Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

North End Lounge open in Little Italy

Busalacchi group replaces L'Angolino with a flashier, seafood-centric version of itself.

Apparently, the Busalacchi-owned L’Angolino North End Lounge wasn’t cutting it. The successful group, which seems to comprise half the restaurants in Little Italy, gave the former “little corner” a facelift. NE Lounge (1971 India Street), presumably for the “north end” of the neighborhood, opened a couple months back with much more stealth than fanfare. Considering how overdone the “Sopranos chic” Italian restaurant look is, the open, clubby look that NE got out of the deal is an improvement. Color-changing lights and a weirdly space age nautical design scheme make the place look pretty good. It’s designed to be the kind of place for spendy d-bags to throw money around and order bottle service, but it’s got a weird location for that kind of thing so it’s more likely going to stay sleepy and mellow than become a raging destination.

One big casualty of the NE reboot was the menu. Gone are the sandwiches, fish n’ chips, and substantial plates over which Bedford swooned when he first set foot in L’Angolino. Light seafood nibbles are the name of the game now, with shellfish taking over in a big way. Oysters raw and Rockefeller, steamed mussels and clams vaguely marinieres, “Asian style” calamari disguised as pad thai, etc. The best deal on the menu is the tacos: fish and chicken for $1.50, shrimp for $2.50, and lobster for $3.50 each. They are OK, and the salsa is better than the tacos themselves.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/30/53948/

And then there is some chowder!

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/30/53949/

You wouldn’t think the flashy NE lounge would have wicked good chowdah but it does. Rather than futzing with the recipe and trying to innovate something that draws its strength from generation upon generation of stoic working-class tradition, NE’s kitchen let the chowder be chowder. It’s milky, buttery, briny, and studded with bits of clam and potatoes. No frills and very nice!

Despite its flashy intent, NE Lounge feels more like a place to chill out, eat some chowder, and drink a beer. Sure, the drinks menu lists $14 cocktails and the aforementioned bottle service, but why? $6 beers and generous bowls of soup are a much bigger draw. $18/dozen oysters isn’t that bad, either! It’s not a great price, but it lends itself towards mellow noshing and makes NE look much more casual than it wants to be. Whether or not that will be a problem for the lounge remains to be seen!

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, ZZ Top, Gem Diego Show

Events October 31-November 2, 2024

Apparently, the Busalacchi-owned L’Angolino North End Lounge wasn’t cutting it. The successful group, which seems to comprise half the restaurants in Little Italy, gave the former “little corner” a facelift. NE Lounge (1971 India Street), presumably for the “north end” of the neighborhood, opened a couple months back with much more stealth than fanfare. Considering how overdone the “Sopranos chic” Italian restaurant look is, the open, clubby look that NE got out of the deal is an improvement. Color-changing lights and a weirdly space age nautical design scheme make the place look pretty good. It’s designed to be the kind of place for spendy d-bags to throw money around and order bottle service, but it’s got a weird location for that kind of thing so it’s more likely going to stay sleepy and mellow than become a raging destination.

One big casualty of the NE reboot was the menu. Gone are the sandwiches, fish n’ chips, and substantial plates over which Bedford swooned when he first set foot in L’Angolino. Light seafood nibbles are the name of the game now, with shellfish taking over in a big way. Oysters raw and Rockefeller, steamed mussels and clams vaguely marinieres, “Asian style” calamari disguised as pad thai, etc. The best deal on the menu is the tacos: fish and chicken for $1.50, shrimp for $2.50, and lobster for $3.50 each. They are OK, and the salsa is better than the tacos themselves.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/30/53948/

And then there is some chowder!

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/sep/30/53949/

You wouldn’t think the flashy NE lounge would have wicked good chowdah but it does. Rather than futzing with the recipe and trying to innovate something that draws its strength from generation upon generation of stoic working-class tradition, NE’s kitchen let the chowder be chowder. It’s milky, buttery, briny, and studded with bits of clam and potatoes. No frills and very nice!

Despite its flashy intent, NE Lounge feels more like a place to chill out, eat some chowder, and drink a beer. Sure, the drinks menu lists $14 cocktails and the aforementioned bottle service, but why? $6 beers and generous bowls of soup are a much bigger draw. $18/dozen oysters isn’t that bad, either! It’s not a great price, but it lends itself towards mellow noshing and makes NE look much more casual than it wants to be. Whether or not that will be a problem for the lounge remains to be seen!

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Fried clams and lobster rolls at Bite of Boston

Pacific Beach restau pays homage to Red Sox with special deals on New England seafood dishes
Next Article

J Wok

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader