Laiola’s overall casual feel fits in nicely with the Marina crowd. A handsome young man, dressed in a long-sleeve shirt (untucked) and jeans, stood outside the restaurant as I approached on Sunday evening. I thought he was just another curious diner checking out the menu. Turns out he’s the restaurant manager. And the rest of the team was just as casual, including my bartender dressed in a printed T-shirt and jeans. ...
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After going on a total Spanish tapas tear in New York, you can trust I was fired up about the arrival of ~LAÏOLA~ on our local dining scene, the latest project from Joe Hargrave and Andrew McCormack of Frisson. Even more exciting (and I am not alone in this) was the prospect of having chef Mark Denham back in an SF kitchen doing his Mediterranean voodoo, putting a California seasonal spin on Spanish/Catalan dishes made with painstakingly sourced and crafted ingredients, many of them local. Denham is a man obsessed. Have you read his “menu notes” on the restaurant’s website? You should check it out. (Part of his “manifesto” is also...
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When a new restaurant opens, it's hard to know ahead of time how things will turn out. Some places get a lot of buzz but never live up to it, others turn out fabulous food but can't make ends meet. Some places are packed night after night, even if the food isn't anything to scream and shout about. Unless you have a trusted crystal ball in front of you, sorting out a restaurant's fate is usually the job of Father Time. But with Laiola, even before I stepped inside I knew that the place was going to take off. Mostly, because a mere four days after opening -- without a liquor license, no less -- it already had. I rolled up to the old...
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Small plates, good chow, casual attitude. What's not to like about this new Spanish-derived place on Chestnut St? Okay, I could lose the two little dots over the "i" in its name... in fact, I did!
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Welcome to the Summer of the Restaurant. I've been trying hard to keep up with all the new Bay Area spots, yet my dying-to-try list is still pretty long: Farina, Palmetto, Mexico DF, Cantina, Spork and Levende East to name...
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