Irving Restaurant Explosion
Mega-slate of restaurants hits Irving's Music Factory — Sunday gospel brunch included
The Music Factory has revealed another slate of restaurant openings, and this one's big: The Irving entertainment complex has partnered with Seattle-based Restaurants Unlimited (RUI) to open and operate seven new restaurant and entertainment venues.
"Our concepts will cater perfectly to the great people of Texas and their love of all-American fare, live entertainment and huge appetite for being with friends," said RUI president and CEO Chris Harter in a release.
The RUI concepts run from Mediterranean to barbecue to "West Coast fare." Although all are fully conceived, some still do not have names, says spokesman Eric Kelly.
"The Music Factory is still about 13 months away," Kelly says. "We've got the concept and cuisine established but are still in process with a few different names, going through trade name search and so on.
"We can't yet commit to names for the concept. But they're great concepts, already fleshed out, right through the tasting process."
Details are as follows:
Restaurant No. 1: Texas kitchen
Open 24 hours a day with comfort food, smoked meat and coffee bar. A 4,000-pound smoker will be located outside the restaurant for brisket, chicken, pork ribs and hot links. Other menu items include buttermilk fried chicken, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, chicken and dumplings, green-tomato inspired dishes, black-eyed peas, and squash casserole. The coffee bar also will offer breakfast pastries. Live country and western musicians will often perform in the evening.
Restaurant No. 2: Barbecue, burgers and blues
Charbroiled burgers, wings, hand-cut fries, Frito pie and fried pickles. The bar will offer bourbon and rye, along with 20 regional beers on tap. Live blues will be presented on the indoor performance stage.
Restaurant No. 3: Latin cantina
Menu items include red and green chile enchiladas, chicken with tortillas and salsa, margaritas, mojitos, regional beer, and tequila. Expect Latin-Flamenco and Western pop music.
Restaurant No. 4: Seafood house
Exhibition oyster bar with East and West Coast oysters, plus charbroiled Gulf oysters with garlic-butter and Parmesan cheese. Appetizers include crab cakes, fried oysters, stuffed artichokes, and shrimp and grits. Entrees include gumbo, jambalaya, etouffée and grilled fish. French Quarter bar will feature hurricanes, bourbon milk punch, Sazerac and Ramos gin fizz. Live music will be Zydeco and jazz.
Restaurant No. 5: West Coast grill and lounge
Inspired by our Portland City Grill, this concept features Kung Pao calamari, steak tartare, Brie-stuffed artichoke, salads, seafood and dry-aged steaks. Entertainment will include jazz and a live pianist.
Restaurant No. 6: Martini lounge and tapas
More than 30 specialty martinis, bottle service and cocktails with DJs, VIP booths and a fire feature on the outdoor patio.
Restaurant No. 7: Mediterranean wine bar
Wine by the glass or bottle with Mediterranean dishes such as chargrilled octopus salad, Catalonian flatbreads, salads, cured meat and cheese boards. Desserts include chocolate fondue, pain perdu with champagne grapes and chevre, chocolate pate with raspberries, and limoncello granita.
Open seven days a week, all venues will have patios offering access to live entertainment outdoors on the plaza. On Sundays there will be a gospel brunch on the plaza with fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, smoked meats, salads (including macaroni and potato), peach cobbler, pecan pie, and red velvet cake.
Launched in 1968, Restaurants Unlimited operates 21 restaurant brands in 47 locations in 11 states, including Portland City Grill, Palisade, Cutters Crabhouse and Skates on the Bay, Kincaid's, Palomino Restaurant & Bar, Portland Seafood Company and Stanford's.
Located just north of O'Connor between U.S. Highway 114 and Las Colinas Boulevard, adjacent to the Irving Convention Center, the $165 million Music Factory complex will have an eight-screen Alamo Drafthouse, an 8,000-seat concert venue run by Live Nation, a 50,000-square-foot outdoor plaza for special events such as fashion shows and food festivals, and 100,000 square feet of office space. It can all be accessed by the DART Orange Line.
Previously announced concepts for Music Factory include TCBY, Gloria's, sushi restaurant Kabuki and Thirsty Lion Gastropub.
