This year has been a doozy for many reasons, but perhaps the silver lining has been the plethora of really exciting restaurant openings. Sliding in under the wire is Southpaw, the new counter-service pizzeria from Lark’s John Sundstrom that opens right about… now. 

Knowing the breadth of his culinary ability—from the finest of dinners at Lark down to the salted chocolate chip cookie at Slab Sandwiches—I trust Sundstrom with pretty much any meal. Per the press release, Southpaw will be doing things “a little differently,” with chewy wood-fired pies topped with everything from chorizo and padron peppers to chickpea pesto and za’atar. Drinks—wine, shrubs, cocktails—will all be on tap. Also exciting is the fact that Southpaw will have soft serve in two flavors; San Francisco’s Zero Zero does the pizza-and-soft-serve-and-booze thing so well I’ve been hoping someone would take that on here.

Expect a pop-artsy dining room with a little more color than the original Lark that inhabited it prior. Hours are 11am-11pm and the press release promises delivery will be available soon, though I’m guessing not as far from Capitol Hill as my house, sadly.

Southpaw: Capitol Hill, 926 12th Ave.; 206.323.5278.; southpawpizza.com.