Hummus News

East Coast Mediterranean restaurant selects Uptown for Dallas debut

Uptown gets more healthy Mediterranean food.

Photo courtesy of Cava

A fast-growing Mediterranean chain from the Northeast is coming to Dallas: Called Cava, it'll debut in Uptown Dallas, in a spot adjacent to Spaces, the coworking company on McKinney Avenue which also happens to be World Headquarters for CultureMap Dallas.

According to a representative from the company, the restaurant will open in mid-2019.

Cava started out as a full-service restaurant in Rockville, Maryland, in 2006. The concept was founded by three childhood friends — Ike Grigoropoulos, Chef Dimitri Moshovitis, and Ted Xenohristos, are they Greek much? — to celebrate the flavors of their families' traditional Greek and Mediterranean cooking in a casual modern setting, dedicated to fresh, Mediterranean-inspired, better-for-you cuisine.

When it comes to food, Greeks know what's up.

The chain has since evolved into a fast-growing, fast-casual brand with more than 70 restaurants in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Boston, and Washington, DC, its home base.

Cava also has a packaged goods line, including dips and spreads that are sold in grocery stores such as Whole Foods Market.

The restaurants' menu is customizable. You start with a base from a selection of salads, bowls, or pita bread.

Salad options include "SuperGreens," arugula, spinach, Romaine, or "SplendidGreens." Grain options include saffron basmati rice, brown basmati rice, or black lentils.

You get a choice of up to three dips from a selection that includes eggplant and red pepper dip; tzatziki (Greek yogurt); “crazy feta” infused with jalapeno; hummus; harrissa; or red pepper hummus.

Proteins include falafel, meatballs, spicy lamb meatballs, braised beef, grilled chicken, braised lamb, or roasted vegetables.

Other toppings include Kalamata olives, pickled onions, cabbage slaw, pearl couscous, and cauliflower-quinoa tabbouleh.

There are also juices and teas, and seasonal items such as a creamy date vinaigrette, pairing Mediterranean dates with mustard and garlic.

Dallas is lucky to have other, similar concepts that have opened in recent years, including Chicago-based Roti Modern Mediterranean, which opened in Uptown in 2018 just a block away from where Cava will open.

There are currently three locations of Cava in Texas, all in Austin, where they opened in 2018.

Cava had already made inroads into Dallas-Fort Worth in August when it acquired the Plano-based Zoës Kitchen Inc. chain. In November, Cava CEO Brett Schulman said that, "with this acquisition, Cava will be able to broaden our geographic footprint and meet the needs of even more guests."

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Coffee News

New cafe in Richardson spotlights fine Ethiopian coffee and pastries

Fanah

Fanah Cafe

A coffee shop has opened in Richardson with serious coffee roots: Called Fanah Cafe and Pastry, it's in a center at 139 N. Plano Rd. and Belt Line Road, where it's serving authentic Ethiopian coffee, lattes, and pastry baked in-house.

Owner Esayas Zeweldi was born in Ethiopia and moved to Dallas in 2008. In his early years in the U.S., he worked as a barista at UT Southwestern, then at Jasmine Market and Café. He went on to build a career in medical transportation and tech manufacturing — but his love for coffee never faded, and he decided to open his own shop.

"Since I came to the United States, that was my dream," Zeweldi says. "Nobody showed me the way, but I had it in me."

They serve traditional beverages including espresso, cappuccinos, and brewed coffee, and will be adding a collection of specialty lattes as well. They've partnered with Dilla Coffee Roasters in Deep Ellum, which specializes in Ethiopian beans. Ethiopia boasts some of the highest quality coffee beans grown in the world. The country is known for its diverse array of bean varietals, some of which have been cultivated for centuries.

Fanah will also soon offer an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, with boiled coffee served to participants on small cups that sit on a tray, meant to be shared.

“In my country coffee is all about conversation, we have a coffee ceremony, you call your neighbors, enjoy some time with them. With drive-thru concepts and quick coffee pick up, we lost the connection, I want people to have a good time," Zeweldi says.

The café also serves an assortment of pastries from international cuisines, as well as some Ethiopian dishes. The menu includes cream puffs, muffins, scones, croissants, tiramisu, and cakes in varieties such as Oreo, vanilla and millefeuille. Everything is baked in-house.

For breakfast, they serve traditional Ethiopian/Sudani fuul, a dish made with fava beans, tomatoes, onions, and chechebsa, fried pastry typically eaten with yogurt. They also serve pancakes and scrambled eggs.

Hours are 7 am-7 pm daily, and they're adding lunch which will feature a mix of Ethiopian and Italian items, based on recipes developed by Zewldi's wife, Yodit.

The food and beverages are important, but that's not all they're about.

"The café’s mission is simple: to bring joy through food and connection. using only the finest ingredients and creating an inviting space for everyone to feel at home," Zeweldi says.

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