BBQ News

Texas barbecue chain brings the brisket to new western frontier

New barbecue in the West.

Photo courtesy of Rudy's

We have Rudy's to the north and Rudy's to the, well, the northeast. But now we'll get Rudy's in the west: Rudy's Country Store and BBQ, the Texas barbecue restaurant chain, is opening its first branch in Fort Worth, in a new building off I-35 and Western Center Boulevard, six miles north of downtown.

According to Lauren and Robert Wolf, who own the Rudy's franchise for North Texas, the restaurant will open this fall. "We are hopeful it will be open by late September or early October," Lauren says.

Rudy's has been serving Texas barbecue in the southwest since 1989. Its pits are 100 percent wood-fired with oak. The meat cooks with a dry spice and is served with Rudy's famous "sause." There are more than a dozen Rudy's up and down I-35 between Dallas and San Antonio, plus Houston, El Paso and West Texas, along with branches in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

The first branch in Dallas-Fort Worth opened in Denton in 2005. Since then, three more branches have come along: in Arlington, Frisco and Allen, the most recent addition which opened in 2011.

"We always do our research before we pick our location, and it takes us a long time to decide," Lauren says. "We do have one branch in Tarrant County in Arlington, but we didn't have one in Fort Worth. We're real excited to get into Fort Worth."

Fort Worth has no shortage of barbecue: from old-timers like Angelo's, Cousins and Railhead, to newer favorites such as Billy's Oak Acres and Heim Barbecue. But the area Rudy's has selected is uncontested; the closest competition is Cooper's in the Stockyards.

In addition to brisket (in both moist and lean versions), ribs and sausage, Rudy's has turkey, chicken, pork loin and pulled pork. It also does good breakfast tacos, and is open on Sundays.

Rudy’s started out as a meat market with a gas station in front, and has kept that setup as it expands, which limits its location choices to a degree.

"We do need a certain amount of space," Lauren says. "I would like a location in Dallas, if only for my own selfish needs, since I live in Dallas. We've got to find right spot, but we'll keep looking."

unspecified

Mango News

Upscale Indian fusion restaurant Mango Yard to open in Frisco

Courtesy

The mango

An Indian restaurant that promises to be much more is coming to Frisco: Called The Mango Yard, it's set to open in early 2026 at the booming intersection of University Drive and Coit Road on the border of Prosper, in a new center at 12275 University Dr. #100.

The restaurant is ambitious in concept and decor, featuring a menu with Indian classics such as biryani and lamb seekh kebabs, but that goes beyond with a more diverse offering, incorporating elements from other cuisines such as Italian, Asian, and Mediterranean.

The restaurant is from childhood friends Santosh Kota and Prem Kumar, who reconnected after Kota visited Kumar in Dallas. Kota is a veteran restaurateur who owns locations of the Dal Moro's Italian pasta chain; Kumar is a financial analyst and investor.

"During my visit to Dallas, I noticed there was great potential for a high-end, high-ambience, high-quality Indian restaurant that also could provide entertainment experiences," Kota says. "The restaurant scene back home in India has seen big changes, and we want to provide a taste of that in Dallas."

That means a menu that incorporates global and contemporary influences. One example is their flatbread featuring chicken tikka — one of India's most popular dishes consisting of chicken marinated in spiced yogurt and grilled — but served on a flatbread with onions, cheese, and coriander.

Some of their dishes will combine Indian and Italian elements such as alfredo-style rigatoni flavored with Indian spices; or chicken rigatoni, with Indian-spiced grilled chicken and chili flakes. Other dishes will feature Asian ingredients or techniques such as bao buns and Indo-Chinese Manchurian veggie bites with chili mayo.

Weekend brunch will lean heavily into fusion with dishes such as masala avocado croissant, masala omelet, gulab jamum French toast, and bone marrow uttapam, a gluten-free rice-batter pancake topped with mutton bone marrow broth.

The space, which seats 120 with 30 additional seats on the patio, will reflect their ambition with natural materials used to create an upscale, inviting lounge atmosphere, and a full bar with cocktails.

The restaurant name speaks not only to the strong role that mangoes play in India but also to the mango yards in South India, where people gather and relax.

"We want to offer a different experience with modern cuisine, ambience, and a high level of service," Kota says.

openings