New Thai in the Fort
Former Pakpao chef Eddy Thretipthuangsin picks Fort Worth for new restaurant
UPDATE: Chef Eddy Thretipthuangsin called in with more details about his new restaurant, added below.
Acclaimed Thai chef Eddy Thretipthuangsin is opening his own restaurant, and it's going to be located in a surprising new location: outside beautiful downtown Fort Worth.
The restaurant will open in Montgomery Plaza, in the old Monty's Corner space that was most recently Deluxe Bar & Grill.
It represents a quick recovery for Thretipthuangsin, who goes by "Chef Eddy." Only last month, he left the employ of Pakpao restaurant in the Dallas Design District. He came to Dallas in part to help Pakpao owners Richard and Tiffanee Ellman open the restaurant. His status as a native of Thailand combined with his Le Cordon Bleu training made him the perfect candidate for Pakpao's merging of classical French and Thai.
A spokesperson confirmed that he had settled on a location in the "downtown Fort Worth area," and the chef would release more details on the name and address of the restaurant this week.
Fort Worth has one of the area's most vibrant dining scenes. Sundance Square has been given a spiffy remodel, and recent openings include Little Red Wasp (one of our picks for the best new restaurants of 2013) and Bird Cafe. Other hot Tarrant County action includes the recent opening of AF+B in the West 7th district and the imminent opening of a second branch of Dallas pizzeria Cane Rosso in the Magnolia district. In the restaurant world, Fort Worth is currently where it's at.
Thretipthuangsin said the menu at his new place was still in development but would include some of the upscale Thai for which he has become known, but with an expanded focus.
"The concept is going to be more like 'Modern American with a global influence,'" he says. I want to spotlight more than just Thai food. We might incorporate a Spanish dish like paella or Italian. With my training, I can do something for everyone."
Before moving to Dallas, Chef Eddy owned a restaurant in Bridgehampton, New York, with his mother Patty called M and E, as well as a pan-Asian restaurant in Florida called L'Orient, featuring dishes such as pork belly with pickled daikon and Wagyu beef with Chinese broccoli.
At Pakpao, signature dishes included his chicken meatballs, using a recipe from his mother and grandmother, and steamed prawn in a clay pot. One area that Chef Eddy gives much attention to where other Thai chefs do not: vegetables.
The restaurant is slated to open this spring.
