It's finally here! The most anticipated opening of 2015 just landed this morning for breakfast. Jon & Vinny's, the latest restaurant from local titans Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, introduced their all-day fare at 8 a.m. this morning, with continuous service through 10 p.m., seven days a week. With a heavy Italian slant, expect to see favorites like meatballs, pizzas, pastas, salads, and more with a perfectionist's spirit.
With Animal, Son of Gun, Trois Mec, and Petit Trois under their belt, the duo is now hoping to make their long term imprint upon Fairfax District, where many timeless eateries like Canter's and Schwartz's take on their owners names.
The interior is a complete departure from the minimalist Animal and the maximalist Son of a Gun, with beautiful clean almost Japanese or Scandinavian lines, smooth wooden surfaces, and lovely hand-made votive accents from celebrated artist Shio Kusaka. Open skylights found after carving away the old Damiano space give the place a sense of neighborhood-friendly warmth.
In addition to the diminutive dining space, which offers a flexible arrangement of tables and bar chairs that look into the kitchen, see a petite wine shop operation from Helen Johannessen (she also gets a swell pink sign inside and a marquee above the front entrance). One can either take a bottle at retail price, open it up for a typical restaurant price while dining inside, or even have the bottle delivered if you're in the neighborhood. Of course, expect small producers and obscure picks that will appeal to the wine aficionado, like 2013 Langhe Favorita, which will retail for around $28 a bottle.
Back to the fare, expect a re-jiggering approach to Italian-American cuisine, with house-extruded spaghetti, meatballs rolled with short rib and pork shoulder, and pepperoni-covered pizza named after Shook's daughter Natalie. The LA Woman, a fresh burrata-laden pizza with a thin layer of tomato sauce, garners its name from the ultra common order in Los Angeles.
If crust isn't something you like, then you're always welcome to dip the ends into house ranch, creamy Italian, or marinara, a nice departure from the tyranny of munching on Neapolitan crusts. The greek salad comes loaded with roasted beets, kalamata olive vinaigrette, and sun gold tomatoes, but no lettuce.
For dessert, everything from freshly piped ricotta cannoli, and tricolor cake, though other pastries and baked goods will line a large glass enclosure for breakfast service. Thankfully, the place will take reservations all day long, though expect waits to be crushing for the 45 seat dining room in the first few weeks.
Jon & Vinny's
412 N. Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA
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