On Friday, I got to stroll through chef Jim Anile's new restaurant at American Tobacco: L'Uva Enoteca.
Anile's wife, Teresa Anile, says she hopes the restaurant will be open by the week of Aug. 15 although her husband is hoping earlier. Your best bet is to check the restaurant's Facebook page and the website for updates on the opening date. The Aniles own Revolution in Durham.
The restauarant is located in the former Cafe Zen space and across the courtyard from Tyler's Taproom. It has a about 45 seats outdoors on a very sleek patio with a moveable bar and another 40 seats indoors. I really loved the warm mahogany wall. (See photos below and please excuse the construction stuff.) Teresa Anile says it will be a "wine bar with a food focus." It will have an all-Italian wine list and rustic faithful Italian dishes.
"We want it to be a place where everybody feels comfortable," she says. "It's great simple food that we want to eat ourselves."
The executive chef will be Vito Parisi, who worked at Il Palio at the Sienna Hotel in Chapel Hill for six years where he worked with Jim Anile and most recently at the Washington Duke Inn. Parisi grew up in Italy, attended culinary school and then spent 18 years working in Germany before coming to the United States.
They plan to be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day except Sundays.
