Uptown News

Uptown Dallas' Patrizio closes to pave way for new Italio restaurant

Kebabs and glass of wine at Sallio Bistro in Dallas

Patrizio is exiting but Sallio is stepping in.

Photo courtesy of Sallio Bistro

An Italian restaurant at one of the most central spots in Uptown Dallas is on its way out, but there's already a new place moving in. The Italian restaurant is Patrizio, located at the intersection of McKinney Avenue and Hall Street, and it will be replaced by a new concept called Sallio Italio.

The musical-sounding Sallio Italio is a spin-off of Sallio Bistro, the Mediterranean restaurant at Preston Road and Forest Lane, and comes from Larry and Karen Williams, who own Amberjax, the excellent seafood spot at Trinity Groves. Karen Williams confirms that they'll be taking over the space from Patrizio owner Ed Bailey at the beginning of August.

"Ed's down in Florida and loving life, and is maybe a little tired of restaurants these days," she says. "And we're excited about the opportunity to do Italian food."

Patrizio moved to that location in 2015 after more than 25 years at Highland Park Village, when HPV owner Ray Washburne decided abruptly not to renew its lease. Bailey, who bought the Patrizio chain in 2006, moved into the Uptown space, which had previously been occupied by the restaurant Barter.

Patrizio was valuable because it made decent Italian, better than the gloppy suburban Italian, for an affordable price. At the time it moved to Uptown, it also had locations in Fairview, Plano, Highland Village, and Southlake, and there was previously a location in Fort Worth's West Seventh District. The chain is now down to a sole branch in Highland Village.

The couple have a history of scooping up restaurants in need of loving owners. They took over Sallio Bistro, which had previously been a venture between Jeff Armand and chef Avner Samuel; Armand passed away in 2016.

The Patrizio space came along just as the Williamses had Italian on the brain. "The space has a wood-burning brick oven which Larry just loves, so we're going to hone in on our Italian," she says.

That said, they won't be doing Patrizio recipes. "We're going to split the menu between dishes from Northern and Southern Italy, with seafood and tomatoes and olives," Karen says. "You know how much Larry likes fish."

She acknowledges the name is a little silly, but that's part of its magic. "It's a corny name, but when you lay your head you’re going to be singing 'Sallio Italio,'" she says.

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Asian Food News

Taste of Malaysia restaurant brings rare Asian cuisine to Dallas area

Taste of Malaysia

A new restaurant has debuted in Coppell with a cuisine that's relatively rare in Dallas. Called Taste of Malaysia, it's now open at 3001 Olympus Blvd #130, at the Sound at Cypress Waters, between an Ari's Italian market and a Kilwin's ice cream shop, where it's serving authentic Malaysian dishes and flavors — adding another option to Dallas' burgeoning Asian restaurant scene.

A neighbor to Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, Malaysia has been described as having some of the best street food in Southeast Asia, boasting a mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and indigenous flavors. Signature dishes include satays — skewered meats — plus vividly spiced soups and rice dishes.

The country's national dish is nasi lemak, a beloved comfort food originally devised as a breakfast staple, featuring fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk with pandan leaves, sometimes enhanced with boiled egg and sliced cucumber and ikan bilis, i.e. anchovies.

Coming in at a close second is laksa, a spicy noodle soup made with rice noodles or egg noodles in a broth flavored with aromatic spices, shrimp paste, and coconut milk or tamarind.

These are the dishes that natives of Malaysia and fans of Malaysian food crave, says Shiva Nair, part of the team, along with his wife, Vsruti "Vish" Nair, that opened Taste of Malaysia.

Shiva has more than 20 years in the hospitality business including managing hotels and running other restaurants.

"There are a lot of Malaysians here in Dallas-Fort Worth but not many Malaysian restaurants," Shiva says. "That's what gave us the idea to open this."

Their menu features seven varieties of nasi lemak — including vegetable curry, chicken curry, slow cooked beef, slow-cooked chicken, fried chicken, fish, and spicy shrimp — all made with coconut rice, peanuts, boiled egg, and cucumber.

They also have fried rice, noodle dishes, satay chicken skewers, spring rolls, a samosa-style pastry with potatoes and vegetables called karipap, and a chicken "kutlet" — a breaded patty with minced chicken enclosed in a crunchy crust.

All of their meat is halal, meaning that the animals are raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines — a growing trend in Dallas-Fort Worth.

There's a full bar and the ultimate lure for timid diners: a lunchtime buffet, $18 on weekdays and $20 on weekends, with 15 to 20 dishes, with chicken, shrimp, fish, and vegetarian and vegan options, which are plentiful in Malaysian cuisine.

"We serve the buffet only at lunch, so that those who are unfamiliar with the cuisine can sample every dish," Shiva says.

"We saw an opportunity to bring Malaysian flavors to North Texas, a region hungry for authentic, halal-certified Asian food with real spicing and real heritage," he says.

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