Chef Claudio is back. This time he has gutted an old white house on 24th Street and converted it into a casual dining treat for lunch or dinner. Pa'la ingredients are shopped fresh on a daily basis. If ingredients are not fresh or at their peak goodness, then they don't make it on the menu for the day. You can expect an always revolving menu.
I came in to enjoy lunch. Claudio started me off with a dish of picholine olives and spicy marcona almonds. Next out came the burratina and olive oil served with wedges of fresh fire-roasted bread. I was curious about the special Izzio rye bread which Claudio toasted in the wood oven and then topped with avocado mixed with tasty oil and herbs. Finally came my lunch. I probably could have stopped right there, but the presentation of the spicy copa and mozzarella topped with greens and cuerno de toro peppers, served open-face on wood-fired flatbread was too much for my taste buds to resist. I thought I might save some for later, but then looked down on my plate and everything was gone.
You can dine indoors or enjoy a beautiful day on the new wood deck patio. Either way, you are sure to enjoy something very good, very different and made with only the best ingredients.
Lunch at Pa'La will typically run you anywhere between $11 and $20 depending on how much you splurge on the available choices.