Lucca's Got It Figured Out
And why dinner here is unlike just about any other place in Des Moines.
Lucca
420 E. Locust St.; 515-243-1115; luccadsm.net.
Lunch (not reviewed here): Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dinner: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 5 p.m. to close.
I recently read a somewhat alarming article in the New York Times written by San Francisco-based chef-owner (and Dubuque-Iowa native) Anthony Strong, who says the restaurant revolution has begun. In it, he describes his work-arounds to the razor thin profit margin that no longer works for most restaurateurs. His solution? A hybrid gourmet shop/restaurant where you order at a hostess stand before you’re seated (eliminating “15 minutes of profit-killing dead time at the beginning of each meal”). A 15-percent automatic gratuity. No reservations. Nirvana sometimes played “a little too loud” (which, as one commentator suggests, helps turn tables more quickly).
He says it’s not uncommon for his Pasta Supply Co to do four turns on a ta…