Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love

New Double Wide food stand summons Elvis with irresistible white-trash menu

Double Wide's Jerry Reed sandwich with grilled cheese and bologna.

Photo by Robert Bostick
Courtyard patio outside Double Wide food stand.

Photo by Robert Bostick
Ordering window at Double Wide food stand, which is open 10 pm-2 am Thursdaythrough Saturday.

Photo by Robert Bostick
Double Wide Frito pie.

Photo by Robert Bostick
Peek inside kitchen of Double Wide food stand.

Photo by Robert Bostick
Double Wide TCB sandwich with peanut butter, banana and bacon.

Photo by Robert Bostick

Aiming to accommodate late-night munchies, Double Wide, the funky dive bar located between Deep Ellum and Expo Park, has launched an onsite food stand called Get Stuffed. From 10 pm to 2 am Thursday through Saturday, they serve a small menu of delectable white-trash treats, including Frito pie and The Elvis, a sandwich with peanut butter and banana.

The food is prepared in a vintage aluminum-clad Avion trailer — like a less-shiny cousin of an AirStream — that's positioned right outside the bar's patio. Because it's fixed in that spot permanently, Double Wide owner Kim Finch cautions against calling it a trailer or, god forbid, a food truck.

"It's a permanent kitchen," she says. "Originally it was going to be mobile, but the way it fit, once we got it in there, it worked too perfectly as a stationary thing."

Having food has been in the cards from the get-go, she says. "We've always wanted to serve food. It helps to provide food for people so they don't ever have to leave Double Wide. I used to think there wasn't room. But when the food truck thing started to happen, I figured there had to be a way to do this."

When it came time to devise menu, she consulted with chefs Jeana Johnson and Colleen O'Hare, who encouraged her to stick with the down-home theme of Double Wide. She knew she wanted Frito pie, and they took it from there: fried bologna sandwich, with bologna from Rudolph's Meat Market and bread from Empire Baking, and a nostalgic grilled cheese sandwich served with a shot of tomato soup.

"One other amazing thing that Jeana made was The Elvis sandwich," Finch says. "Given who we are, how could we not do an Elvis?"

Other options include chips and queso; the above-mentioned Frito pie, in both regular chili and vegan chili versions; and the "TCB," a.k.a. Taking Care of Bacon, which is The Elvis with bacon. The menu has six items total, and nothing costs more than $8. They will add items after they see how things go.

Scoring the trailer was a real coup. "I had been searching for a truck for months and couldn't find anything, or they were too pricey," Finch says. "My mom lives in Oklahoma, and she spotted one that a friend had just sitting out in his pasture. It was in awesome shape."

They gutted the inside, pulling out the vintage bed, stove and shower, and put in cooking equipment. But Finch kept the original cabinets; they're the kind that open upward and stick to the ceiling with a magnet. And she kept the vintage light fixtures with cool cone lampshades.

"It looks best at night," she says.

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Taking the field

Dak Prescott-backed Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux kicks off in Wylie

Photo courtesy of Walk-Ons

Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux is opening in Wylie on August 10.

A Louisiana sports bar chain that counts Cowboys QB Dak Prescott as a partner continues to build its fan base in Dallas-Fort Worth: Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux is set to open a new location in Wylie on Monday, August 10.

Announced earlier this year, the restaurant is at 906 FM 544, near the intersection of Highway 78 and FM 544. The opening marks the chain's 20th Texas location and its second operating restaurant in the DFW area.

Founded in Baton Rouge in 2003 by former LSU basketball "walk-ons" Brandon Landry and Jack Warner, Walk-On's has grown to more than 80 locations nationwide. The company is co-owned by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (an Austin native), and franchise partners include Prescott, along with former NFL player Derrick Brooks, and college football coach Dabo Swinney.

Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux Wylie The new Walk-On's is at 906 FM 544, Wylie.Photo courtesy of Walk-On's

The menu is centered on seafood and classic Louisiana dishes: fried seafood platters, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, po'boys, fried oysters, gumbo, fried alligator, and boudin balls. Prices range from $10 to $20.

Starters include waffle cheese fries, fried pickles, boneless wings, cheeseburger sliders, spinach-artichoke dip, and venison nachos. They have a bread pudding made with Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

There's also a plentiful selection of beers on tap, plus margaritas and other crafty-ish cocktails.

The Wylie restaurant is owned by franchisee Cooper Thomson, who says the community made the city an appealing place to expand.

"I am thrilled to expand Walk-On's presence in Dallas, and particularly in the community of Wylie," Thomson says in a release. "To be a part of the growth in this area - to serve families and be a place where little league teams celebrate and football fans cheer on their team - is such a special opportunity."

Although Walk-On's has been in the DFW market since pre-pandemic times, Wylie will be its second restaurant in DFW open currently, joining a location at Grandscape in The Colony. Earlier Dallas-area locations in Irving and Arlington have closed, although the company has previously said it plans to reopen the Arlington restaurant at a new location.

The Wylie restaurant features a sports bar with dozens of TVs, a large outdoor patio, and a family-friendly dining room designed for game-day crowds.

Grand opening festivities will kick off at 10:30 am on Monday, August 10, with a ceremony featuring Walk-On's founder Brandon Landry, franchise owner Cooper Thomson, Wylie Mayor Matthew Porter, city officials, and representatives from Wylie High School and Wylie East High School.

The celebration will include donations to the two schools' athletic departments, followed by a ribbon-cutting at 10:45 am. Doors open to the public at 11 am, and the first 100 guests to dine will have a chance to win free Walk-On's for a year.

Walk-On's will be the second sports bar concept with celebrity cred to open in DFW within a few days' time. Shark Club, from Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi, opened Friday, August 7 in Northlake.

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