"Even our slow days are busy," says Serrone, who sees guests pile into the no-reservations joint for Dungeness crab a la vodka, plate-sized chicken Parmesan, and fried mozzarella shots nightly. "We're getting hit, we're grinding, we're always ready for crazy service."
Serrone describes the menu as "a dotted line to Gabbiano's, but not a through-line." She approached the food from the outside in, putting the theme of the restaurant first and adding her own personal touches through trial and error.
"Trying not to be too Italian, not to be too Southern, and coming up with these mashups was really fun for the creative side of my brain," says Serrone. Those mashups resulted in dishes like jalapeño popper arancini, pepperoncini-brined chicken wings with Calabrian chili honey.
"We have a kitchen manager over there that's crushing it," Serrone says. "I'm really hands off. I'm back here running this, which is enough."
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