The sign is up at La Speranza at 806 Baltimore Road in the Burgundy Park Shopping Center in Rockville. Neptali Mendoza will be the executive chef of the Italian/Tex-Mex restaurant, his first venture after a long career in Washington, D.C.-area restaurants. He started cooking professionally under the chef Peter Pastan at the Michelin Guide-listed Italian restaurant Obelisk at 2029 P Street, N.W. in 2006. Mendoza then moved onto RedRocks Pizzeria in Alexandria, and Baronessa Italian Restaurant here in Rockville, which closed last year. He is a graduate of the culinary arts program at the Carlos Rosario International School.
La Speranza will serve Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked in a wood-fired brick oven, classic Italian entrees and pasta dishes. A smaller set of Tex-Mex and Latin American favorites on the menu will include fajitas, carne asada, BBQ pork ribs, ceviche mixto, nachos, and gambos al aljillo. Steaks and seafood will round out a menu that should appeal to a wide audience in a convenient neighborhood location. Mendoza hopes to open La Speranza before the end of the month; stay tuned for an opening date.
Is Neptali Mendoza a different person than Angelo? Wasn’t Angelo the pizza guy at Baronessa? That was good pizza!
ReplyDeleteI believe it is the same person; not sure why the name is being given differently by the restaurant.
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