Pearl Street Mall, the pedestrian promenade that features everything from dreadlocked stoners to dramatic tightrope walkers, also happens to pimp some of the best restaurants in the state — and we're not just talking about Frasca Food and Wine. Frasca's next-door sibling, Pizzeria Locale, is just one of the many reasons why this quirky hub of grub houses continues to awe our palates. There are restaurants for every taste — and several other new kids on the block, including the sultry Pearl Street Steak Room; Riffs Urban Fare, where chef John Platt struts his mad culinary skills; and the Kitchen [Next Door], a jovial community pub that's the third notch in the belt of the Kitchen and the Kitchen [Upstairs] clan. Last fall, Snooze opened on Pearl Street, too, giving breakfast geeks its sigh-inducing pineapple upside-down pancakes, and Oak at Fourteenth recently rose from the ashes, better than ever. And so is the dining landscape on the Pearl Street Mall.
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