“The beauty of the world is how different the cultures are, and how similar, too,” says Chef Claudio Urciuoli. “You ask, ‘How do you cook fish in Thailand, and how do you cook fish in a small island off of Sicily? You find out that the spices are different because of what grows in each place, and the cultures are different because of how they think and act. But you find out what’s the same: the enjoyment of the fish.”
Local fans of Urciuoli’s Pa’La Wood Fire Cooking, an out-of-the-box success when it opened in a 24th Street bungalow in 2018, have lately been finding that same “enjoyment of the fish” at Pa’La’s new downtown location. The 6,000-square-foot space at Second and Washington streets, one among the chain of TPQ Foods in the Valley, is open-roofed and features a bar and large-ish lounge.