We have reached the pinnacle of an era, locally and nationally, when impressive new (or newly renovated) hotels must retain equally awe-inspiring, brand-worthy chefs to lead their restaurants. Dallas offers four inimitable examples: Dean Fearing of Fearing's at the Ritz-Carlton, Tom Colicchio of Craft in the W Hotel, Charlie Palmer at the Joule and John Tesar at the remodeled Mansion Restaurant at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek.

KYE R. LEE/DMN

Bolla's linguine with clams is an earthy-meets-briny pleasure.

Note that these chefs generally fall into two categories: those, such as Mr. Fearing and Mr. Tesar, who make one hotel their sole headquarters; and those, such as Mr. Colicchio and Mr. Palmer, who open outposts of established concepts and staff them with accomplished cooks who strive to fulfill the head honchos' visions.

David Bull, the executive chef of two-month-old Bolla in the splendidly refurbished Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa, bestrides the typical arrangements. Last year, Mr. Bull left his longstanding post at Austin's Driskill Grill in the Driskill Hotel, where he earned heaps of accolades and was named one of America's Best New Chefs by Food & Wine magazine in 2003, for a new gig: as chef-partner of the Stoneleigh's management company, La Corsha Hospitality Group.

Bolla (Italian for bull) is his first project for La Corsha, though he is already also at work on a high-end Mexican restaurant for the St. Anthony hotel in San Antonio, where he holds the title of food and beverage director. Though he reportedly spends a fair amount of time in Bolla's kitchen, Mr. Bull still resides in Austin. If he flies between these cities, I'm guessing he racks up a mother lode of Rapid Rewards miles on Southwest Airlines.

I also suspect that his geographically diverse responsibilities account for Bolla's shaky start in the food department. Beyond the house-made pastas, which are superb, meals here too infrequently rise to the high expectations set by Mr. Bull's reputation and by the lofty prices.

The setting certainly makes a grand enough impression. As a newcomer, I can't comment on the breadth of the Stoneleigh's transformation. But the bar area, looking very dapper in shades of slate and green, draws a frisky crowd diverse in age. Fridays seem especially popular for sipping a stout drink, perhaps nibbling decent pommes frites or bruschetta with friends and deducing who among the stylishly clad throng is a local and who is just passing through.

A haunting image of a bull, rendered by artist Helen Altman using a blowtorch on paper, marks the entrance to Bolla. The dining room makes an exotic first impression: It is veiled in a series of diaphanous curtains. They add a touch of mystery to the sunny, neutral-toned space – very Salomé goes to South Beach. Through the rows of sheer fabric, you can spy the edgiest feature: An art installation of sorts uses three letters from the hotel's former rusty red sign that spell THE.

This is fitting stage dressing for the intention behind the cuisine. Mr. Bull's métier at the Driskill was New American with Southwestern overtures. At Bolla, he returns to his familial roots (his grandparents owned an Italian restaurant in upstate New York), but with a crucial twist: He calls it modern Italian. They read well, these au courant ideas, but frequently they water down what is most nurturing and soulful about Italian food.

One literal example: His minestrone is done deconstructionist style. The server presents a large bowl in which sits a timbale of white beans, vegetables and pasta, with a sheer piece of bacon (pancetta, technically) teetering atop. A thin, tomato-based broth is poured as if into a moat around a sandcastle. Theoretically, the ingredients should meld into a half-liquid, half-solid swirl of flavors. But for minestrone, these elements really need more time to marry, and that foundational broth requires more body. The soup, as a whole, left me craving a traditionalist's comforting take.

Nothing is as incontrovertibly modern Italian as crudo, the variation on sashimi popularized by chef David Pasternack at New York's Esca. I firmly believe, in the right hands, that sushi-mad Dallas will eventually learn to swoon over crudo. Mr. Bull's one true example of crudo, made with hamachi, has too much acid from mignonette and charred tomatoes. The joy of the dish is in the clarity of mild fish, augmented with some spicy green olive oil and quality sea salt. This one, to me, misses the point.

Bolla takes an interesting approach to the classic three courses offered in Italian fine dining restaurants: Rather than comprising mostly pastas, the second course consists mainly of augmented, protein-driven appetizers. Noodles, deservedly in this case, have graduated to third course, or entree, status alongside more substantial meat and seafood offerings.

Dishes in every category are constructed of lots of little components, and I also wonder if these sundry fillips don't overwhelm the kitchen at times. They are often imbalanced: Amaretto crème fraîche bombards a roasted beet salad with saccharine almond notes. Potato gnocchi are light, if lacking character, but the tuft of pulled short-rib meat on the side is as dry as unbuttered toast, blighting the composition. Oregano broth brings an aromatic lift to risotto with some nicely al dente spring vegetables, but the rice itself is chalky mush.

There are bright spots, but if you order the six- or nine-course prix fixe tasting menu touted by the servers, you may have to wade well into the meal before they reach you.

Highlights of our multicourser: pork belly in a not-too-spicy diavolo sauce, accented with pork cracklings, celery leaves and mozzarella gelato. Imaginative, and it all harmonized, even the gelato. Even better, a veal cheek piccata that redefined meltingly tender.

And the pastas. I don't know what's fueling the pasta revival in this city, but keep on keeping on, y'all. Bolla's linguine with clams is the earthy-meets-briny pleasure that it's meant to be. Fat rigatoni lounge in a creamy sauce studded with veal and tempered with mildly bitter rapini.

But even the pastas can tip off-kilter. That same rigatoni includes a bland blob identified as a "24-hour tomato." When is it a good idea for a restaurant that claims to be seasonally minded, as this one does, to feature a whole cooked tomato in April? And baked penne is glommed with a red sauce stripped of all its moisture that tastes of little more than tomato paste.

No, if you want a tasting experience, opt for the three courses, where you have the autonomy to pick from each category. Start with a beautifully composed arugula salad, and select carefully from there. The three-course option doesn't offer wine pairings, but the wines were generally uninspired anyway. You'd probably have better luck ordering a crisp white Vernaccia di San Gimignano or a Russian River pinot noir by the glass.

Dessert? Sigh. There was the nectarine-blueberry crisp with a dollop of mascarpone on the side so sour I was reluctant to swallow. And a modernist spin on cannoli with a tuile-like shell that, like the minestrone, made me long for the real McCoy.

All this means that Mr. Bull needs to be here more. He worked with Dean Fearing at The Mansion on Turtle Creek many moons ago, so he fundamentally understands the Dallas audience. I think this restaurant can be turned around before its reputation solidifies: Potential abounds. Someone just needs to tell Mr. Bull's bosses that corporate multitasking doesn't always translate to the world of professional cooking.Bolla

{star}{star} (good)

Food {star}{star}

Service {star}{star}{star}

Atmosphere {star}{star}{star}

Price: $$$-$$$$ (appetizers and salads $12 to $16, entrees $22 to $36, desserts $8 to $9. Six-course tasting menu $75, nine-course menu $95.)

Address: 2927 Maple Ave. (at the Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa)

Phone: 214-871-7111

Web site: www.stoneleighhotel.com

Hours: Dinner Sunday-Thursday 6 to 10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 6 to 11 p.m. Lunch daily (with brunch menu Saturday and Sunday) 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Breakfast daily, 7 to

10:30 a.m. Bar opens daily at

11 a.m.

Credit cards: All major

Wheelchair accessible: Yes

Smoking area: No

Alcohol: Full bar