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Uchi chef answers kitchen calling at Dallas Design District hot spot

Uchi Dallas chef de cuisine Junior Borges

Courtesy photo

Dallas chef groupies wondering where Uchi Dallas opening chef Junior Borges has gone now have an answer: FT33. Borges came to Dallas to open the local outpost of the famed Austin-based sushi restaurant.

According to a release, when FT33 chef-owner Matt McCallister learned of Borges’ departure — which happened just last month — McCallister immediately sent him a text.

“I admired his ambitious food, thoughtful presentation, dynamic flavor combinations, and great technical execution,” McCallister gushes. “When I heard he was no longer on the Uchi team, I knew I wanted him as part of mine.”

Borges trained at New York City’s International Culinary Center and worked at Marlow & Sons in Brooklyn and Tom Colicchio’s Colicchio & Sons. Prior to moving to Dallas to open Uchi, he led the team at Amali, a Mediterranean restaurant on New York’s Upper East Side.

Currently Borges is testing new dishes with chef de cuisine Josh Sutcliff. Those two, along with McCallister, intend to expand FT33’s tasting menu.

“The other day I experimented in the FT33 kitchen with a dish made of squid, lardo, pickled onion, and mustard,” Borges says in the release. “Will that dish be on the menu next week? I’m not sure, but it was as a productive conversation starter about how we see the menu evolving.”

As for who’s now in charge at Uchi, that’s Jeramie Robison, who had worked at the original branch in Austin and most recently was executive chef at Shinsei.

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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, plus five grandsons and two granddaughters. . According to family members, details regarding a celebration of his life will be announced soon.

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