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94 M uch as a horti- culturist has his rose gardens and an artist h e r p a i n t - s p l a t t e r e d studio, chef David Uygur has his freezer. In the specially designed 60-square-foot space inside Macellaio — the Bishop Arts restaurant he opened last summer with his wife, Jennifer Uygur — he experiments with curing methods, concocts exotic spices and rubs, and fastidiously tends to various meats throughout the aging process. Some of them will hang there for up to three years before they are ready to be served. "You can go anywhere in this town and have a steak," he says. "But to have something that has been planned — from working with a farmer to get a specifi c pig to breaking it down and curing it in different parts for two to three years — you're getting something that's been in the works for a while." David is fascinated by various countries' traditions for preserving meat and the complex fl avors that result from combinations of protein, fat, seasoning, and casing. Macellaio's salumi menu offers traditional Italian culatello and capicola, as well as basturma, a Middle Eastern cured beef spiced with fenugreek, garlic, cumin, and paprika that David makes with Texas Wagyu beef. Beyond the freezer, the restaurant provides an outlet for culinary freedom and creativity for the couple, whose fi rst restaurant, Lucia, is strictly Italian. "We love to cook, and we love to eat," Jennifer says. "That's the whole reason we opened a restaurant in the fi rst place — and this has given us more room, not only to cure meats but to try new foods as well." While the stars of the show at Macellaio are the salumi boards, the menu is not all tapas and small plates. It's based on the way the Uygurs like to eat and entertain at home: a convivial smattering of snackables (Castelvetrano olives with cara cara orange and fennel pollen), shareables (hearty choucroute garnie), and lighter entrees (Manila clams with chistorra and focaccia). There's no common thread, other than being delicious and thoughtfully prepared. And, unlike an elusive table at Lucia — which has been booked solid months in advance for more than eight years — a reservation at Macellaio is much easier to come by (for now), as are the 19 inviting seats at the bar. Macellaio, 287 N. Bishop Ave., 972.685.9150, macellaiodallas.com. A CURE FOR THE COMMON CUISINE B Y L I N D E N W I L S O N . P H O T O G R A P H Y B E N G I B S O N . BY LISA COLLINS SHADDOCK. PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS PLAVIDAL. THE CULINARY COUPLE BEHIND LUCIA — BISHOP ARTS' MOST COVETED RESERVATION — BRANCHES OUT WITH A NEW CONCEPT A BLOCK AWAY. Jennifer and David Uygur Macellaio