Pizza News

Veteran Dallas restaurateur debuts worldly new pizzeria on Lemmon Ave

The pizzas come with creative toppings and flavors from around the world.

Mondo

Veteran Dallas restaurateur Yaser Khalaf is opening a new restaurant that specializes in a pandemic favorite: pizza. Called Mondo Pizza, it's a fresh, worldly take on pizza that's opening at 4436 Lemmon Ave., in a former Snap Kitchen.

Khalaf is probably best known around town for Middle Eastern restaurants such as Baboush and Souk Moroccan Bistro, but diners who've been around for more than a few years will recognize that this is not his first spin at pizza.

"A long time ago, I opened LA Gourmet Pizza on McKinney Avenue, and when I still lived in Kentucky before moving to Dallas, I owned a lot of pizzerias," Khalaf says. "This, I decided to do for fun. It's just a small project, designed for COVID times, focused on delivery, but with a twist to it."

The twist is to do pizza with his international perspective, from his birthplace in Kuwait to his travels throughout the Middle East and Europe.

"'Mondo' means world," he says. "Italian is one of my favorite cuisines, but I put my influence on it with my favorite foods."

The menu has 5 veggie pizza options and seven with meat, and it's an intriguing assortment, ranging from classics such as margarita to more creative pies:

Burrata & Pickled Pear with herbed goat cheese & basil pesto
Avocado Toast with ricotta salata cheese, burrito, pistachios, lemon zest, arugula, & grape tomatoes
Maverick with ground lamb & fennel sausage, pepperoni, & soppressata
Philly Steak with Boursin cream sauce, shaved ribeye, onions mushrooms, bell pepper, & garlic
Chicken Tikka with spicy tikka sauce
Chicken Shawarma, with sumac & herb grilled chicken, goat cheese, and a saffron-garlic cream
Mt. Gyro, with shaved lamb and beef gyro meat, feta cheese, tzatziki crema, capers, arugula, and kalamata olives

There are two salads, Greek and Caesar; garlic bread and cheesy bread; and a limoncello cake for dessert.

He expects to open Mondo in early February, although he has many irons in the fire these days, overseeing multiple concepts including Baboushi now open at the AT&T Discovery District; Darna Euro-Mediterranean Market coming soon to Plano's Legacy West; and a food hall in Denver.

Even Mondo won't just be a simple pizzeria. That would not be enough for the restless overachieving Khalaf.

"It'll have two kitchens, including a ghost kitchen where we can incubate some concepts that we can deliver and offer to-go, maybe tacos, we're going to have fun with it, like a secret to-go kitchen," he says.

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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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