San Lorenzo Ristorante goes dark

The dishes at San Lorenzo could stun you to silence.

Here's a little bit of what I wrote about San Lorenzo Ristorante two years ago:

"Carpaccio di bue dressed in lemon and oil, whole peppers stuffed with cheese and prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella with fresh tomatoes and roasted peppers draped with marinated Italian anchovies, grilled salmon with roasted potatoes, garretto d'agnello -- spring lamb braised in red wine, served with grilled eggplant and potato purée. Laura touched a finger to the listing of ravioli di zucca e noci (handmade green ravioli filled with butternut squash and served in a sage cream sauce) while I focused on the bianchi e neri just below -- black-and-white ravioli filled with shrimp in a simple lemon and marjoram beurre blanc.

"Later, I would speak with Craig D'Alessandro, who owned San Lorenzo with his wife, Consuela, and he would tell me that he sees this happen all the time -- people frozen in place by his menu, by the simple arrangement of words on a page. 'In the dining room,' he would say, 'sometimes people will just sit there for ten minutes, reading.'"

But here's what D'Alessandro himself wrote on the restaurant's website recently:

"It is with great sadness that San Lorenzo Ristorante has had to close its doors.  We have enjoyed serving all of our great friends and patrons and will miss you all."

Dammit. I hate to see any restaurant close, but I hate it all the more when it's a good, neighborhood place that deserved better than a couple years' run. Though there's no word right now on whether D'Alessandro and his crew are looking at another space, here's hoping that this kind of talent hasn't gone away for good.