Newsletter

Sexy in any language

Dear Mom,

I thought you’d like to know that the beautiful, shiny Atlas hand-cranked pasta maker you bought me for Christmas 8 years ago—the one that I had to have, the one that I used for about a week straight and then never took out of the box again—well, it's finally getting plenty of good use.
 This is because Ron has fallen in love.

Josh's Pasta = Ron's Josh
About 6 weeks ago, needing to replace one of his people that was moving on, Ron began to search for a new line cook. After going through hundreds of resumes, dozens of interviews and multiple stages (the restaurant term for tryout which literally means internship in French) Ron finally found his guy. Josh Brigham, Laïola’s new cook, came to us by way of Gary Danko. He's tall, lanky, smiley, calls everything sexy (especially in reference to food), and as a teenager was taught how to make pasta by his Italian grandmother in an attempt to keep him out of trouble. (True story.)

The minute he told Ron about his way with pasta—his finesse with pappardelle, garganelli, tagliatelli and gnocchi—Ron developed a huge cook's crush on Josh and decided we had to make use of his talent. This is where my pasta maker comes in.

But wait: Aren’t we a Cal-Spanish restaurant? Yep, but rather than impersonate the authority of Catalan cuisine, or merely mimic a culinary style or import the products of our particular geographical inspiration, we resolve to fabricate our dishes from our local goods within the spirit of Spanish cuisine. And just like Californians, the Spaniards love their pasta. In Valencia, they serve Fideuà which is like risotto made with noodles. You’ll also see plenty of Italian inspired pastas on menus throughout the region

And who are we to starve you of your God-given right to indulge in a perfect bowl of pasta, especially when we’ve got Josh around? So, welcome to our daily pasta: This past week it was perfectly elastic, little hand-rolled garganelli dressed with fresh Iacopi Farm peas, Manchego cheese, and a bright green herb, garlic & olive oil sauce finished with an oven-crisped La Quercia Rossa ham chip. My god, it was perfect!

Cheeko B at Laïola
Don’t forget to join us Tuesday, April 7th, for a very special night of guest bartending. Kattya and the girls from Cheeko B are behind the Laïola bar from 7pm to 10pm. These are some of the best people anywhere so treat yourself to a truly fun night

Easter at Laïola
While I’m hardly Catholic, the literal definition of the antiquated word Laïola means “small church.” It seems appropriate then that on Easter Sunday, Laïola is the perfect place to gather with family and friends, and most importantly eat well. No priest will be available—no egg hunt either— but there will be a beautiful menu comprised of the best and brightest produce this Spring has to offer, not to mention some really wonderful cocktails and wine. Please make your reservation by clicking HERE

Monday Night Dinners: $25 for 3 courses
We continue on with Ron’s intensely seasonal menus that take the blues out of Monday. The regular menu will still be available, but I can’t recommend these prix-fixes enough.

March 3o

* sopa de espárragos asparagus soup, poached egg
* trucha a la plancha iron skillet roasted trout, chorizo-potato salad
* curros laïola dirty girl strawberry horchata

April 6

* frito mixto fried spring vegetables, harissa aioli
* cordero asado roasted lamb leg, pea tendrils
* torta de aceite de olive olive oil cake, chamomile-thyme sauce

Plenty more to come next time.In the meantime have a fantastic week and as always, thanks so much for reading.

Best,

Joe