Sushi News

Sushi restaurant will open in old Christie's space in Uptown Dallas

They're known for their innovative sushi rolls.

Sushi Sakana

There's new sushi landing in Uptown Dallas: Called Sushi Sakana, it's a small mini-chain with two locations, opening at 2811 McKinney Ave., next door to Dream Cafe.

In fact, the very same building as Dream Cafe. It'll take the remaining space of what was once Christie's, which relocated to Greenville Avenue in January 2021.

James Park, who owns Sushi Sakana with partners So Park and Sung Yoon, confirms that the restaurant will open in late spring.

Sushi Sakana first debuted in Plano, at the Parkwood Square center at 3000 Custer Rd. in early 2007, where it built a following in the neighborhood for its sushi rolls, cozy atmosphere, and attentive service.

The menu has a big selection of sushi and sashimi, but also a wide variety of other options such as yakisoba noodles, teriyaki, ramen and udon noodle soups, and a quartet of fried rice dishes including regular fried rice, plus beef fried rice, chicken fried rice, and shrimp fried rice.

They're known for their rolls with classics such as tuna roll, rainbow roll, and California roll, as well as special signature rolls such as the wasabi roll, with soybean paper enclosing a filling of tuna, salmon, and crab. There's a separate selection of specials with a serious foodie vibe such as hamachi kama (grilled yellowtail collar); and a menu of bento boxes for lunch, served with soup or salad.

Appetizers are appealing and innovative, from calamari tempura to a deep-fried jalapeno stuffed with spicy tuna and cream cheese. The Avocado Bomb is an avocado topped with crab and spicy tuna, and deep fried; the similar "Monkey Brain" is a mushroom cap topped with crab and tuna and fried.

They've been plotting expansion for more than a year, and just opened a location in Southlake in December 2020.

"We've been interested in opening in Dallas, specifically Uptown," says James Park. "We know there's an audience there, some of our customers at Plano have come from Uptown. It was really just finding a good location."

While all of the menus are basically the same, they've added some entrees for the Southlake location including such as bulgogi, which they'll serve at Uptown as well.

He hopes they'll also expand their bar offerings, currently limited to sake and Japanese beer.

openings uptown

Escargot News

New all-day French bistro in downtown Rockwall is all from scratch

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Belle View Bistro Rockwall

An all-day French bistro has made its debut in Rockwall: Called Belle Vie Bistro, it’s a new mom-and-pop in the charming historic downtown district, at 112 E. Rusk St., the former home of The Fatted Calf restaurant, where it opened its doors on November 12.

Belle Vie is from Luis and Iliana Marquez, a hard-working couple who also own Los Marquez, a popular taco--themed food-truck-turned-restaurant in Rockwall they first debuted in 2019. In May, the couple took over the former Fat Chicken space to open a brick and mortar location of Los Marquez, where they serve well-made Mexican food like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, but also burgers & fries. They open for breakfast with breakfast tacos, and run a daily lunch special, often creative, always popular, such as birria ramen with choice of beef or lamb for $11.

But the couple had a bigger vision of creating a place where chef Luis could stretch and showcase his skills.

"Luis has a lot of culinary experience, and it’s something that he’s been putting aside,” Iliana says. “We were just waiting on the perfect time to bring this to life.”

"This is something exciting and new for us, it’s something that we always wanted to make,” Luis says.

Like Los Marquez, Belle Vie is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving classics like French onion soup, moules frites, escargot, and duck confit. There are also comforting and American dishes like spinach-artichoke dip, crab cakes, and fish & chips.

Lunch features Cobb salad, a French dip, and chicken & Brie panini, while an extended breakfast -- which runs from 7 am to 4 pm — includes pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict, beignets French toast, and crepes, plus pastries and breads made from scratch.

Mural on the wall at Belle Vie Bistro RockwallFacebook

The bakery counter is a delight, with eclairs, croissants, scones, fruit tarts, and cake slices in flavors like carrot cake and white chocolate raspberry. There's also a serious coffee program with espresso drinks such as lattes.

"We pride ourselves on making everything from scratch," the duo says. "Our bread—whether for sandwiches, paninis, hamburgers or anything listed on our menu is made fresh just for us by our incredibly talented pastry chef and baker. The same care goes into our pastries and desserts ensuring every bite is special and crafted with love."

The dining room is warm and cozy with dark wood chairs and plush booths and a full-wall mural depicting a street in Paris. They also have a full bar, with cocktails and beer on tap. Prices are reasonable, ranging from $9 for a Belgian waffle during breakfast to $45 for prime ribeye at dinner.

For now, they're not taking reservations — it's first come, first serve.

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