»In which our late-night cup overfloweth

First NOPA adds flair to later dining, now the latest developments around The Horseshoe in the Lower Haight promise another late-night restaurant -- a proper restaurant, not a greasy spoon. Not that I have anything against six strips of late-night bacon at Original Joe's, mind you. The Horseshoe burnt last year in a spectacular three-alarm fire.

Boris Nemchenok, a sommelier and former manager of Mario Batali's Otto Enoteca Pizzeria in the Big Apple, is bringing the enoteca concept to San Francisco's lower Haight, opening Uva (grape in Italian), in the space of the Horseshoe Coffeehouse (568 Haight St.) next spring.

Nemchenok and his partner, chef Ben Hetzel, want the 49-seat wine
bar-style restaurant to be family friendly, with lots of antipasti,
panini, cheeses and salumi, with prices ranging from $4-$10 a plate.

They plan to start with 80 different Italian wines and work their way
up to 150. About 25 wines will be sold by the quartino (eight-ounce
decanters) for $7-$13. Bottle prices will range from $20-$40.

The best part -- Nemchenok wants to serve dinner until 1 a.m. daily.
Now that's Italian.