There’s a first time for everything, and this time it was dancing. Not by me after discovering Viàle Pizza & Kitchen (which would have been unseemly for an anonymous restaurant critic), but by servers in a scene straight out of La La Land. One server was running late, and when she finally arrived, the other server broke into a grin and twirled her in his arms.

Improbable on the big screen, it seemed even more so in this Italian spot that opened five months ago and, despite flickering candles and vintage photos, still shows the bones of the burger chain that previously occupied the space. But then, Viàle always has a surprise up its sleeve.