Dallas' Italian food scene is getting more exciting by the month. This spring, chef David Uygur and wife Jennifer Uygur will launch their second restaurant in the Bishop Arts District, not far from their hit restaurant, Lucia.
Called Macellaio, which is Italian for butcher, the 55-seat restaurant will specialize in salumi: sliced, cured meats and sausages. David says that in addition to shareable boards of house-made salumi, pickled vegetables, and breads, the menu will include hot entrees and sides.
"We will also put together salumi boards for takeout," he says. "We will always have coppa, lonza, lardo, and pancetta on the menu, plus different kinds of fermented dried sausage, such as ventricina di vastese and chorizo."
Unlike Lucia, Macellaio will have a full bar, says Jennifer, who oversees the beverage program. "The bar menu will include vermouth and amari, but will concentrate on spritzes, like the popular Cocchi Americano we serve at Lucia," she says. Spritzes are lower-alcohol drinks that combine soda with aperitif beverages. "They're refreshing drinks that you can enjoy with food -- the kind of drinks you might sip while sitting on a piazza, on an Italian or Spanish vacation," Jennifer says.
The Uygurs hesitate to specify an opening date for Macellaio but feel confident that it will be this spring.
Here's how to say "Macellaio":
Tina Danze is a Dallas freelance writer.