It's not often that restaurants, especially popular ones, get a head-to-toe menu revamp. But a culinary overhaul seemed appropriate for Sud Italia Ristorante when it hired Maurizio Ferrarese, former executive chef of Quattro at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston, as the head toque of the Rice Village restaurant.

Just over a month into his new stint as executive chef, Ferrarese has unleashed his extensive background in fine dining and Italian fare on the intimate, neighborhood boite. Sud Italia is now super "sud," with an entirely new menu that celebrates the southern regions of Italy including Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily.