Chef Kevin Ascolese returns from murky underground to retool menu at Urbano Paninoteca

by Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — Kevin Ascolese, former chef from Mi Piaci, Salve!, and Ferre, has been splitting his time these days between Dallas and Colorado, but he returned for a spell long enough to retool the menu at Urbano Paninoteca, the cosmopolitan little bistro on McKinney Avenue.

Ascolese, whose most recent assignment was serving as corporate executive chef for Patrizio, consulted with Urbano owners Mitch and Kristen Kauffman to fortify the dinner menu with pizzas, bruschetta, risotto, pastas and more.

Highlights include bruschetta Caprino, grilled Filone bread with goat cheese, red pepper, and fresh basil; pizza con pere, toasted rosemary focaccia with baby spinach, buttered pears, mozzarella and gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, and balsamic syrup; and pork tenderloin with porcini mushroom and asparagus risotto. You can see it all on the restaurant's Web site -- but you can't see Ascolese, as he will surely have disappeared into the ether before you get there.

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Anonymous

He is such a great chef. Imagine if Ascolese and Chris Svalesen opened a place together?!

WOW!!

Ascolen's Pickerel Cheeks Osteria would open to raucous fanfare, with missing wall hangings, BYOB and short-staffed service... a best of the decade in D... and awesome reviews in Chowhound... then close at the end of 32 days.

Only in Dallas.

Billusa99 Anonymous

2 years, 2 months ago
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I guess Acolese didn't have time to clue them in to the fact that in Italian, a single small sandwich is a "panino" the plural is "panini". But then why would two folks named Mitch & Kristen know that?