Pho to the Burbs
Vietnamese foodie hot spot Dalat joins downtown Plano parade
The gentrification of old downtown Plano continues with the addition of another concept near-and-dear to foodie hearts: Dalat, the Vietnamese restaurant on Fitzhugh that's a late-night foodie favorite.
Dalat will open a second branch on the same strip that's home to Urban Crust and the just-opened second location of Lockhart Smokehouse, and around the corner from Fourteen Eighteen Coffeehouse. Not only did Dalat secure a location on the all-important 15th Street, it nabbed the desirable spot at the corner of Avenue K that was most previously Posh Nosh Market but was once the venerable Queen of Hearts costume shop.
A manager at the Dallas restaurant said the Plano branch would be similar but not identical.
"It's going to have the bar with the soups and sandwiches we make," he said. "The space is a little smaller, so it's going to be a more limited menu but an unlimited bar."
He estimated the timetable at "probably two months."
Named for a tourist hot spot in Vietnam, Dalat was opened in April 2012 by Khanh Nguyen, with a menu of pho, spring rolls, sticky rice with Chinese sausage, spicy beef soup and Vietnamese crepes. He recently added a "ramen bowl."
It has become a foodie favorite not only because of its willingness to serve pho late into the night but because its very late-night hours are good for restaurant people after they get out of work. Its gallery of visitors on Facebook include notables such as Tom Spicer and restaurateur Lisa Garza. There aren't many better people-watching spots at 1 am on a weekend night.