like a salad, for instance. Jame Enoteca (in a strip mall in El Segundo), has extremely good pasta (like the handkerchief-shaped mandilli with pesto), nice wine, and a kale salad that might overshadow the other two. While the room is a bit unoriginal, the owners are very friendly—and once they realize you’re on your own, will probably spend half the night talking with you." - jess basser sanders, nikko duren, sylvio martins

"You spent a cross-country flight sandwiched between someone sobbing about a recent breakup (who wouldn’t stop talking after you finally asked if he was OK) and the world’s most aggressive typist. Now that you’re free, all you want is excellent food, preferably in a place where people don’t burst into tears every ten minutes. Jame has the food covered, and we’ve yet to see anyone crying there—also, it’s just a short drive away from LAX in El Segundo. The pastas are fantastic, and seeing as all you ate on the flight was a crumbled granola bar, you deserve to order at least two of them. Plus a slice of the key lime pie." - jess basser sanders, brant cox, nikko duren