StevenCraigLindsey@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\nFor more than 45 years, Bugatti Ristorante has served Italian-American classics to a devoted legion of fans. Spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parm and cappuccino pie keep diners coming back for more, even after relocating the business to 1940 LBJ Freeway in Farmers Branch. On April 20, Trattoria Bugatti took over the original\u2019s Midway Hollow space at 3850 W. Northwest Highway.<\/p>\n
Though it shares ownership and history with the O.G. Bugatti, the menu focuses entirely on authentic Italian fare with recipes and techniques that lesbian Chef Erin Willis learned while working in Italy. But her culinary journey began long before she ever crossed the Atlantic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve cooked my whole life. My grandparents had a grocery store in Fort Worth, and I grew up working by my grandmother\u2019s side. I lived in Houston at the time, and I would spend my summers with her. So, that\u2019s where my love for cooking started,\u201d Willis said.<\/p>\n
After college, Willis worked in escrow, but to keep one foot in the restaurant world, she started waiting tables at Patrizio in Highland Park. She hoped to get into culinary school, but her dad told her he\u2019d already paid for her college education and wasn\u2019t shelling out for anything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t get financial aid, so the chef at Patrizio said, \u2018Come work with me. I\u2019ll teach you everything you need to know.\u2019 And he did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She started by washing dishes. Then she graduated to ingredient prep, followed by a spot on the salad line and eventually making pizzas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just kind of worked my way up through every station, and that\u2019s where everything kind of evolved to get a jump start on my career,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She worked at several other restaurants and as a private chef before getting the opportunity to travel to Italy and shadow a chef.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt changed the whole perception of what I thought about food, because over there is completely different than what it is over here. Everything from the way cheese was made, the way cows were raised. I mean, I was eating raw chicken because they promised me I wouldn\u2019t get sick, and I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Focusing on the highest-quality ingredients and not taking shortcuts became the hallmark of her cooking from that point forward. In late 2018, she opened a restaurant in East Dallas called RM 12:20 Bistro and put the philosophy to the test. People loved her food and made it a neighborhood hit for a little more than four years, but COVID-19, an economic downturn, and competing with deep-pocketed corporate restaurants made it impossible to keep the doors open.<\/p>\n
It was a heartbreaking reality, and the end of her restaurant career. Or so she thought, until the Trattoria Bugatti opportunity presented itself. Unlike owning, operating and cooking in a restaurant, she could now focus solely on the cooking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just doing what I love and teaching, training and molding great cooks into wonderful chefs,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty well versed in French, Mediterranean and American, but my heart is with Italian. I pulled out my old journals from when I studied with the chef in Italy, and that was in the \u201990s. So, I finally got to blow off some dust on my journals, and most of the recipes that I have on the menu here at Trattoria are from my experience in Italy.\u201d<\/p>\n
That translates to dishes you won\u2019t find just anywhere with an Italian flag on the front door.<\/p>\n
One prime example is the Testaroli, semolina pancakes rolled with basil pesto and pecorino, which make for a delightful shareable appetizer bursting with freshness and vibrant green hues.<\/p>\n
The substantial portion of Duroc Pork Milanese, topped with a tomato-herb chutney, aged balsamic and fresh arugula, somehow manages to be light and hearty at once. It\u2019s easily the best version of this deceptively simple staple anywhere in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Yet perhaps the clearest example of We-Ain\u2019t-At-Olive-Garden authenticity lies in Willis\u2019 \u201cTrue\u201d Italian Alfredo. Unlike Americanized versions, she recreates the dish as she learned to make it in Italy, without a single drop of cream. She takes butter, garlic and lots of top-quality Parmesan cheese, then tosses everything with noodles sourced locally from Fresh Pasta Delights. It\u2019s sublime.<\/p>\n
So is the housemade focaccia, which, like the pizza dough, comes from sourdough crafted at East Dallas\u2019s Lubbies Bagels. Find it on the menu under the starters, but get it with your main courses instead so that you can soak up all the delectable sauces along the way.<\/p>\n
The menu isn\u2019t all that differentiates Trattoria Bugatti from Bugatti Ristorante. The dining room no longer features white tablecloths, opting instead for more contemporary design elements to create a genuinely warm, inviting aesthetic. It\u2019s also a place meant to be welcoming to everyone.<\/p>\n
This is especially important to Chef Willis, who only came out as a lesbian about five years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always known that I was gay, but I was raised in a family [where]that was not going to happen, and so it was very challenging for me to do that, especially with my two kids,\u201d she said. \u201cBut they are instrumental in my life right now. They totally support my lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the past three years, Willis has been in a relationship with Daphn\u00e9 Volle, first violinist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. But opening Trattoria Bugatti has made it more difficult for the two to spend much quality time together. Still, they try to have coffee together in the mornings, and Volle often visits during lunch or off-times so they can stay connected during the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing gay was a tough road until I met Daphne, so it\u2019s important for me to advocate for the LGBTQ community. I\u2019m one of those people who will hire someone no matter their race, age, sexual preference. I have one woman who\u2019s transsexual, and she\u2019s wonderful. I have had lots of gay staff. We welcome all,\u201d Willis said.<\/p>\n
Volle is originally from Leon, so she and Willis try to get back to France every summer.\\<\/p>\n
\u201cThe culture in Europe is so much different than it is here. You know, everything from the arm around the back, the holding of hands, just feeling safe without being stared at or whispered about. And I want Trattoria Bugatti to be a safe place for those people to come and celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and a first date.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith everything that we\u2019ve got going on here, particularly in Texas, it\u2019s terrifying to know that you can\u2019t hold hands at night or have to see a [rainbow] crosswalk erased. I want this place to be the opposite of that. Come here and feel free to do whatever the heck you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
As long as your visit concludes with Limoncello Tiramisu with Pistachio Biscuits. Much like the fettuccine alfredo, this dessert will forever change how you think of tiramisu. Similar to how Chef Willis\u2019s cooking will forever change the style of Italian food you dream about from this point onward. <\/p>\n
Trattoria Bugatti is open daily for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner service, with a mid-day \u201caperitivo menu\u201d offering discounted bites and drinks. TrattoriaBugatti.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chef Erin Willis honed her skills while working in Italy Steven Lindsey | Contributing writerStevenCraigLindsey@gmail.com For more than…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":850970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,3596,347669,1596,20947,62018,358,347670,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-850969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-chef","tag-chef-erin-willis","tag-dallas","tag-dining","tag-steven-lindsey","tag-texas","tag-trattoria-bugatti","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116709588288185883","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}