Thursday, October 9, 2008

New steakhouse with Italian flair to go into Rick Stein’s space off Dallas North Tollway

By Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — The space on the Dallas Tollway left empty by the shut down in July of Rick Stein's steakhouse has a new venture, coming in November: Tre Amici, which supervising owner Judd Fruia describes as "a steakhouse with Italian flair".

"Basically, it's a cool concept," he says. "With so many steakhouses in Dallas, the last thing we wanted to do was open another."

Fruia comes from Pappas where he worked at both Pappas Steakhouse and at Pappadeaux; he's also worked for Fireside Pies. He's joined by a pair of old friends and fellow investors who form the three friends in the restaurant's name, whose full configuration is Fruia's Tre Amici Prime Steak and Seafood.

What could possibly be inside that ravioli? Could it be foie?

Chef is Tim Soufan, with whom Fruia worked when they were both starting out working for Pappas in the '80s. Soufan was corporate chef for Sky Chefs, corporate chef for Pappas, and a corporate chef for Carlsson.

"The Italian component is going to be done in subtle hues," Fruia says. "Some of it will be dishes we run as features. We're in the menu development stage as we speak. To give you an example, one of the dishes we're playing with is foie gras ravioli. But we're not going to price ourselves out of the market."

But what of the location, home not only to failed steakhouse Rick Stein's, but also to failed steakhouse Fleming's before that?

"I’m not intimidated by the location," he says. "It’s on a major thoroughfare and has great exposure. It's a perfect hub of Dallas."

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