Opening News

Dallas' Hudson House homes in on Las Colinas with oysters & martinis

Oysters and martinis cover all the food groups.

Photo courtesy of Hudson House

Las Colinas is in line for an East Coast-inspired restaurant: Hudson House will open its fourth location in Las Colinas Village, at John Carpenter Freeway and North MacArthur Boulevard, in the former Taco Diner space.

According to a release, it'll open in fall 2021 in a 5,200-square-foot space that features a wraparound bar and large outdoor patio.

The first Hudson House opened on Lovers Lane in 2017 with the goal of evoking neighborhood restaurants in New York's West Village, featuring a raw bar, oysters, cheeseburgers, martinis, and weekend brunch, all set in a swanky old-school-casual New England-esque atmosphere.

The concept has since expanded to Addison, where it opened in 2018, and Lakewood, which opened in July 2020.

Popular dishes include:

Avocado Dip with whipped avocado, green onion, and ranch chips
Cheeseburger, with thin patties, American cheese, pickles, and Hudson sauce
Chicken Parm, with creamy tomato pasta and reggiano
American Tuna Tower, with ahi tuna, mashed avocado, English cucumber, mixed greens, radishes in wasabi vinaigrette

A specialty seafood tower called The Bouquet includes East Coast oysters, shrimp cocktail with chipotle remoulade, crab claws, and tuna tartare.

A separate brunch menu includes benedicts with ham or lobster, berry pancakes, French toast, and frozen peach bellinis.

The brunch bestseller is the Velvet Chicken & Waffle, a red velvet Belgian waffle with double fried chicken, which is also now being served at Lucky's Hot Chicken, a sibling concept to Hudson House and part of the Vandelay Restaurant Group which also includes East Hampton Sandwich Co., Drake's, and Brentwood, their newest concept, set to open in the fall.

openings

Shawarma News

Kebab concept Doner Shack comes to Texas with location in Prosper

Doner Shack

A new doner kebab chain is coming to town: Called Doner Shack, it's a quick-service restaurant concept based in the U.K. which is opening its first location in Texas in Prosper. The restaurant has yet to be built, so the opening date is still TBA. But according to a release, it will open in a shopping center at the intersection of Teel Parkway and University Drive, on the northwest corner, kitty corner from the PGA Golf Resort.

Doner Shack says it was built with one goal: to become the world’s leading kebab brand. No mention of the food, but what they're really pushing is franchising. Founders are chef Sanjeev Sanghera and Laura Bruce, who own three stores in the U.K., and who were inspired after an "epic 48-hour trip to Berlin" where the culture and kebabs blew their minds "in the best way possible." Hopefully that means the food is good.

Doner kebab is the dish of Turkish origin made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. It's popular in Germany because there's a large Turkish population there. Competitors — many of whom have expanded to DFW — include Halal Guys, Nick the Greek, The Great Greek, Spitz Mediterranean Grill, Soulard Gyro, and German Doner Kebab.

Doner Shack's menu features the original doner kebab with beef on Turkish bread and salad, and then varieties such as chicken, or beef with chili sauce, or a vegetarian with fried halloumi cheese.

In addition to doner kebabs, there are also chicken tenders served with crinkle cut fries; slider-size sandwiches with fried chicken or with shaved beef; and loaded fries, topped with the same assortment of meats.

Bringing it to Texas is franchisee group Gyro N Philly LLC, led by Hassan Zaman who says in a statement that they're delighted to bring Doner Shack to Prosper.

"With the new PGA headquarters across the street, a high school with over 30,000 students, and the upcoming Universal Kids Theme Park just minutes away, we believe this is a home run location," he says. For good food, one hopes.