First Look: Patrizio’s in Uptown

by Steven Doyle

Just a few moths ago Patrizio’s vacated their historic location in Highland Park Village. They quickly secured their new location at 3232 McKinney Avenue in Uptown where they have set up shop and opened for business yesterday. Although they are still in soft opening mode we were able to nab a sweet spot at the bar for a look at the new, and updated menu.

You will find many familiar favorites on the new menu, items that if removed would cause yet another earthquake in the Dallas area, such as the grilled chicken salad that is souped up with hearts of palm, artichokes, bacon red bell peppers and so much more. However, one thing you will notice, and not necessarily with the menu, is that the food has taken on a revamp. The food is actually quite good.  

The Patrizio’s reset is due to chef Ryan Carbery, who was actually “purchased” a few years back in a deal between Patrizio owner Ed Bailey and then Nosh owner Avner Samuel. It may sound like an odd slave trade, but the deal was to satisfy an arrangement set up between the two owners, and Bailey took on chef Carbery who has remained with him since. Carbery is a firecracker of a chef who has a knack not only for cooking, but for management, and it would seem for real estate. These are business traits not commonly found in your average chef. This makes total sense once you realize that Carbery is divined from generations of restaurant owners.

The new location, which was formerly Barter, and before that Private Social. The space has undergone a redo, just as the menu has. The bar is still center stage, but the remaining pieces of the restaurant now flows with an openness it lacked in prior incarnations. The room winds to the back, towards the kitchen where you will find the newly installed wood burning oven that cranks out some mighty tasty pizzas.

One special pizza we sampled yesterday was the Gorgonzola Dolce which has prosciutto crudo, caramelized onions, red wine poached pears, and spiced walnuts on a special crust that is a cross between Neapolitan and New York styles. You will find a handful of fresh ingredients making up 11 other pizzas, plus you can create your own. Look for the Uptown location to have late night pizzas in the very near future.

We blasted the the menu, tasting most everything that stood out the most such as the new Cauliflower Milanese ($14.96) which is a thick section of cauliflower that has been put through the sous vide to actually cook, then given a bit of a parmesan crust and flash fried for about 45 seconds. The steak is crisp with a slight al dente bite, then dressed with a Romesco sauce, topped with a melange of super greens, and drizzled with golden raisin-mint gremolata. This is hearty enough, and different enough that it should please any omnivore. The vegetarians will flip.

Another fresh addition is the bone-in parmesan crusted veal chop. Nothing needs to be said about that. Seriously.

Still found are the Meatballs al Forno which are the moist and meaty balls stoked with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil and topped with smoked ricotta. These are extremely tender and beg for another bite. You will also be happy to see the Iron Skillet Mussels still available.

New to the Antipasti portion of the menu are these marvelously crispy chicken wings that are met with a treatment of a Calabrian chile butter. These are the perfect bar food, and you can enjoy these with a selection of craft beers or a few cocktails they have on tap.

From the Mozzarella bar you will find a nice selection of sharable dishes the brightly colored smoked provolone and prosciutto stuffed peppers. They are as delicious as they are beautiful. The prosciutto wrapped asparagus are also a pleasure. The new bruschetta is nearly too pretty to eat, also. The bruschetta is three large slices of toasted bread each with a different theme, such as the Tuscan white bean, tomato and basil, and an eggplant coponata.

We also enjoyed the newly added Rigatoni Bolognese with veal, pork and beef, and topped out with shavings of Pecorino Romano and torn basil.

Look for freshly made pastas (formerly dried pasta at Highland Park location), including the linguini made with squid ink and garnished with a plate of PEI mussels. Another favorite that will require multiple orders in the near future, strictly for research purposes.

This menu has brought into Uptown a fresh take on Italian cuisine that has been sorely missed. We will be back this weekend to sample the other half of the menu, and will most assuredly report back.