Croissant Mashup

Korean pastry craze comes to North Dallas via this bubble tea shop

Dallas pastry fans, are you ready for croffles?

Acclaimed bubble tea spot Boba House is readying for a makeover that will add a pastry that's new to Dallas, if not the entire country. When the makeover is complete, it will be called 9 Rabbits x Boba House, which owner Grace Koo calls "the love child of a traditional Asian bakery and a modern specialty cafe."

Koo has been in the culinary industry since 2012, studying abroad in Seoul and Paris, then working as a baker and pastry chef in New York and Korea. She knows of pastries we do not, including the newfangled croffle, a cross between a croissant and a waffle.

"It's a spin on an Asian street food where you take the laminated dough you use to make a croissant and put it in a waffle iron," Koo says. "I don't even know if they're doing it in New York or Los Angeles yet."

Koo saw this crazy croffle while living in Korea.

"I'm Korean-American and was fortunate to live in Korea for five years," she says. "I feel like they're redefining pastry there, and it matches my philosophy of doing very traditional items with a twist, doing a French-style pastry but with Asian flavors."

Boba House has been open for 10 years; Koo took it over about three weeks ago.

"It'll be business as usual for the next two weeks, but then we'll do a renovation and re-open in June as 9 Rabbits x Boba House," she says. "It'll have a bakery side and a bubble tea side, with an amazing menu."

They'll still do bubble tea but with an expanded selection. There will be breads of different kinds, and sandwiches, too, such as turkey with Brie and apple chutney, or a Mediterranean sandwich with hummus and grilled vegetables.

"It was one of the first Korean bakeries in Dallas and it has gone through a series of owners as people's tastes have changed," Koo says. "My sister lives here, and I came for a visit and saw that there was a gap with only a handful of bakeries, and hoped I could add something to Dallas' growing food scene."

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RIP Al

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat dies at 69 after ALS battle

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, RIP

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, founder of the acclaimed local steakhouse Al Biernat's, passed away on November 13, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; he was 69.

Biernat was one of Dallas' all-time great hospitality figures, dating back to his days at The Palm steakhouse, for whom he worked in Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.

Biernat founded his namesake restaurant in 1998 on Oak Lawn Avenue, where his standard of excellence and doting charm made it a destination for special occasions, Park Cities swells, and celebrities in town.

His sense of hospitality had little competition in Dallas. He was a charming and personable host who genuinely liked people, and it didn't matter whether you were Conan O'Brien, David Crosby, or one of the other high-profile diners that visited his restaurants — or else just a regular schlub: He had a knack for making everyone feel special and remembered.

Biernat was born on August 20, 1955 and grew up in Michigan, then lived in Colorado, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, before moving to Dallas to work at The Palm in the West End, where his dynamic presence gave the restaurant an incomparable vitality; it closed in 2017.

He opened Al Biernat's at 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. in 1998, followed by a second location in North Dallas at 5251 Spring Valley Rd. in 2017.

He began to experience ALS symptoms in May 2023, was diagnosed in December, and revealed his condition in February 2024. The revelation was met with an outpouring of sympathy and well wishes from the hospitality industry — a sign of the high regard in which he was held.

The average life expectancy for people with ALS is two to five years after diagnosis. Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing, or in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. He began to have difficulty communicating in September, and spent his last days in a hospice.

On September 18, he broached the topic of dying, before ending on a note of gratitude to friends and family.

"Having Bulbar ALS I am realistic about my future," he said. "Friends and family have asked me if I’m afraid of dying, and this is what I say to them. Because of the salvation of Jesus, I will be rejoicing in my spirit to see him in all of his glory. Since we are all flesh, soul, and spirit, only my flesh is being left behind. But don’t get me wrong, I have a blessed life in this world, with a loving wife, and a beautiful family and many wonderful and caring friends. I am grateful!"

Both Al Biernat's locations will continue to remain open under the management of Biernat's nephew Brad Fuller, as they have for nearly the past two years.

Biernat is survived by Fuller, as well as his wife Jeannie and three daughters: Angelica Saylor, Kaitlin Biernat Connell, and Jess Biernat and grandchildren. According to family members, details regarding a celebration of his life will be announced soon.

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