Bite Sized News

TRUE Meatballs with marinara sauce and a side of grilled bread.

Don’t leave without trying:

The Whipped

Ricotta ($12) appetizer, topped with roasted apples, rosemary, and balsamic drizzle and served with grilled bread.

Co-owners and spouses Tricia and Ken Martino transformed the spot, once marked by black-and-white checkerboard ooring and tattered leather booths, into a modern osteria, the Italian word for a local, family-run restaurant. “LuCa” is a nod to their children, Lucas and Caroline.

The renovated space has an exposed brick wall behind the bar, a wall-to-wall wine display, industrial lighting, and artwork for sale from Anne Neilson Fine Art Gallery. The dining room has sleek wood-plank tables, booths with banquette seating along the walls, and, in the back, an eight-seat pizza bar from which guests can see into the oven.

Brendan Treyball, executive chef at TRUE Cra ed Pizza, developed the menu with Chris McDade, who owns Popina, a popular Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. Osteria LuCa’s wood red pizzas are the main attraction—rightly so—but if you come with a group, order a few other dishes to get the full experience.

Start with a hot appetizer like the TRUE meatballs with marinara sauce ($14) and ask for plenty of grilled bread for dipping. If you’ve come for the pizza, the classic cheese ($12) gets everything right, with crispy edges, bubbling cheese, and smoky avor. For something a little more complex, try the Prosciutto di Parma ($15) with arugula, shaved Parmesan, g spread, and balsamic glaze. The pasta o erings are solid and predictable, with Italian standards like Pappardelle Bolognese ($19) and Bucatini Amatriciana ($16). But the portions aren’t enormous, so you might not want to share.

If you save room for dessert, order the Bread Pudding ($10) with bourbon caramel sauce. Osteria LuCa rotates seasonal desserts throughout the year, but the bread pudding has been such a hit, it’s earned a permanent spot on the menu.

Osteria LuCa is casual enough to bring your kids on a weeknight but fancy enough to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. While Charlotte certainly doesn’t lack Italian restaurants, Park Road Shopping Center did. So the Martinos landed in the right place.

BITE-SIZED STORIES Foodie News on a Small Plate

Oak Steakhouse, part of the Indigo Road Restaurant Group, has named BOBBY HODGE its new executive chef. Hodge comes from the Oak Steakhouse in Nashville and plans to add more seafood dishes and local ingredients to the menu.

Thomas “Tommy” Vance has returned to CARPE DIEM as executive chef. Vance served as sous chef at Carpe Diem from 2014 to 2017 and executive chef at Georges Brasserie before it closed in 2018.

LITTLE ALLEY, a new steakhouse from F&H Food Trading Group, will open in Hearst Tower by the end of the year. Look for Black Angus beef, a topnotch charcuterie program, seafood options, and more than 100 bourbon selections.

The iconic DAIRY QUEEN that closed its doors in Plaza Midwood last fall will reopen in the Eastway Crossing shopping center at Central Avenue and Eastway Drive. —Taylor Bowler