Aztec drums thunder out from Chicano Park. Conch shells honk. It’s eight o’clock at night. People dance barefoot. Their ankle rattles sound like sleighbells. Now a woman steps forward with a smoking incense burner. It sends clouds across the dance space. Dancers come, kneel, let her wash the smoke over them.

I swear. Barrio Logan. Full of surprises every time. I’m back here because last week I spotted this brand-new place just opened, on Logan, near Salud and Border X. And guess what? It’s Italian. Very Italian. In an old house stylishly revived, with marble tables and rattan chairs in the garden. A jewel, honestly. They have turned the garden into a cozy, tree-filled patio with a fire pit in the middle, and a big, blue-domed ceramic pizza oven waiting to happen.