Food Hall News

New food hall in Grapevine signs on gourmet sliders and falafels

These are some gourmet sliders.

Sliders and falafel have been added to the menu at Harvest Hall, a European-style food hall opening in historic Grapevine in mid-2020.

According to a release, newbies joining the food hall are Easy Slider, home of gourmet sliders; and Zatar, a Fort Worth food truck that does Mediterranean cuisine.

Harvest Hall is connected to Hotel Vin, part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, which specializes in one-of-a-kind properties. Located at 215 E. Dallas Rd., it's part of a $114 million mixed-use development called Grapevine Main, which will serve as a gateway to the burgeoning downtown district.

The food hall and hotel will be operated by Coury Hospitality, which currently has seven boutique hotels, located in Kansas City, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee.

The food hall previously signed on four vendors, so this will make six. The restaurants they've selected for the food hall are family-owned and -operated:

Easy Slider is from owner-operators Caroline Perini and Miley Holmes, and specializes in Angus Beef sliders with unique toppings. That means farmer's market produce such as Texas baby portobello mushrooms and other seasonal ingredients. Dallas/Fort Worth's first and only gourmet slider truck, Easy Slider has grown to include three trucks and a brick and mortar restaurant in Deep Ellum.
Zatar's owner-operator Niddal Abedrabbo serves family recipes made from high quality ingredients including lamb kabobs, hummus dips, Jerusalem-style falafels, zatar pies, and shawarma on a spit. This will be their first brick and mortar location. Zatar participated in the Blue Zones Project, a national effort to lower chronic diseases and improve quality of life. Zatar is also involved in many charitable endeavors.

They'll join the four previously announced vendors:

Arepa TX – Latin Kitchen
Chick & Biscuit – Comfort Cuisine
Four Sisters – A Taste of Vietnam
Spuntino – Bites of Italy

Now that they're part of the Harvest Hall family, Easy Slider and Zatar's food trucks will expand their menus to include items from these other Harvest Hall entities.

In a statement, Tom Santora, Chief Commercial Officer of Coury Hospitality and Managing Director of Hotel Vin and Harvest Hall, calls it "a challenging time" in the hospitality industry.

"All of Harvest Hall’s restaurants are family-owned and operated – and we are all looking for ways to support one another," Santora says. "By happenstance, our two newest partners are food truck operators – and by sharing space on their food trucks, each of our kitchens are able to expand their reach to help maximize revenues during this difficult time."

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Wings News

San Diego sports bar Dirty Birds brings best wings to Plano opening

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Dirty Birds

There's a restaurant doing award-winning wings that just flew in from California. Called Dirty Birds Sports Bar & Grill, it's a small chain with five locations in San Diego, making its Texas debut at 4021 Preston Rd. B618 in Plano.

Dirty Birds first opened its doors in San Diego in 2008 and soon became a staple that earned national praise for its wings. Everyone who makes wings thinks theirs are the best, but Dirty Birds has won awards such as "best wings in the U.S." by Yahoo Sports and TheDailyMeal.com.

Wings are their centerpiece, and can be ordered with an unprecedented 37 sauces, ranging from standards like lemon pepper, teriyaki, and BBQ, to unique variations like maple chipotle BBQ and "dirty blue" — a blend of hot sauce and blue cheese dressing.

That said, they're not just a wing joint, but more of a sports bar-restaurant in which wings are the centerpiece on a broader menu that also includes salads, burgers, sliders, and sandwiches, often featuring chicken such as a blackened chicken club and a Nashville hot chicken sandwich.

There are classic bar-food snacks but with a subtle upscale twist: "crispy" fried pickles, chicken tenders, mac & cheese balls, and fried green beans with a cucumber wasabi ranch.

They also have a full bar with craft beer, and a welcoming, local atmosphere.

The team bringing Dirty Birds to DFW includes Adam Salazar (The Mitchell, Ye Olde Scarlet Pumpernickel Tavern) and Chris O'Mara, who has experience in both the hospitality and lending industries.

"Our wings — I'd put them up against anyone's," O'Mara says. "They're very big and meaty, and they're also made differently. I don't want to give away our technique but it involves cooking them in two stages so that when you get them, they're nice and crisp on the outside and juicy inside."

One signature for the Plano location is that their beers are served at 29 degrees, a popular benchmark at places like Twin Peaks, and a temperature that is deemed "very cold." AI says that the benefits of serving beer at a cold temperature include more satisfied customers, more sales, and an increase in profitability by up to 35 percent, because keeping it that cold reduces wasteful foaming.

They'll have 16 beers on tap, plus two big walk-in coolers with everything from High Life to craft beers. The restaurant has 18 TVs and also features football jerseys on display, since some football players have been known to frequent Dirty Birds. There is no patio currently, although a small space on the exterior could become a patio in the future.

O'Mara says he's been tickled to find that the brand has some local recognition.

"You have this little sports bar in San Diego, but one of their locations is near a military base, so a lot of people know about Dirty Birds," O'Mara says.