News You Can Eat

New restaurants and lunchtime options fill this plate of Dallas food news

CrushCraft Thai will have chef-driven daily specials.
Photo courtesy of CrushCraft
CrushCraft is located in the Quadrangle.
Photo courtesy of CrushCraft
Blind Butcher's menu includes the Canadian delicacy known as poutine.
Photo courtesy of Blind Butcher
Tanoshii's new lineup of lunchtime burgers includes a veggie burger with miso.
Photo courtesy of Tanoshii
Glazed Donut Works has added Thursday to its nighttime schedule.
Photo courtesy of Glazed Donut Works

As 2014 kicks in, we're seeing lots of restaurant action, with openings, Fort Worth rumblings, loads of lunches and a quiet closure at the Crescent.

Carnivorous Blind Butcher opens on Greenville Avenue on February 6. Matt Tobin and Josh Yingling of Goodfriend have partnered with Ryan Chaney, Tony Bricker and chef Oliver Sitrin in this bar-restaurant featuring sausage, charcuterie, bangers and mash, and bacon bratwurst with sauerkraut. There's a vegan item too: a tofu bacon hot dog with pickled mustard seeds. Also, three kinds of poutine, a Canadian snack with French fries, brown gravy and cheese curds: mushroom, pork belly and duck. Blind Butcher will be open for dinner every day from 4 pm to 2 am.

Cool though oddly named CrushCraft Thai will open in the Quadrangle in February. This fast-casual Thai concept from chef Paul Singhapong and Jack Nuchkasem will feature traditional Thai dishes made from scratch. Menu categories include Thai street food; Thai favorites; and chef-driven dishes that push the envelope, such as sweet pork belly curry and braised short ribs.

The Cane Rosso in Fort Worth is now open on hipster Magnolia Avenue in the old Ryan's Fine Grocer space. Pizzaiolo Shon Ben-Kely moved here from Las Vegas after having worked with pizza guru Carmine D’ Amato, Michele D'Amelio (pizzaiolo at Pizzeria Testa in Frisco) and Roberto Caporuscio. This is the third branch, following the original in Deep Ellum and the spin-off near White Rock Lake.

Tim Love-related restaurant Barter is now open for lunch, Monday-Saturday, from 11 am to 2 pm. There is red chili with cornbread and an intriguing salad with escarole, arugula, black kale, Parmesan, cornbread croutons, Gaunciale and avocado. Sandwiches include tenderloin with caramelized onions and horseradish, as well as a burger with Redneck cheddar and bacon served on an English muffin. Entrees include fish and chips and, just as at Love's Denton steakhouse Queenie's, steak sold by the ounce.

Deep Ellum ramen spot Tanoshii Ramen + Bar is now serving "Japanese burgers" at lunch. Is that really a thing? The "hambāgā" is topped with miso chili, lettuce, tomato and onion. Teriyaki chicken burger is a chicken thigh cutlet. A vegetarian korokke burger is a mixed vegetable croquette coated with panko, fried, and topped with slaw and tonkatsu sauce. All burgers, served on a brioche bun, are $8.50; sweet potato fries with wasabi cucumber ranch dip are $4.50 extra.

Trinity Groves restaurant Chino Chinatown will launch a dim sum Sunday brunch on February 9, with steamed buns, chorizo egg rolls and dumplings. The restaurant will also begin serving lunch Mondays through Saturday on February 3.

Deep Ellum doughnut shop Glazed Donut Works is expanding its weekend late-night hours to include Thursdays from 8 pm to midnight. The nighttime menu includes the signature doughnut grilled cheese and maple-bacon long johns. Thursday nights replace Tuesday morning hours, which Glazed has curtailed for now, until the road construction on Elm Street is finished.

The name is out on the Fort Worth restaurant from former Pakpao chef Eddy Thretipthuangsin: Bite. The menu will include lamb meatballs, duck breast, scallop and grits, short ribs, lobster ravioli, flatbreads, sandwiches, and salads. There'll be a daily seafood entrée and "cut of the day." Entrees range from $16-$30. The restaurant opens in Montgomery Plaza on West 7th Street in the spring.

Fort Worth will get a gourmet ice cream shop called Melt Ice Creams, opening this spring in the southside district at 954 W. Rosedale St. Owner Kari Crowe Seher will make the ice cream in flavors such as brown sugar coffee, lavender honey and lemon basil sorbet. She told Eater that she'll keep her menu small, maybe six flavors.

Oak Cliff has a new Cajun seafood restaurant called Pier 247, from the owners of nearby Bar 303. It takes up residence in an old gas station at 247 W. Davis St. The menu includes fried oyster and crawfish nachos, po'boys, catfish Sloppy Joes and fried seafood baskets.

Top Chef is casting for season 12. Producers will be in Dallas on February 18 from 10 am-1 pm at the Hotel Palomar. To download an application, visit TopChefCasting.com.

In closing, Arcodoro y Pomodoro at Crescent Court is no more.

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Sushi News

Wabi Sushi opens in Flower Mound with fun creative dishes to try

Wabi House

Sushi pockets at Wabi House

A highly creative chef has opened a new sushi spot in Flower Mound: Called Wabi Sushi, it's a Japanese restaurant which opened in May at 1450 Long Prairie Rd. #110, taking over a former Parlor Doughnuts which closed in December 2025.

Wabi Sushi (no relation to Wabi House, a small local chain) is from Dongwhun Lee, a sushi chef who learned the ropes of sushi while living in Los Angeles, and has worked at a variety of restaurants such as Avocado Roll Sushi.

"I have been working as 'Chef AK' at Japanese restaurants since 2006," Lee says. "My goal is always to make sushi accessible, both for sushi lovers as well as sushi beginners — to remove any barrier and make everything easy to eat."

Wabi Sushi's menu includes classics like sushi rolls, nigiri, rice bowls, and dumplings. But Lee is a creative chef who is constantly adding inventive dishes to capture diners' imaginations. (He once founded a breakfast concept called Three Egg Muffins, now closed.)

Signature items at Wabi Sushi include:

Korokke, a fried potato fritter that's a common comfort food in Japan. A variation of the French croquette, it's made from mashed potatoes, onion, and ground beef or pork, shaped into patties, covered with panko crumbs, and fried.
Inari sushi, AKA sushi pockets, these are another comforting dish that's almost like a cross between sushi and an open-faced dumpling. It has a paper-thin slice of tofu which is fashioned into an edible pouch, simmered in broth, then stuffed with seasoned sushi rice and choice of topping from an array that includes spicy salmon, tuna, seared salmon, spicy pork, shrimp, tamaago egg, Japanese tuna salad, avocado salad, or French carrot salad.

Many traditional inari options feature cooked ingredients, making them a good alternative for those who don't want to consume raw fish. The tofu has a sweet-savory quality that's appealing, and their handheld profile makes them great for takeout.

There are a few places in Dallas doing inari, although usually just as a single item on the menu. Wabi Sushi offers them in samplers such as three pockets for $10, or four pockets for $13. Lee calls them "the perfect bite."

"They're my daughter's favorite," he says. "We try to offer something affordable and it's a simple, easy-to-eat item that's great for lunch."

Other recent introductions include their oversized "sumo" dumplings, baked volcano rolls, and BBQ bowls — and there are more new items in the works.

"We're launching sushi tacos this summer, and shrimp ramen in the fall," he says. "We plan to keep updating the menu so there is always something new. But we always cover the basics, with food that's simple and good."

chefs openings