Former Playground Sous-Chef To Open New Restaurant in Laguna Beach

Frank De Loach, Jason Quinn's sous chef at Playground, is striking out on his own.

Come next week (the planned opening date is November 3), the man who spearheaded the six-course omakase and other projects at the ex-Lime Trucker's Santa Ana restaurant is opening a pizzeria and birreria called NEApolitan in Laguna Beach in the space left behind by Cafe Vienna on 31542 S. Coast Hwy.

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There isn't too much we know about the place apart from the pictures he's put up on a temporary website, but from it at least we know it will specialize in pizzas much like those we've seen at Mozza, Ortica and Il Dolce.

On the restaurant's Facebook page, De Loach had this to say:

“la cucina povera” is a way of life in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Were [sic] cooks use fantastic local products to create a bold & flavorful cuisine that is affordable for every family. Creating a cuisine with California products & the spirit of “la cucina povera” is our passion. The menu at NEApolitan Laguna, takes this mantra & California's bounty, creating a menu that is fresh, creative and soulful. Our kitchen is home to a true work of art, a Stefano Ferrara Neapolitan pizza oven. This handcrafted oven takes our humble products with great techniques & turns them into unique dishes that are unique to the coast line of Laguna Beach.

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Edwin Goei

Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.

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