Hummus Is Here

Famed D.C. Mediterranean restaurant hands off hummus to Star Frisco

The flatbreads, called "pide," are topped with sausage, egg, and cheese.

Photo courtesy of Zaytinya

The openings keep coming for The Star in Frisco, and this one's big: After a year in the making, Zaytinya, the Mediterranean restaurant in Washington, D.C. from famed chef José Andrés, will finally open at the Dallas Cowboys facility in early February.

A collaboration between Andrés' ThinkFoodGroup and Turkey-based d.ream (Doğus Restaurant Entertainment and Management), Zaytinya Frisco will be Andrés' first restaurant in Texas and the second location of Zaytinya, a top D.C. dining destination, known since 2002 for its inventive Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese cuisine.

In a release, Andrés calls The Star "amazing" and "an incredible development" by the Jones family. "I can’t think of a better home for this second location of my mezze restaurant and I can’t wait for the people to Texas to dine with us!!" he says.

Zaytinya's mezze menu features shared plates, cocktails, and Mediterranean wines. The wine list is unique in that it features only the wines of the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, and Israel.

The menu includes classics such as hummus, tzatziki, labneh, and a dip called htipiti with red peppers and feta. There are vegetarian dishes such as eggplant stuffed with onion, tomato, and walnuts; crispy Bussels sprouts; seared red lentil patties; mushroom couscous; falafel; and a bulgar wheat dish with chickpeas and feta.

There is lamb shoulder, beef and lamb meatballs, pork belly, seafood, and potato-crusted snails. There are flatbreads, called "pide," topped with sausage, egg, and cheese.

Zaytinya Frisco will be helmed by chef Jonathan Thompson, who opened Samar and Stampede 66 with Stephan Pyles. Before coming to Dallas in 2009, he was chef de cuisine for Gerard Panguad in Washington D.C., and cooked at Bradley Ogden's in Las Vegas.

Zaytinya will be located in Building 6W of the development at 6655 Winning Drive, and will feature a modern, authentically Mediterranean decor.

José Andrés is a culinary innovator, author, educator, TV personality, humanitarian, and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, whose portfolio of 27 restaurants includes Jaleo at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Fish at MGM National Harbor, J by José Andrés at W Mexico City, Bazaar Meat at the SLS Las Vegas, and The Bazaar by José Andrés at the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills and South Beach.

D.ream was founded in 2012 and has become an international player by introducing brand new concepts and offering wide variety of dining experiences worldwide. D.ream will separately debut an Italian restaurant at The Star called Da Mario, which is aiming to open in January.

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Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

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