CiaoCristina! - Burbank

Hidden near the Toluca Lake end of Burbank is an intimate Italian restaurant called CiaoCristina! You'll notice the bar as soon as you step foot into the place and you'll be happy to know that they have 20 different types of beers on draft. A problem I have when it comes to Italian restaurants is that I tend to order the same dish, fettucini alfredo, but I resisted (because I didn't see it when I skimmed the menu).

You are first complimented by a wine glass full of long garlic sticks and if you're not careful when breaking them into smaller pieces, you'll have some fly on to the person next to you like I did.

The lighting inside is dim, but you'll have artificial candles illuminating your food in front of you. I got there around 7 p.m. on a Sunday night and it was pretty empty, so I assumed the food shouldn't take too long to bring out, but boy was I wrong. If you come here on a date, make sure to have a list of things to talk about, maybe make up some long-wait jokes like "I should have ordered breakfast instead of dinner!" and if your date doesn't laugh, you should bail because you don't want to be wasting your money on someone humorless. This brings me to my next disappointment of the night, the prices. I was shocked to see that everything on the menu was overpriced, like the $8 beers.

I wasn't really feeling the $14 pastas, so I ordered a $10 Stromboli (a calzone, but with mozzarella cheese). It was definitely tasty and cheesy to my liking, but not worth the price.

I don't mean to put this place down, but money matters, and I think this place would have a lot more business if they dropped the prices by a few dollars.

Official Website: http://www.ciaocristina.com/
Yelp!: http://www.yelp.com/biz/ciaocristina-burbank
Info: 4201 w. Olive Ave.
        Burbank, CA 91505
        (818) 563-2426