Korean Sushi

Dallas restaurant forges inventive twist on Korean and sushi fusion

Sushi meets Korean fusion at new Plano restaurant.

Courtesy of Dami

A new family-run Asian restaurant has opened in Plano with some fusion dishes that are one of a kind. Dami Korean Fusion & Sushi debuted on March 1 at 17421 Preston Rd., south of Frankford Road, in the same center as Sharky's and Pera Turkish Kitchen, in a space that has housed more than one sushi-hibachi restaurant in recent years.

But Dami won't be doing hibachi. Instead, the restaurant is combining the sushi chops of chef Yong Jo with the Korean dishes of his family.

"I do the sushi, and my mom is doing Korean dishes," Jo says. "We're trying to create a fusion with Japanese, Korean, and American dishes, and also trying to make Korean food better known."

The menu offers traditional Korean items such as bulgogi, which they make with marinated pork, and bibimbap, the rice bowl topped with vegetables and a fried egg.

Samgyeopsal is a shared dish with pork belly and kimchi.

"We layer it with tofu, so you get the saltiness and spiciness from the pork and the kimchi, and between that, there's tofu, a soft taste that unites it together," Jo says. "You usually eat that when you're drinking. We want to create a place where family and friends can come together. We've tried to make the environment warm and inviting."

Some dishes cross borders, such as crispy tuna, a sashimi entrée which incorporates guacamole and tortillas. "I was trying to do sashimi with a Southern twist," Jo says.

Another invention is called "Korean style seafood pizza" that uses the word pizza liberally.

"It's not pizza in that it doesn't have cheese, but it has seafood with lots of scallion," he says. "The pizza crust is not a traditional crust, although I do make it with flour. It's fried, almost like a pancake."

A massive selection of sushi rolls includes some with rice, some without; some with raw fish, some with cooked; and some that are deep-fried, almost like a spring roll.

They're still working on getting their liquor license, so for now it's BYOB. It also has a philosophy.

"The story about this restaurant is that we believe food is medicine," Jo says. "If you eat good food, you don't get sick. We do eat fish, beef, proteins, but we eat vegetables. I have noticed in America that people often eat a lot of meat only, and you don't need that much. We're not trying to eat meat all the time. We're not trying to eat vegetables all the time. It's balanced."

openings

Roundup Time

Find some tasty dish in this roundup of Dallas restaurant news

Monarch

Steak at Monarch

This mid-July edition of dining news around Dallas is surprisingly newsy, with openings, a remodeling, and a change in ownership for a local bakery. There are also lots of fun new menus and limited-edition items to put on your list.

Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news right now:

Paris Baguette, the Korean French-inspired bakery café, opened July 11 at 2000 Long Prairie Rd. in Flower Mound. Leading this location are three women business owners: Chaitali Tripathi, Anusha Jonnala, and Swapna Varala, with professional roots in software, health care, and hospitality. The bakery offers Eurasian pastries such as cakes, tarts, mochi donuts, pastries, and breakfast sandwiches. This is the 15th location in Texas.

Sweet Paris Creperie, a small chain specializing in crêpes and breakfast, is now open in University Park at 6632 Snider Plaza. This is the third location in DFW, joining locations in Southlake and McKinney. The menu offers 20 crepes including dulce de leche, lemon & sugar, s'mores, chicken enchilada, plus waffles, egg breakfasts, panini, salads, beer and wine.

Chick-fil-A is opening a location in Lexington Village in Frisco at 12551 Eldorado Pkwy. on July 17. Show your cow spots on opening day to receive one free meal.

Mountain Mike's Pizza has a new location in McKinney at 4590 W University Dr. The chain is known for their 20-inch "Mountain" size pizzas and their curly pepperoni and features a kids’ arcade, large patio, and an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. This is their ninth location in DFW.

Raising Cane's, the chicken tender chain, is remodeling three locations: 5030 Greenville Ave. Dallas; 8801 North Fwy. Fort Worth; and 1322 N. Collins St. Arlington. Construction is underway, and the dining rooms are temporarily closed, but each restaurant is still open for drive-thru. The transformation will include updated exteriors, new signage, new color schemes, design nods to local schools and universities, upgraded dining rooms, tables, chairs, and lighting. DFW is Raising Cane's largest market. They opened their 200th restaurant in Texas in November.

House of Bread, a bakery and cafe in McKinney, is selling to new owners after three and a half years. Owners Dustin Marks and Mechelle Coate ran the shop selling breads, pastries, sandwiches, and soups. The transition to new owners will happen August 1.

Dive Coastal Cuisine has new July specials featuring white chicken pozole, watermelon arugula salad, and the Italian dream sandwich.

Catch Dallas has a new strawberry shortcake shaved ice. The dessert is layered with crushed strawberry compote, lemon cookie crumble, mascarpone mousse, and a condensed milk drizzle for $23.

Monarch, the downtown Italian restaurant at The Thompson, has a new six-course summer chef's tasting series. Items include oysters, whipped foie gras, California sea bass, Rosewood Wagyu filet, and lemongrass granita. Available for $175, with an optional wine pairing for an extra $125.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has two new smoothies: The returning Mango Monsoon Smoothie with mango, pineapple, papaya, guava, passion fruit, and coconut; and the new Tropical Dragon Passion Smoothie with dragon fruit, passion fruit, pineapple, and lime. Both are permanent menu additions for $8.

Savvy Sliders, the burger slider chain, has two new items: Pulled pork slider with BBQ sauce, pickles, on a toasted brioche bun for $4; and a s’mores shake for $6. Both are available through August 31.

Ojos Locos Sports Cantina has a new smashburger featuring two patties, American cheese, pickles, jalapeños, habanero onions, and Loco Sauce. Available for $14 as a combo, or $16 as a combo with beer.

Texas de Brazil has two returning seasonal favorites: Moqueca de Camarão is a seafood stew with shrimp, coconut milk, garlic, and peppers. Flame-grilled shrimp is marinated with garlic, oregano, and cayenne, available as a light option or paired with other churrasco favorites. Available for a limited time during dinner.

Cerulean Blue Coffee House in Flower Mound debuts its July Cookie of the Month: the strawberry white chocolate, a soft and chewy cookie baked with white chocolate pieces and strawberries mixed into the batter. Their two staple cookies are chocolate chunk and caramel white chocolate.

$Jalape\u00f1o Ranch Chicken Taquito$ Jalapeño Ranch Chicken Taquito from 7-Eleven7-Eleven

Soulman's Bar-B-Que has added "pork wings" to its menu, a la carte or in a pork wing plate with two sides, for $22. They're available until August 27 at all 20 locations including Allen, Cedar Hill, Fort Worth, Forney, Garland, Greenville, Hurst, Lancaster, Lewisville, Mansfield, Mesquite, Rockwall, and Royse City.

Grimaldi’s, the Italian pizza chain, has a new summer menu featuring strawberry spinach salad, Aloha, NY! pizza topped with pepperoni, pineapple and basil, drizzled with Mike’s Hot Honey; strawberry and blueberry cheesecakes; plus cocktails including pineapple basil mule and pineAperol spritz. New permanent menu items feature ivy pizza, Italian Paloma, limoncello spritzer, and flavored margaritas such as peach and dessert pear.

Mo'Bettah's has a new steamed vegetable blend featuring broccoli, peas, and carrots seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic. It's served as a side or main entrée starting at $2.

Tacodeli has a new Mojo Risin’ Taco featuring chicken thigh shaved thin and plancha-seared, garlic mojo sauce with chipotle, ancho & pasilla, cabbage slaw, and green onions. It's $5.25

Outback Steakhouse has added the Aussie Jawssie drink to the menu. It features New Amsterdam raspberry vodka, Blue Curacao, citrus juices, and grenadine, served with a keepsake shark that pours grenadine from its mouth. Keeping with the shark theme, there's a new Sharkey Temple, an alcohol-free mix of Sprite and grenadine. The Aussie Jawssie is $9, Sharkey Temple is $5.

Morning Person Coffee, a coffee roaster pop-up from founder Chris Paliotta, is hosting a one-day limited summer release called Crypto at Wayward Coffee in West Dallas. It’s an organic Ethiopian Guji from Kayon Mountain with layered notes of blueberry, stone fruit, and chocolate. The coffee is available in 12-ounce bags at $22 on July 19 from 9 am-12 pm.

Auntie Anne's, the fast casual pretzel chain, has two new locations coming to DFW Airport: at Gate 31 in Terminal E and the new A-Pier. Randy Labosco, a local entrepreneur, is over the two locations, which are slated to open between the end of 2025 and October 2026. An existing Auntie Anne’s located in Terminal A, Gate 21 will be undergoing a redesign.

Burger King has a new BBQ Brisket Whopper featuring a quarter-pound patty topped with brisket in BBQ sauce, crispy onions, American cheese, a "sweet golden" barbecue sauce, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a toasted sesame seed bun. A spokesperson says it fuses the classic flavors of a Whopper with Carolina barbecue— pit-smoked BBQ brisket and sweet and golden Carolina gold BBQ sauce. A regular starts at $8, while a BBQ Brisket Whopper Jr. is $5. Both are available while supplies last.

7-Eleven has two new limited-edition items available through August 26: Bacon Lover's Pizza with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce, with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, Canadian bacon, onions, and bacon crumbles; and Jalapeño Ranch Chicken Taquito, a grab-and-go favorite withchicken, jalapeños, and ranch.