Steve Samson's chef's-counter pasta tasting menu hidden in an Encino strip mall — 14 seats around an open kitchen, 8 courses of fresh-extruded dough, each plate plated in front of you. The bottle list runs deep into small Italian producers, the service moves in rhythm with the kitchen, and the value-to-precision ratio is one of the best in LA. Reservations open monthly and disappear in minutes.