by Steven Doyle
Last night we made the trek to check out Patrizio Osteria in Southlake. The new location borderlines over-the-top in appointment and definitely pulls off the new menu in high fashion. We spotted a familiar face on the management team and were pleased to see Bob’s Steak and Chop alumnus Ken Kuczwaj making his way around the room. We also spotted one of the new owners, Oscar Renda, who knows plenty about Italian food and the way it should be presented.
The menu may look familiar to anyone who has patronized Patrizio in the past. This is the Americanized Italian cuisine that has people flocking to the various restaurants dotted across the Metroplex. Most of these dishes appeal to the average American palate that haven’t sampled true Italian food. But the true star to the new version of the concept lies in the Osteria menu. These are your house-made pastas laden with ingredients from Italy, slow cooked pork shank, fresh fish selections and a beautiful variety of buffala buratta.
“The history of the Osteria menu is that we spent six months each Friday sampling food at the Highland Park location. We would eat chef Salvadore’s food, take notes and we were blown away,” said Kuczwaj.
Kuczwaj said there are about 70 items that could make the Osteria menu, most are seasonal and the menu will change constantly. As for the traditional Patrizio menu, that will be tweaked and updated as well. Look for sausage and peppers, shrimp scampi and other seafood items to make the cut.
A starring dish on the new Osteria side includes a beautiful pasta hand-made by chef Luciano Salvadore, the Orecchiette alla Calabrese, which tallies in just under $14 and is packed with flavor. The spicy sauce just licks the perfectly al dente semi-rounds of pasta and chunky sausage.
Also find a line-up of Osteria desserts to choose from. Look for a dynamite semmifredo and a cappuccino Frangelico pudding.
The Osteria menu is also in place at the Fort Worth location as well as Highland Park Village where diners have been served the food for the past two weeks.
More locations are to open up in the DFW area including one in Arlington where the lease is about to be signed, and one on McKinney in Uptown where the site has been selected. Then the brand will take off south in Houston and San Antonio.
The Osteria menu is a breath of freshness, and extremely affordable with most of the menu on the lower half of a twenty dollar bill. Average check size is in the low $40 range with wine. This is amazing news for guests wanting a fine dining experience with all the trappings of a beautiful restaurant without spending a small fortune.
is/wasn’t there a location in Cedar Hill – Uptown Plaza?
it closed a couple of months ago, along with bailey’s. ed bailey owns both
Sad to see Baileys on Park go. Great restaurant just too ambitious on the size.
Park location still open.
Can’t wait for the Arlington location! Hope they have the chocolate martinis that were so awesome in Cedar Hill!
Where is the Arlington location going to be?