I have been a great fan of the LGO since the very beginning-living just down the street. In fact, The whole LGO Phenomenon has made living in our hood a whole lot more interesting. I would say we are pretty much regulars both at the grocery and pizzeria.
I think I have probably tried everything on the pizzeria menu at one time or another with my favorites being the chicken wings, the orange fennel and spinach salad and of course the pizza. (Still prefer the fish sandwich the old way...)
In the past year (or so) we had noticed a slight decline in the usually great vibe in the pizzeria. The food was lacking a bit of soul and the place just seemed to be getting tired.
We went back last week and I noticed a difference right away. The place was mobbed-no big surprise-it was Saturday night-so we put our name in and proceeded to stand in our usual corner to wait it out. No more then 10 minutes went by and the manager apologized for the wait and offered us Sangria. Okay! What's not to like about that? 5 minutes later a server was offering us a slice of cheese pizza. Now, was that necessary? No. We would have waited patiently and people watched. But was it classy, friendly, and neighborly? Yes! Do they need to do that every time-No.
We consider this our neighborhood place and to feel welcomed like that was so nice.
The service is usually great at LGO-casual but efficient-the way we like it. Personally, at a place like LGO, I don't care what servers are wearing-I really don't even notice-What I do care about is genuine hospitality. Cara, our server, brings that in spades.
The food has its soul back and I love the new gelato look and the expanded dessert menu.
I am so thankful LGO has stepped it up, (I suspect with a new manager) and a little reinvention.
Maybe we'll see a new salad popping up in the near future?