Correction: Ursula's Restaurant and Pizzeria opened in October 2017, and Ursula Salazar passed away in March 2018.  The international-inspired menu at Ursula’s Restaurant and Pizzeria in Fulshear offers flavors from South America to Europe. “We have some tapas with risotto. For brunch we have egg benedicts so our hollandaise sauce has a little bit of pesto in it. We have a polenta, but instead of making it with traditional Italian flours we make it with corn flour that is very typical of Venezuela,” owner Ulises Salazar said. The chicken picatta is the best-selling dish. Traditional chicken piccata comes with white wine, butter, capers and angel hair pasta, Salazar said. “We have a twist ... instead of grilled chicken we make it with fried chicken, and it’s our best seller,” he said. Other popular dishes are lasagna and alfredo pasta. Salazar credits their popularity to fresh ingredients, authentic flavors and a homemade feel; however, Salazar said the best dish on the menu is an authentic risotto the chefs prepare from scratch.  The restaurant offers a saffron and calamari risotto prepared with homemade stocks. “Our best dishes are risottos. They’re just to die for. An authentic risotto takes about 30 minutes….it’s worth the wait,” Salazar said. Salazar worked as a chemical engineer in Venezuela and emigrated with his family to the U.S. in 2008 on a work visa. Salazar said opening a restaurant was part of his dream, and he and his wife, Ursula, used their savings and borrowed money from his father to start the business. The restaurant opened in 2017 and was originally named U-Pizza. Ursula was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away in March. Salazar changed the name to Ursula’s Restaurant and Pizzeria in honor of his wife. “She wanted to leave something behind. She chose [the restaurant]. It’s not just the name. It’s the restaurant. Everything you see she did.” Salazar said he would like to open two more locations in the future, including a vegan-themed restaurant to honor his mother and an American restaurant to honor his brother. “It’s a family-owned business,” Salazar said. “The people that work here, we are all family. We want to put our flavors from our family to your family on the table, our food, our love.”

Ursula’s Restaurant and Pizzeria

11525 S. Fry Road, Fulshear 832-913-3745 www.pizzarestaurantfulshear.com Hours: Tue.-Thur. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 5-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-8 p.m., closed Mondays