By GREG COX, Restaurant Critic .. Published: Feb 2, 2004 CARY -- For most chef/restaurateurs, the notion of opening a restaurant without a stove would be unthinkable. For the owner of Ciao Cafe & Wine Bar, it was inspiration. But then, Piero Potenza is hardly your average chef/restaurateur. For starters, he is not the product of an American culinary school but of a rigorous hotel school education in his native Italy, beginning at age 15. Following thorough training in cooking and dining room service, he worked his way up from bus boy to chef to general manager in restaurants across Europe and North America. He opened his first restaurant in Manhattan three years ago, then sold it and moved to the Triangle in February in pursuit of a growing market. When Potenza spotted a vacancy in the Olde Cary Commons building downtown, he was taken with its intimate scale and semi-secluded charm. With a cobalt blue tile bar and loosely cushioned banquettes along sunset-colored walls softly lit by fat candles in iron scrollwork sconces, Potenza transformed the erstwhile ice cream parlor into a romantic hideaway. But it's a tiny hideaway, with only 10 tables or so. And no room for a stove. There's an oven, though, and that's all he needs to turn out an appealing menu of panini, salads and other appetizer-portioned Italian wine bar fare. At the heart of that menu are five house-baked breads, starting with the basket that arrives at your table soon after you're seated, filled with focaccia, breadsticks and Armenian flatbread. These are all admirable companions for a glass of Italian wine from Ciao Cafe's short but excellent list. (If you don't know Barbera from Barbaresco, rest assured that Piero Potenza is as unintimidating as he is knowledgeable about Italian wines.) But it's when they're paired with the flavors and textures of other foods that these breads really shine. Yeasty, chewy focaccia, for instance, with a salad of baby spinach, walnuts, crispy bacon and caprino (a soft , mild goat cheese) in a balsamic vinaigrette. Or with rosy, petal-thin slices of carpaccio under a drift of mixed greens and shaved Parmesan. Breadsticks offer a crunchy counterpoint to the sweet flavors and buttery textures of grouper seviche and shrimp salad, both of which you'll find under the quirky heading of Picadilly (named, according to Potenza, for the European word for the martini glass in which the dish is served). In fact, the breadsticks pair up so nicely with all the Picadilly offerings that a pair of them garnishes each martini glass. Armenian flatbread -- cracker-thin, shatter-crisp and spangled with sesame seeds or bits of toasted onion, depending on Potenza's mood -- are a natural match for the cheese platter. The only problem is narrowing the list of 14 Italian cheeses, with options ranging from Gorgonzola (the familiar dolce or the sharper piccante) to truffle-infused Sottocenere, down to four. Here, too, the knowledgeable owner can be helpful. Crostini are made with thick slices of a baguette-shaped bread that he bakes for the purpose. I liked the classic topping of chicken liver pate and truffle essence, and sun-dried tomatoes and Gorgonzola were also rewarding. My favorite bread at Ciao Cafe, however, is schiacciatina, a thin, crusty loaf used to make panini. Eight filling options are available, from prosciutto, artichoke hearts and Parmigiano Reggiano (very good) to smoked salmon and brie (very, very good). You can get panini made with focaccia, but I've been too hooked to the schiacciatina to try one. Among house-made dessert options, mascarpone and pistachio Napoleon and cappuccino panna cotta stand out. For all his experience, the owner of Ciao Cafe doesn't look to be a day over 30. But he's as loaded with Old World charm as a vintage Italian movie, greeting female customers with a heartfelt "ciao bella!" (men get a respectful nod and a handshake) and bidding them "arrivederci" with a Continental kiss on both cheeks. You're sure to meet him, because he practically lives at Ciao Cafe. In fact, you might say that Piero Potenza is Ciao Cafe. His well-honed culinary talent, his natural gift for hospitality and his youthful energy make it one of the most enjoyable places to dine in the Triangle. If he had a stove, there's no telling what he could do. Greg Cox can be reached at ggcox@bellsouth.net.

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