Tastemaker Final Four

Final 4 best new restaurants in Dallas face off in Tastemaker tournament

For our first-ever CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards, we are celebrating the talent in the local food and drink community. Our editors selected the nominees, and a panel of experts chose winners in nine categories — which will be revealed at our big event on May 6.

But for the Best New Restaurant, you get get to decide who will take home the prize by voting in our tournament.

We started with 16 nominees. Winners of those matchups moved on to the next round. From those elite eight, we are now down to the final four.

Cast your vote now, then join us on May 6, where you can continue to vote for your favorite new restaurant through a social sharing contest from our friends at Smilebooth. The champion will be declared during the event, along with the rest of the Tastemaker Award winners.

In the meantime, read all about the final four competitors:

Barter
Brothers Patrick and Michael Halbert tapped chef Tim Love for menu consultation and direction for their new concept in the Private Social space. With chef Andrew Dilda behind the wheel, Barter skews younger than its predecessor with an emphasis on snacks; pick-up items like tacos; and a fun, kitschy, tiki-themed Sunday brunch.

CBD Provisions
Located at The Joule hotel, CBD Provisions is an American brasserie developed and operated by Consilient Restaurants serving American comfort food with an artisanal sensibility. Menu items range from coddled eggs with house-baked bacon bread for breakfast to seasonal salads for lunch to pan-fried organic chicken for dinner. CBD is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week. It serves Sunday brunch and a complete menu until midnight on the weekends.

Chino Chinatown
Trinity Groves restaurant fuses Chinese and Latin cuisines. Owners Adrian Verdin and Uno Immanivong were inspired by "barrio Chinos," which translates to "Chinatown" in Latin American cities. Their menu includes lamb tacos, sea bass with a Thai chili glaze, and a banh mi sandwich with steak. For dessert, there's a pina colada upside down cake and a Mexican chocolate cake with coconut ice cream and mole ganache.

CrushCraft
Bright, colorful and fun, CrushCraft serves spicy Thai "street food" from drunken noodles to the comforting curry noodle dish called khao soi. The level of execution is high, reflecting the four-star experience of chef Paul Singhapong, who has worked at the French Room, Beau Nash, Melrose Hotel and Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. CrushCraft might be the perfect restaurant: It stays open late, and prices are incredibly low.

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Come celebrate the Tastemakers with us on Tuesday, May 6, at Seven for Parties in the Dallas Design District. To learn more about the event, including information about our beneficiaries, judges, participating restaurants and ticket sales, visit our Tastemakers website.

CBD Provisions

Photo courtesy of CBD Provisions

CBD Provisions

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Coming soon

Chinese restaurant from celeb chef to debut in Dallas Design District

A table spread at Night Rooster with tea smoked duck, noodles, and steamed redfish

Samantha Marie Photography

Tea-smoked duck, steamed redfish, and more await at Night Rooster

A new Chinese fine dining restaurant from a celebrity chef will debut in Dallas’ Design District later this month: Called Night Rooster, it will open at 1000 N. Riverfront Blvd., taking over the first floor of the building that's home to Italian steakhouse The Saint.

A Saint-sibling concept from Hooper Hospitality Concepts, Night Rooster is the culmination of 20 years of conversations between restaurateur Andy Hooper and Los Angeles chef Shirley Chung, the Beijing-born chef who’s appeared on food competition shows such as Top Chef and Food Network’s Tournament of Champions.

This is the first Dallas restaurant for Chung, whose kitchen experience includes working alongside culinary heavy-hitters like Thomas Keller and Jose Andres.

“Shirley and I have talked about building something together for over 20 years, and Night Rooster is the realization of that dream,” Hooper says in a release. “Night Rooster tells a story — of friendship, perseverance, and starting fresh — and we’re incredibly proud to bring that story to life.”

Chef Shirley Chung.Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Chung, dubbed the “Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles,” brings her own brand of perseverance to the restaurant. In 2024, Chung was at the top of her culinary game when she was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, says the release.

After undergoing an “intensive” treatment regimen, her cancer is now in full remission, and she’s been busy dreaming up a menu of Texas-inflected Chinese dishes ranging from orange quail, a play on the classic Chinese-American orange chicken, to cheeseburger-stuffed potstickers.

Elsewhere on the menu, diners will find creative, shareable dishes like jasmine tea smoked duck, tequila-marinated Drunken Yellowtail, and multiple noodle options, including the Cacio e Sichuan Pepe, a tingly riff on the classic Italian pasta with Sichuan peppercorn.

Many dishes will be made with ingredients from local purveyors, like beef from Outpost 76 Ranch in Sulphur Springs and mushrooms from Arlington’s Texas Fungus.

Night Rooster dumplings Chef Shirley Chung is known as the "Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles."Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Night Rooster's cocktail menu will have a similar focus on blending Texas ingredients with Chinese flavors and techniques, all with a modern twist. Drinks like the East Meets West, mixed with Nikka Coffey malt whisky, bourbon, black sugar, bitters, and cherrywood smoke, await.

When it debuts on January 31, Night Rooster will be open for dinner service only. The restaurant will serve dinner Sunday-Thursday from 5-10 pm, and Friday-Saturday from 5-11 pm.

chefs chinese restaurant design district openings