When it comes to new restaurants from star chefs, the first course - expectations - will inevitably be reckoned with before we even take a bite. So here was my first thought at 24 Wood-Fired Fare before I even took a sip of See the Joy, a gimlet rimmed with smoky paprika, or nibbled on those meatballs bobbing in gravy: Why did Jose Garces open a pizzeria?

Garces has made his name as an innovator, of course, rooted in the Latin successes of Amada, Tinto, and Distrito, pioneering a better burger method at Village Whiskey, and forging boldly (if not always smoothly) into modern gastronomy at Volvér. The wood-fired Italian pizzeria wave is anything but innovative. It has so thoroughly saturated Center City by now, you can eat a different pie on practically every other block from river to river.