Barack Obama was still president and Prince Harry hadn’t yet gotten engaged to Meghan when it was first revealed that Gjelina (@ gjelinarestaurant) — the seminal SoCal destination for high-fashion veggies and produce-topped pizzas — would expand eastward with a Noho branch at 45 Bond Street. Plenty has changed in the ensuing years, both in the obvious ways and with the behind-the-scenes team at the restaurant (which had originally been slated to include, among others, the Spotted Pig’s Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield). For a while, the enterprise seemed destined to join the list of ambitious and appealing projects that nevertheless fizzled out before getting off the ground. Until, with almost no warning at all, Gjelina opened for business on the final day of 2022. Within the narrow, sparsely decorated two-story space, all of the Cali-Italian necessities are accounted for: wood-fired pomodoro pizzas dotted with plops of burrata, jam-topped toast for brunch, pastas fashioned from the flour of ancient grains, lemony salads of kohlrabi batons tossed with celery and pear, seasonal eucalyptus drinks, an oversize bowl of citrus behind the bar, and perhaps the most elegant hippie sandwich in town. Since the restaurant has been in development so long, you’d think the owners would press to get the word out. Instead, reservations are not yet being accepted. For more information on the West-Coast transplant, head to the link in our bio. Photo: @allegralo