Vegetarian Dining

Greenville Avenue restaurant goes for ‘bitchin’ treatment’ of vegetables

Wayward Sons, grits and Brussels sprouts

Vegetables get the fine-dining treatment at Greenville Avenue restaurant Wayward Sons.

Photo courtesy of Wayward Sons

Veg is the word for 2016, and Greenville Avenue restaurant Wayward Sons is stepping up by hosting a "plant-based" meal for its first chef's dinner.

Wayward Sons is the restaurant that opened in the old Kirby's Steakhouse space, from Brandon Hays and Phil Schanbaum, the team behind So & So's on McKinney Avenue and High Fives on Henderson Avenue, plus chef Graham Dodds.

The dinner takes place on January 19 and will consist of five courses, all vegan, which means no meat, no dairy, no bacon, no animal at all. A vegetable champion since before his days at Bolsa, Dodds is approaching the meal as a fun culinary challenge.

"Right now this is a huge focus of mine," Dodds says. "I've battled the format where diners want an extra large piece of meat with accompaniments. We get it shoved down our throat that what we should have is three pounds of meat on a plate. I think the real skill of a chef is to come up with a bitchin' treatment of vegetables."

For the dinner, Dodds says he's working on a gazpacho with unexpected ingredients, another dish that'll be green, a "barbecued" treatment of root vegetables, and something with lentils and mushrooms. "Portabella mushrooms do have a meaty quality, but I want all these dishes to stand on their own," he says."I'm not into doing a fake meat."

Wayward Sons joins a number of other restaurants who've begun hosting vegetarian and/or vegan dinners in recent years, some even going the distance with all-vegan meals, such as Libertine Bar and Samson's Hot Dogs, whose Christmas-time vegan holiday dinner sold out. Fearing's is one of the few current fine-dining restaurants on board, with a weekly vegetarian version of its Sunday brunch.

Since opening in December, Wayward Sons has made a mark with its vegetarian charcuterie — with sunchoke pâté, lentil sausage, butternut squash-and-mushroom terrine, pickles, and roasted root vegetables — a dish earning enthusiastic write-ups by blogs like Eater. And part of the restaurant's initiative includes produce grown on premise, similar to programs at Garden Cafe.

"We got this garden on a converted spot next to the patio," Dodds says. "It has seven raised beds and we have big tank to save rainwater. In the spring, we'll put a table out there when it gets nicer, so people can eat out in the garden."

The Garden Series five-course dinner will begin at 7 pm and is $65 per person. For reservations, call 214-828-2888.

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Times Square News

Dallas' buzzy Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley heads to Times Square

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Lobster tail at Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley

A downtown Dallas restaurant and nightspot is hitting the Big Apple: Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley, known for its Southern comfort food and clubby atmosphere, is opening a location in New York, in none other than Times Square.

According to a release, they'll occupy a 10,000-square-foot space that was formerly home to a restaurant called Pink Taco, at the corner of 42nd Street, Broadway, and Seventh Avenue. This will be their eighth location (with Boston also in the works), as well as the largest and most visible, and it's anticipated to open in summer 2026.

"Every city we've opened in has become home," Kelley says in a statement. "New York is where the world watches. Opening at Times Square isn't just an expansion — it's a statement. We built our way here, one city at a time, on our own terms. We can't wait to humbly welcome New York home."

Kelley was a driven entrepreneur and attorney new to the food & beverage world when he opened the first location in downtown Dallas at 1933 Elm St. in 2020. It immediately drew a refreshingly integrated crowd with its mix of Southern comfort food — shrimp & grits and fried catfish are specialties — with Kelley savoring his role as the man on the scene, walking the floor to welcome guests, which often include Black celebrities and athletes.

Kelley's culinary story began in the South, under the guidance of his grandmother who taught him not just recipes but reverence for good ingredients, Southern traditions, and the art of hospitality.

The menu is anchored by soul food traditions elevated with refined technique and bold flavor in dishes such as Fried Chicken and Waffles, Blackened Shrimp and Grits with Lobster Tail, and Jamaican Jerk Lamb Chops. Cocktails include Peach D'Ussé Frosé, Gold Old Fashioned, and a Blackberry Margarita.

Since the concept debuted in Dallas, Kelley has opened locations in Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Miami, with Boston also opening Summer 2026.

Every location features an iconic rose wall as well as live music — drawing celebrities such as Jesse Jackson, Tina Knowles, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Meg Thee Stallion, Klay Thompson, 50 Cent, Joseph Sikora, Phylicia Rashad, Malik Nabers, Dak Prescott, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Maxey, Kawhi Leonard, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and a host of entertainers, athletes, and cultural icons.

Reservations opened on May 5 at kitchenkocktailsusa.com/newyork.

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