New Patrizio in Cedar Hill, Texas

Patrizio in Uptown Mall in Cedar Hill, Texas is open. What did I think?

Short version- 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I have lived in the southwest Dallas County area for … umm.. a lot of years. When we moved here this part of North Texas was largely rolling pasture and cedar trees. Well times change and over the years the tiny towns became little cities, but for the most part it was a bedroom community. No shopping, no restaurants (besides Dairy Queen, burger places, and a few equivalents of a greasy diner), and when a good restaurant did open it generally closed for lack of interest.

In this area, even a few years ago, if it wasn’t chicken fried steak and turnip greens it wasn’t going to sell.
Well, that has changed over the past year. A new shopping mall opened in Cedar Hill, not too far from me, and I just love it. One of the things I love the most is that there are now restaurants. Real ones. You know, the kind where you don’t have to get a key to the bathroom from the server.

Yesterday Marc and I had some errands to run. Not expecting to go anywhere we were not dressed up and I did not have my camera. SIGH. Seriously, he had been working on chainsawing down a tree, and I was wearing farm clothes. For some odd reason I saw that the new Italian restaurant was open and I mentioned to Marc that we should go.
Why didn’t I look at the exterior and recognize the need for clean jeans at least?

Anyway, we walked in and, being architecture freaks, we were both bowled over by the decor. Very old world European with a Mediterranean twist. Warm, rich mahogany, dentil moldings, tabletops of natural granite….tapestry…fresh flowers..and a fireplace.
Since it was a lunch service, and somewhat new, it was not at all crowded. We were seated immediately and our drink orders were taken. With Marc’s medications we don’t order wine anymore but ordered coffee instead.

The service was fast, efficient, and friendly.Our server’s name was Christine, and she was training another server. She did a great job of finding the medium between ignoring us and smothering us. Efficient perfection, she answered questions, gave us input, and left us alone. Ahh….

Bathrooms, absolutely pristine with mouthwash available. Nice touch.

Marc and I ordered from the lunch specials menu. At a lunch service  I will generally do this because I have found that what comes off the lunch specials menu is usually the worst items that the restaurant makes. Why? Because it is the quickest menu, created for people on short lunches. The food is often hurried. So, when I am reviewing a restaurant at lunch I will see what their worst food is. You can tell a lot about a restaurant’s quality from their lunch specials.

I ordered the soup of the day, which was a bean and hot Italian sausage soup in a garlicky chicken broth, vegetable lasagna, and a baby-misu.

Marc ordered Minestrone, meat lasagna, and no dessert.

The soups were fabulous. The minestrone was flavorful and fresh with lots of body. Marc loved it. The white bean and hot Italian sausage soup was garlicky without being overly salty. They were served steaming hot and at the same time.

When the lasagnes came I was disappointed in the presentation. It was very average and I will admit to expecting a little more imagination when it came to the plating of the dish. They had been microwaved, as expected, and the edges had become dry and chewy from being in the microwave a bit too long. Too much sauce overwhelmed the delicate pasta.  The flavor was good, however; bright and fresh tasting, with a nice basil bite.  The pasta was fresh and thinly rolled.

The bread service was average in presentation but there were both rye raisin and plain baguette slices served. The rye raisin was sweet and an unusual addition to an Italian restaurant. I did not like the butter, it was overly salty, and I suspect, one of the butter/margarine fusions.

The coffee was not remarkable. Again, I was a bit disappointed because with the fantastic ambiance of the restaurant itself I was hoping for Lavazza or a Lavazza wanna-be. It had fruity, almost berry notes with an acidic aftertaste. Nice, but not exceptional.

The star of the whole show was the Baby-misu. A lunch sized portion of tiramisu dramatically served in a flute. Beautiful presentation with a mint leaf in the top. The cake was delicate, not at all soggy and very flavorful. The cream was rich and the flavor was perfect. The only flaw is that you can’t get to the bottom of the flute with the spoon. I got around this by using the spoon handle to get every molecule.

Lunch for two was a very reasonable $25.00.

I would definitely eat there again.  As I said, the lunch specials tend to be the most hurried of all the menu items and if this was their absolute worst I could die a happy woman.

If you live in the South Dallas area then by all means you need to check this restuarant out.  They  are also opening a steak house next door soon so you can be sure I will be heading up there as soon as they open the doors.

Let’s Recap:

Ambiance 5/5  I loved it

Food 4/5 good but on the average side

Coffee 2/5 for such an excellent restaurant they should really find a better coffee.  My suggestion would be to go with Lavazza or a custom house blend in espresso from a local roaster.

Service 5/5 No possible complaints

That gives my review a total of 3.5 out of a possible 5.  If you have read my reviews before you know I am tough.  With a few small adjustments Patrizio could be the star of the South Dallas landscape.   Check it out.

Patrizio

305 W. FM 1382 #316

Cedar Hill, Tx.  75104

972 291 2600

image: Patrizio