Pizza News
Dallas thin-crust specialist joins restaurant avalanche north
The Lombardi restaurant machine keeps churning with a new location of Taverna, its authentic Italian concept, now open in Plano. The first Taverna in Plano, it's at 7400 Windrose Ave., at the Legacy West development at the northwest corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Legacy Drive.
Taverna touts risotto as its flagship dish, and there's no question they do a bang-up job, with five options, including one with shrimp and porcini mushrooms, and their classic truffle oil and Parmesan cheese. They also do a dozen pastas, and some entree dishes such as chicken cooked under a brick.
But their pizza is nothing to sneeze at. They do pies with sophisticated toppings and a crust that's, yes, a little pale around the edges but is nonetheless a worthy entry in the thin-crust field.
Amazingly, this is the ninth location of Taverna, but founder Alberto Lombardi promises that this branch has something a little special.
"When my family and I learned about the iconic Legacy West development, we knew that we wanted to get involved," Lombardi says in a release. "It's a thriving community destination, so it was an obvious choice to put Taverna into the mix."
Unlike any of Taverna's eight other locations, the Legacy West restaurant will feature whole fish dishes and a vertical rotisserie, which will allow the chefs to create unique meat and poultry offerings.
It also boasts a larger selection of stuffed pastas and grilled selections such as tagliata di manzo – grilled marinated New York steak over rucola, shaved parmigiano, lemon dressing, and sun dried figs with balsamic.
Lombardi has also updated the decor. The interior design, as well as the 800-square-foot wrap-around patio, will be slightly more modern than other Taverna locations. It occupies a highly visible spot on the center's main drag.
This is the third Taverna in DFW following the original in the Knox district, and a second in Fort Worth. There are two branches in Austin and one in Houston, plus three locations outside of Texas, in Atlanta; Laguna Beach, California; and Mexico.
