The stretch of Clement Street occupied by new restaurant Fiorella is a bit more Italian than you might expect, with long-time neighborhood standby Ernesto’s just down the street, and Luna Rossa (the former Mescolanza) a block away. Is there enough demand for Italian food in the Richmond District to support a third offering? If the crowd at last night's opening was any indication, the answer is yes, and Fiorella seems up for the challenge.

Co-owner Boris Nemchenok, who also owns Lower Haight small-plates spot Uva Enoteca, grew up in the Richmond District, he says, and it showed as he asked folks who came in "are you from the neighborhood?" (A far cry from other restaurants I've visited in SF's outlying areas, many of which appear to hope that their well-heeled patrons will come from elsewhere and the "schlubby" locals pass them by.)

That lack of pretension manifested in the food, too. Look, it was opening night and there are still bobbles to work out — Nemchenok himself admitted that chef chef/partner Brandon Gillis (late of Brooklyn pizza fave Franny’s) and chef de cuisine Gavin Braid (Park Tavern) were still working out the kinks in their pizza's dough and oven, which you can see in the shot below.

And, yeah, the pizza was a little blonde — but if he hadn't mentioned anything, I wouldn't have thought that much about it. The crust still had a lovely spring, and the char was fantastic. Even on opening night they were vying to displace Pizzetta 211 as my favorite west side pie.

The Alamo (left) and White Pie (right) at Fiorella. Photos: Eve Batey/SFist

Though Fiorella had two pasta offerings last night, nearly everyone I saw (I was seated at the large, communal table at the front of the place so I had a pretty good view) went for the pizza. A lot of salads also seemed to be moving, a good choice, as the arugula, hazelnuts, and pecorino one I tried had a great, edgy bite. (But photographed horribly, so I will spare you my shot of it.)

For dessert we had a budino (think pudding's hotter cousin) made with Guittard chocolate. A nice full-circle there, as Nemchenok reportedly worked at Guittard as a kid. It was a great end to the meal, not too dense and just sweet and bitter enough (like life, y'all. Like life.).

And, you guys, look at that wallpaper.

Photo of Fiorella's wallpaper: Tim Ehhalt/SFist

It's Flavor Paper's Bay Area Toile, Nemchenok told me, a collaboration between artist Matt Ritchie and The Lonely Island that features Bay Area landmarks and local icons like Mac Dre, Joe Montana, and Angela Davis.

Fiorella's dining room. Photo: Tim Ehhalt/SFist

As a long-time inhabitant of the western edge of San Francisco, I have to say that I'm pretty stoked by how much I enjoyed my meal at Fiorella. Like Andytown on the other side of the park, they don't seem to strive "save" or "hipsterize" their neighborhood, they just seem focused on serving terrific food (they say they'll be serving brunch eventually, too) and drinks (solid wine list, well-curated beers, no hard booze as yet) to folks from one block or 5000 miles away. Keep it up, guys.

Fiorella — 2339 Clement St — Open every day, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations here, menu here.

For budgetary reasons, SFist editors and contributors occasionally accept complimentary meals from restaurants and their publicists. More often, we pay out of pocket for our meals. While we refrain from writing formal reviews, we make every effort when giving opinions about restaurants to be objective, and to focus more on food and ambiance than service in order to make up for any possible bias.

*MUSIC: You know that song at the end of , "Anyone Else But You"? The one Ellen Page and Michael Cera sing to one another? And it's all cute and sad? Well,it was co-written and originally recorded by Kimya Dawson, former half of the Moldy Peaches, and she's over in the East Bay tonight at 924 Gilman. She performs along with Angelo Spencer at this all-ages show. (No booze allowed, by the way.) .

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Sober punks crooning melancholic ballads not really your scene? How about Herbert Blomstedt conducting young pianist Jonathan Biss in Mozart's Divertimento in D major, Piano Concerto No. 22, and Symphony No. 38 over at Davies Symphony Hall?

FILM: Todd Haynes' quasi-David Bowie biopic, Velvet Goldmine, screens at the Red Vic tonight. Rated R for Ewan McGregor's floppy genitalia.

COMEDY: Comedy Central's Dave Attell (from Insomniac) brings his hilarity to SF tonight, featuring not one but two shows over at Cobb's Comedy Club in North Beach.

FOOD: One of our new favorite places to grab Italian, Bar Bambino over in the Inner Mission, has a nifty wine flight going on tonight: Barolo producer Damilano, featuring three Barolo bottlings. And it will be paired with an assortment of bruschette. Mmm.

The listed events were chosen by the editors of SFist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.

Born Riccardo DiGuglielmo, Wilson changed his name while working as an actor in efforts to avoid typecasting as an Italian-American. Little did he know that he would be typecast as America's favorite, um, cleanup enthusiast.

Emigrating to the U.S. from England as wee lad, he went on to star in over 500 -- 500?! -- Charmin commercials. His acting and squeeze-shunning abilities landed him a free lifetime supply of toilet paper from Procter & Gamble as well a place in American po(o)p culture. (Heh.) Sure, he played the alcoholic on several episodes of Bewitched, and did bit parts on Hogan's Heroes and The Bob Newhart Show, but in the world of TP commercial acting, he was a star.

Although the Associated Press tarnishes this man's good name by labeling him a "closeted squeezer," we refuse to believe such a thing. He was simply led astray by overzealous shoppers. And we salute you, Mr. Wilson cum Whipple. Toilet paper commercials have gotten excessively crass for us over the years. Images of cartoon bears with flecks of paper on their behinds and euphemistic blue-colored water tearing apart brands that are more fragile are much too revealing for us. Back when such things like urination and bowel movements weren't discussed, much less admitted to having as a bodily function, we had Mr. Whipple to conceal it all for us. He didn't remind us what toilet paper was used for; he let us know what it wasn't meant for: molesting. RIP, Mr. Whipple.

To conclude the apprenticeship program’s 50th season, the Merola program gave its grand finale concert last Saturday at the War Memorial Opera House. The singers did not present a full fledged opera, as in the previous concerts this summer, but selected arias to display what they can do best. The staging was minimal, and the costumes were black tie attire, but felt like what a formal 50 year high-school reunion in Texas would wear: expensive, full of satin, but bland, bland, bland.

To explain what was at stake: last year, Heidi Melton and Noah Stewart gave superlative performances, and were later invited into the prestigious ranks of the Adler fellows, and voila, they were both singing in the cast of the Rosenkavalier on arguably the second best opera stage in the country a couple months back. While all singers on Saturday were amazing, many in the audience were trying to figure out who was going to “make it,” who was going to be the next Thomas Hampson or the next Patricia Racette.

Above, Jamie-Rose Guarrine and Vince Yi; below (left to right) Ani Maldjian, Cynthia Hanna, Alek Schrader, Sam Handley (w/ scroll), Alexander Boyer, Tom Corbeil, Matthew Hanscom, Kenneth Kellog, Paul Murrihy (ponytail showing), Matthew Moore, Nathaniel Hackman, Daniela Mack (blue dress), Tamara Wapinsky (black dress). Photos by Kristen Loken/SF Opera

Schwabacher sadly passed away in the middle of last year’s edition, but the new kids (mostly in their 20s), they are all right. His legacy is safe and secure. We saw last week-end an excellent performance of Rossini’s La Cenerentola (that’s Cinderella in Italian) at the Cowell Theater in Fort Mason. Before we dig into that, a few PSAs: there are three more opportunities to catch the Merolini, and the next one is for free in the Yerba Buena gardens (Sunday, July 29th, 2 p.m.). So go check what they are about, and if you like it, you can go back to either Cowell Theater for the world premiere of Hotel Casablanca, or the Gala that concludes the program in the War Memorial Opera House (last year’s note here).

Pictures by Kristen Loken. Above, first row from left to right Daveda Karanas, Sam Handley, Ani Maldjian, Paul La Rosa, Daniela Mack, Alek Shrader, and holding the apples: Tom Corbeil, Kenneth Kellogg. Below: mostly the same singers in different combinations and Padmé Amidala.