Chicken News

Hooters debuts its new chicken wings-only concept in Dallas-Fort Worth

Hooters has been doing chicken wings since 1983.

Photo courtesy of Hoots

Dallas gets more wings via Hoots Wings, a new fast-casual concept launched by the Hooters chain specializing in chicken wings but no breasts. Has someone already made that joke? Because it's going to be fast-casual and there will be no half-clad servers, see.

Bringing Hoots to Dallas as well as Austin is AE Restaurant Group, a Dallas-based franchise group that plans to open its first locations in northern Fort Worth and "suburban Dallas," although they have not yet signed a lease.

Cary Albert will handle real estate, development, and build-out. Jackie Albert will handle operations, marketing, training, and hiring. The couple currently owns 30 locations of Schlotzsky's.

Hoots was launched by Hooters' parent company HOA Brands in 2016, with the idea of doing a fast-casual version of itself, with a menu of its best-selling most popular items. Hooters has been doing wings since 1983.

Hoots' menu includes five wing options — breaded bone-in, naked bone-in, boneless, smoked, and roasted wings — plus sauces and rubs, Buffalo shrimp, chicken sandwiches, and waffle fries.

There are currently seven Hoots Wings locations, in Illinois, Georgia, and Florida.

In 2020, the chain let it be known they were seeking franchisees. AE Restaurant Group signed on and plans to open at least six locations in 2021, according to a release.

Stores use a small amount of ingredients, and kitchens use two pieces of cooking equipment. Hoots Wings is also partnered with third-party delivery platforms like Uber Eats and Grubhub, and units include a designated area for takeout orders to reduce friction.

In a statement, AE Restaurant Group's founders say they're enthused because they'll be on the ground floor of an emerging concept on the fast-track for growth, while benefiting from all the perks of having a national brand.

"The more we dug into Hoots Wings' food and finances, the more appealing it was," Jackie Albert says. Sounds yummy.

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Asian Food News

Taste of Malaysia restaurant brings rare Asian cuisine to Dallas area

Taste of Malaysia

A new restaurant has debuted in Coppell with a cuisine that's relatively rare in Dallas. Called Taste of Malaysia, it's now open at 3001 Olympus Blvd #130, at the Sound at Cypress Waters, between an Ari's Italian market and a Kilwin's ice cream shop, where it's serving authentic Malaysian dishes and flavors — adding another option to Dallas' burgeoning Asian restaurant scene.

A neighbor to Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, Malaysia has been described as having some of the best street food in Southeast Asia, boasting a mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and indigenous flavors. Signature dishes include satays — skewered meats — plus vividly spiced soups and rice dishes.

The country's national dish is nasi lemak, a beloved comfort food originally devised as a breakfast staple, featuring fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk with pandan leaves, sometimes enhanced with boiled egg and sliced cucumber and ikan bilis, i.e. anchovies.

Coming in at a close second is laksa, a spicy noodle soup made with rice noodles or egg noodles in a broth flavored with aromatic spices, shrimp paste, and coconut milk or tamarind.

These are the dishes that natives of Malaysia and fans of Malaysian food crave, says Shiva Nair, part of the team, along with his wife, Vsruti "Vish" Nair, that opened Taste of Malaysia.

Shiva has more than 20 years in the hospitality business including managing hotels and running other restaurants.

"There are a lot of Malaysians here in Dallas-Fort Worth but not many Malaysian restaurants," Shiva says. "That's what gave us the idea to open this."

Their menu features seven varieties of nasi lemak — including vegetable curry, chicken curry, slow cooked beef, slow-cooked chicken, fried chicken, fish, and spicy shrimp — all made with coconut rice, peanuts, boiled egg, and cucumber.

They also have fried rice, noodle dishes, satay chicken skewers, spring rolls, a samosa-style pastry with potatoes and vegetables called karipap, and a chicken "kutlet" — a breaded patty with minced chicken enclosed in a crunchy crust.

All of their meat is halal, meaning that the animals are raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines — a growing trend in Dallas-Fort Worth.

There's a full bar and the ultimate lure for timid diners: a lunchtime buffet, $18 on weekdays and $20 on weekends, with 15 to 20 dishes, with chicken, shrimp, fish, and vegetarian and vegan options, which are plentiful in Malaysian cuisine.

"We serve the buffet only at lunch, so that those who are unfamiliar with the cuisine can sample every dish," Shiva says.

"We saw an opportunity to bring Malaysian flavors to North Texas, a region hungry for authentic, halal-certified Asian food with real spicing and real heritage," he says.

openings coppell asian cuisine