Spoleto My Italian Kitchen opens its first U.S. location and it's near UCF in Orlando! Go us.

The wait is over for East Orlando residents: Spoleto - My Italian Kitchen is now open and serving up its signature fresh pastas, flatbreads and salads.  Located at Plaza on University, this is the first U.S. location for Spoleto, which has more than 380 locations in Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica. Two additional Orlando locations are scheduled to open later this year, one at the Florida Mall and another in Winter Park.     "The plan is to grow our brand throughout Orlando before expanding nationally through corporate and franchise stores," said John Velasquez, President of Spoleto USA.   The Spoleto concept delivers the highest level of Italian Culinary in a fun and interactive way, where guests have the freedom to craft their personally-inspired pasta, flatbreads, and salads with more than 30 different farm-fresh and house-prepared ingredients, herbs, dressings and oils.    "The goal at Spoleto is to give our guests the Culinary Freedom to experiment with amazing Italian Culinary. We want them to be in control of this open kitchen, working with our chefs to craft their perfect meal," said Velasquez.   In the mood to just eat and not create? Spoleto has several Chef-crafted dishes to choose from, including their special Spaghetti Polpette Grande (Giant Meatball), Penne Palermitana, Artichoke and Goat Cheese Flatbread as well as Fig, Prosciutto, and Burrata Salad.   You can also finish off your meal with a guest favorite - the Nutella Flatbread with Strawberries!   "Our UCF location has received great reviews and excitement, and we look forward to bringing this fine casual experience to our new Orlando locations and soon the rest of the USA," added Velasquez.

Pasta   Guests can noodle over which pasta to pick - some of which are whole grain, gluten free and seasonal pastas. Then choose from several protein options including bacon, roasted herb chicken, or a house-made giant meatball. Then its veggie time, with a wide variety of fresh produce and flavors including broccoli, truffle-roasted mushrooms, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, eggplant, zucchini, caramelized onions and many more. From there, guests have a choice of cheese (gorgonzola or an Italian cheese blend) before topping it off with a favorite sauce (pesto, marinara, bolognese, alfredo or brodo di pollo) and other savory seasonings. Upgrades include balsamic pearls and truffle oil.   Flatbreads   In the mood for a warm, crispy flatbread? Guests can select from the same fresh ingredients to dress it up before it's placed in the 1500 degree stone fired oven! Top it off with balsamic glaze, fresh herbs, and fresh grated parmesan cheese.   Salads   Salad lovers can choose from a mix of locally-grown baby lettuce from McGregors Farms, "Little Gem" lettuce with baby red and green romaine, or baby organic spinach. They can also choose from the same local ingredients, cheeses, and proteins like herb marinated shrimp, prosciutto or roasted herb chicken. Then select from Spoleto's house-made dressings (balsamic vinaigrette, blood orange vinaigrette, Caesar or red wine vinaigrette).