Gabriel Pascuzzi, the Portland-born chef and “Top Chef” season 18 contestant, plans to transform his 5-year-old Slabtown restaurant Mama Bird into Bistecca, a wood-fired steakhouse with Italian touches. Mama Bird’s last day will be January 26. After a brief remodel to add more booths and paint the walls dark green, Bistecca will open in the same Northwest Raleigh Street space on February 7.

An advanced look at Bistecca’s menu presents an ambitious modern steakhouse with Italian flourishes — crab cakes with Calabrian chili oil, puttanesca-inspired steak tartare, cacio e pepe gnocchi in place of mac and cheese. The centerpiece is a hefty T-bone steak inspired by classic bistecca Fiorentina, with a sauce of shallots, blueberries and Chianti that Pascuzzi picked up while living in Italy.