Colombo's Big O

Restaurateur Robert Colombo (Trece, the upcoming The Club Dining & Drinks) is dedicating his next project to the elusive "O." Not that "O," but "O" as in organic and maybe ocean and original too. On June first, Colombo got ahold of the Samba Room space after Orlando-based E-Brands let it go dark. "They felt the concept had run its course," Colombo says. "They decided they didn't have another concept that would fit in there. So voilà, there it came." Colombo plans to christen it Villa O, an Italian "pasteria" featuring pastas made with organic flour cooked in a pasta cooker before transfer to a wok with various sauces and organic vegetables and meats. "You blast pasta with this intense heat and flavor and out it goes," Colombo says.

But organic foodstuffs aren't the whole O. Colombo is also implementing an Italian water purification and gasification system to make Dallas tap drinkable in both still and sparkling versions. Villa O also boasts an exclusively Italian wine list (save for French bubbles) with 50 selections at bottle prices under $100 available by-the-glass and in decanted half-bottles. Villa O should open by November...if Colombo doesn't fake it.