In the hundred or so evenings that I walked past Genoa on my way to some other place, I never felt compelled to go inside. Why were the diners cloistered behind thick curtains while the tiny kitchen was windowed and on display? It's pretentious facade seemed to warn: "Expensive Cookery inside, middle lower class neighbors need not enter". With the recent rise of great Portland restaurants it's now more important than ever to appeal to your neighborhood, and maybe that was part of Genoa's decline from institution to closed. But now Genoa is not only open again, but there's a new bar/cafe - Accanto - adjoined and it's sporting long hours (lunch!), big windows, and an inviting atmosphere that feels downright neighborly.
