Gravina in Puglia, a small town in the south of Italy, is an ancient town with Romanesque cathedrals and Baroque style churches. It is also the hometown of the proprietors of Gravina Malibu. For starters at the restaurant, one may wish to try the Insalata di Pere ($16), made with mixed greens and raw spinach, cherry tomatoes, white asparagus and pears that are first cooked in red wine, all topped with a red wine reduction. The salad is both sweet and crunchy, providing an intriguing texture. 

For a delicious main entrée, a good bet is the homemade spaghetti alla chitarra with lobster ($32). This interesting dish is a variety of egg pasta typical of Abruzzo, Italy. The chitarra, a frame with a series of parallel wires crossing it, is a tool that gives the spaghetti its name, shape and porous texture. The dough is placed on the chitarra and pushed through with the rolling pin, so that the strings of the guitar cut it into strips. Pasta makers from Abruzzo bring down the cut dough by passing a finger on it.