Restaurant L to become Boston Public?

[tatamagouche]

Or something like that? Is this old news I missed? Guess Pino Maffeo is totally changing concept again.

[MC Slim JB]

News to me, too, though I'd heard he was buying the place to become chef/owner, so presumably will have more control over his product. I always suspected that the Louis folks had reined in his wilder impulses. I hadn't seen this item in the Globe last week, either:

"Pino Maffeo is setting out to change the coolly fashionista space of Restaurant L into a more inviting Boston Public. Chef Maffeo, who will be the owner and operator of the new restaurant now under construction within the Louis Boston department store, plans darker, warmer steakhouse colors and an Asian-inspired menu. His partner is Nino Trotta. Maffeo, a Food & Wine best new chef of 2006 and a veteran of New York and California restaurants, promises Japanese, Thai, and Chinese influences in the food and Asian details in the decor, as well as a meat-heavy emphasis, affordable wines, and a new bar. All this by the end of April, says Maffeo, who adds: 'We're looking to put together something solid.'"

Trotta is more of a nightlife impresario than restaurateur, as I recall (I remember him from Bricco's late-weekend-night lounge-lizard thing). Maybe Boston Public will be aiming for a bit of that, too.

[tatamagouche]

My fear had been that with their curtailing of his creativity, he'd just head back to NY; at least he's hanging around. As long as he sticks with steakhouse COLORS and not steakhouse CUISINE.

[MC Slim JB]

If his idea of steakhouse is grill-table Korean barbecue, I'm all for it.