A top Italian chef opens a North Texas restaurant; here’s what she’ll serve Mother’s Day
Carla Pellegrino has starred on “Top Chef” and led top Italian restaurants in Las Vegas.
Now, she’s in downtown Grapevine.
It almost seemed unbelievable. A celebrity chef from Vegas known for her flashy personality opened a simple bistro in a former suburban pub.
But it’s true.
Pellegrino is in the kitchen and will be serving Mother’s Day brunch Sunday at Teatro Bistro, 120 S. Main St. in historic downtown Grapevine.
It’s a stopover. Pellegrino will open another restaurant, Urban Italia, later this year in the Victory Park development in Dallas.
Teatro’s weekly brunch menu includes entrees such as a spaghetti carbonara frittata, Caprese or Caesar salads, avocado toast, pastas and sandwiches.
There’s a special for Mother’s Day: linguine with shrimp, tomatoes and arugula ($25).
For Pellegrino, it’s a big change from Vegas, where she once cooked Mother’s Day for 800 patrons at the former Rao’s in Caesars Palace.
Mother’s Day is a “love-showing holiday,” she wrote by email.
“It’s a great occasion to make new customers,” she wrote.
Moms will get a complimentary dessert and a rose.
From Rio de Janeiro via Italy, Pellegrino competed in “Top Chef: Seattle” (season 10) along with Dallas celebrity John Tesar.
She also was a winner on “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.”
Teatro Bistro and Urban Italian are new ventures from a local ownership group.
The nighttime menu at Teatro Bistro offers pastas, steaks, seafood and Pellegrino’s distinctive shrimp-and-black-garlic grits.
It’s open for dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays and for brunch Sundays; 682-223-1194, teatrobistrotx.com.
This story was originally published May 6, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
