Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/976908
118 LaRosa's Bar & Patio By day, LaRosa's is a casual café offering suc- culent sandwiches and fresh, hearty salads. But when 4 p. m. rolls around, the bar opens up and the space becomes an urban-chic oasis of creative cocktails and indulgent eats. "It's a city-style place, just in the suburbs," co-owner Paul LaRosa says. "It's happening." e original café opened in downtown Andover in 2009 and quickly became a local favorite. en, two years ago, the storefront next door became available and LaRosa and his partners Michael and Jamie Cammarata decided it was time to evolve. Renovating the new space, he built an eatery that blends the modern and the historical, with a white marble bar and black-and-white color scheme joining the existing cozy brick-walled patio. Likewise, the food and cocktails mix traditional inspirations with a contemporary flair. e gnocchi are served with crushed pistachios and a creamy pesto; the Tuscan sliders feature pancetta and tomato marma- lade. e parmigiano pizza replaces the dough with chicken for an unexpected take on classic Italian-American flavors. e carefully curated wine list and a selec- tion of craft beers on tap are rounded out with specialty cocktail offerings that use fresh ingredients to create bright, compelling fla- vors. e Kentucky Bullet combines bourbon, cucumber, mint, and St. Germain; the Beet adds homemade beet puree to tequila and grapefruit for a surprising magenta sip. e café's loyal customer base has respond- ed, making LaRosa's a bustling and popular place, especially when the weekend rolls around. Two years in, the dinner-and-drinks expansion has been exactly what LaRosa imagined when contemplating what the empty space could be. "We wanted to be able to ex- press ourselves in a different way," LaRosa says, "just do something that was cool and hip." LaRosa's Bar & Patio 7 Barnard St., Andover 978-475-1777 larosasofandover.com At LaRosa's Bar & Patio in Andover and The Brown Dog Food & Spirits in Ipswich, cozy spaces don't stop the kitchens from creating outsized culinary experiences. So be sure to make a reservation, and then pull up a chair, and uncover the good things in two of the region's best small packages. It's a city-style place, just in the suburbs. It's happening. PAUL LAROSA CO-OWNER