▼ City of Ate Open Secret Fiatto’s house-made Italian has diners abuzz. BY ANGIE QUEBEDEAUX taurant with seasonally inspired dishes. Exec- utive chef Kylil Henson’s background includes Flora Street Café, French Laundry (Yountville, California), DBGB Kitchen and Bar (Washing- ton, D.C.), and Coque (Madrid, Spain). General manager John Del Canton previously worked as beverage director under celebrity chef Tom Colicchio and helped create the Cowboys Club at the Star in Frisco. Almost everything at Fiatto is made from scratch, including breads, pasta, mozzarella, stocks and sauces. We checked it out on a recent Tuesday A evening and by the looks of it, the secret is out. We arrived for an early dinner around 6 p.m., and there were only a few tables left. We sat at the bar and were immediately greeted by the bartenders who were whip- ping up a variety of unique cocktails. The décor has a coastal vibe with bright pops of color, natural wood and a flood of natural light with floor-to-ceiling windows. Fiatto’s signature cocktail is the Queen Bee ($12), a refreshing gin-based cocktail with herbal tea, honey and lemon served in a bee-shaped glass with a spray of tiny white flowers for garnish. The Cosmo Royale ($12) is served with Citron vodka, cranberry, or- ange and Italicus liqueur, the latter of which adds an aromatic flavor to balance the fruit. For starters, we had the caprese ($15) and focaccia. The caprese has small, colorful sliced tomatoes, burrata imported from Italy, fresh basil and aged balsamic. The burrata is creamy on the inside with a firm texture on the outside that spreads beautifully on a piece of their house-made focaccia. The focaccia is about 6 WE ARE OPEN FOR DINE IN, TO-GO & DELIVERY! fter being dark since Eureka! closed in 2020 because of COVID, the corner of McK- inney Avenue and Blackburn Street is alive and well again. Fiatto is a new casual Italian-American res- inches in diameter, large enough to share be- tween two people without ruining your appe- tite. It can be ordered with a side of pepperoni sauce, fontina fondue or both. We opted for the bread without any sauce and instead dipped it in the balsamic from our caprese. For the main entrée, we tried the trout saltimbocca ($27). Four pieces of filleted trout are wrapped with prosciutto and served with cippolini onions and mush- rooms in a marsala sauce. The prosciutto gives the fish a nice salty crunch as you bite into it and the onions and mushrooms add a nice touch to the light Marsala sauce. We also tried the pappardelle topped with a hearty short-rib ragu and whipped ricotta, garnished with crispy rosemary ($26). A bit of the short rib, with a small heap of ricotta swaddled in a pappardelle, was the best bite of the night. For dessert, we opted for cannoli. The cream filling was light and not too sweet and had a nice crunch from the chocolate chip morsels on each end and the golden crisp can- noli shell. We don’t typically order dessert at restaurants because we’re often too full, but their cannoli is worth saving some room for. A few other dishes we saw at other tables ensured we’ll be back, like the Caesar salad, calamari and the tuna tartare. The Caesar ($13) was large enough to be a meal and is served with Little Gems lettuce, Parmesan, croutons and a white anchovy dressing. The calamari fritti ($15) appeared to be perfectly battered and served with crispy lemon and a cherry pepper aioli. This appetizer was large enough to share between two people. And the tuna tartare ($19) delivered a beautiful presen- tation with chunks of fresh ahi tuna, orange, Castelvetrano olives, Calabrian chilies and saf- fron aioli. Like we said, we’ll be back for more. Fiatto, 3700 McKinney Ave., 5-10 p.m. Monday - Thursday; 5-11 p.m. Friday - Satur- day; 5-9 p.m. Sunday ▼ THINGS TO DO HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STRANGER T Angie Quebedeaux Signature cocktail Queen Bee casion. The brewery is throwing a two-day block party fit for Shotgun Willie himself. “What started as a conversation between friends over who is the most legendary Texan turned into a plan for a weekend-long party and an album release. I’ve been a fan of Willie since I first saw him play as a kid and am still in awe of him after all these years,” owner and operator Michael Peticolas said. Willie Nelson Day will kick off with the re- lease of a collectors edition of the song “Velvet Hammer” on vinyl, originally popularized by Texas natives Fish Fry Bingo, and includes a revisited version of the track recorded by The Hammer Jam Band. The brewery pressed 300 copies of the vinyl, and it’s available on a first- come-first-serve basis. (Velvet Hammer is the incredibly apt name of Peticolas’ beloved red ale, which clocks in at 9% ABV.) The Hammer Jam Band, fronted by mu- APRIL 29 IS WILLIE NELSON’S BIRTHDAY AND PETICOLAS BREWING IS HOLDING A TWO-DAY EVENT TO CELEBRATE. BY ALYSSA HIGH exas legend Willie Nelson is turning 89 on April 29, and Peticolas Brew- ing Co. is sparing nothing for the oc- sician and local craft beer legend Tony Dre- wry, is performing a live version of “Velvet Hammer” alongside a handful of original tracks during the celebration. “Combine that with Tony’s love song for our beer and his style of music in general, I think we have a match made in heaven. Hope- fully, the state legislature sees what we do in Willie and will officially recognize the day alongside us going forward,” Peticolas said. The party gets started at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 29 with live music and a Willie Nelson costume contest. The next morning, head back to the brewery for The Velvet Hammer 5K at 8:30 a.m. Registration for the Velvet Hammer 5k is open now through velvethammer5k.com. They’ll have food vendors throughout the day and, of course, lots of Peticolas beer. Peticolas Brewing Company, 1301 Pace St. (Design District), 12 - 10 p.m. Tuesday - Fri- day; 11 a.m - 10 p.m. Saturday; 12 - 6 p.m. Sun- day; Closed Monday ▼ FIRST LOOK SITTING IN THE CATBIRD SEAT C $1 OFF PER POUND MONDAY & TUESDAY CRAWFISH 7224 Independence Parkway • Plano 972.618.4542 • litasdallas.com 1 17 CATBIRD IS AN ELEGANT RESTAURANT AND BAR ATOP THE THOMPSON HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN. BY HANK VAUGHN atbird, led by chef Jeramie Robinson, offers Asian-influenced fare that one might expect from someone who spent time working with the James >> p18 dallasobserver.comdallasobserver.com | CONTENTS | UNFAIR PARK | SCHUT |ZE | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | MOVIES | DISH | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 APRIL 21-27, 2022
