In November 2016, the Inky’s famed restaurant reviewer Craig LaBan named L’Angolo in South Philadelphia as one of his favorite Italian BYOBs. We, the mom and pop proprietors here at TownieHQ, had yet to try out it’s H-Town sister, L’Angolo-West. LaBan said the South Philly restaurant was a “gem … for garlicky artichokes, grilled seafood, and braised duck pappardelle.” We were excited to try our local versions. Friday night, June 22, we headed over to celebrate our 20th year of marriage. The problem, which if one is truly Italian isn’t a problem at all, was that we couldn’t get a reservation until 9pm. 9pm is the early crowd in Italy. We’ve been to Italy. The only people dining out before 9pm are the Americans. No worries. The weather was holding, so we walked over to Crossbar to have a beer while we waited. We said hello to people we knew sitting under the umbrellas at Crossbar. We went in and found seats at the counter. On our right, we met a nice young man in fatigues, tattoos and a jarhead haircut who recommended Jai Alai beer (can). He said it was a popular beer akin to Sierra Nevada that he serves a lot in his bartending job. (The conversation went by quickly so we didn’t catch the establishment where he works.) On our left was a young couple who are expecting their first child in September. They are moving to Htown from Roxborough, mostly for the schools and the easier commutes. Sounds just like us, but back in 2000. We welcomed them and told them to look for community groups on Facebook to join. 9 pm rolled around. We walked up to Eagle past the Oakmont Pub. L’Angolo’s was hopping, with most of the outdoor seating occupied. We opted to sit inside. We were greeted warmly by Loraine, the hostess, at her tiny stand right by the door. The entrance to L’Angelo-West is a double doorway with a ramp in between the doors. The entrance seems like it could be redesigned to add for more waiting area. We were the last stragglers of the evening though; Loraine … [Read more...]