Top Dallas Chefs

The 10 best chefs in Dallas always leave diners hungry for more

The clock is ticking on our Tastemaker Awards, where we pay tribute to the best of the best in Dallas food and beverage, leading up to our grand tasting event on May 14 at the Empire Room.

We've recognized the best neighborhood restaurants, along with breweries, bartenders, bars, burgers and rising star chefs. For this chapter, we look at the nominees for Chef of the Year. These chefs are well-established in the field, not only presiding over a kitchen or a restaurant, but also standing out in recent months for their accomplishments and culinary chops.

Like all of our categories, the winner will be announced at our party. And don't forget to weigh in on our Best New Restaurant tournament, where your vote decides who takes the title.

Here are the 10 candidates for Chef of the Year.

Tim Byres, Smoke
The chef and cookbook author (Smoke: New Firewood Cooking, whose foreword was written by recently deceased food writer Josh Ozersky) has achieved a noteworthy feat with the opening of a second branch of Smoke, his upscale meat-centric restaurant: He's almost made Plano seem cool. With every town in Texas requiring a smoked-meat guru, Dallas has Byres.

Graham Dodds, Hibiscus
After exiting the hotel restaurant world (Central 214, Front Room), chef Graham Dodds has breathed new life into Hibiscus, giving it the seasonal focus for which he is known. Dishes like Wagyu oxtail with crisp gnocchi and arugula pesto fill the same opulent niche Hibiscus has always occupied and yet are simultaneously trademark Dodds.

Omar Flores, Casa Rubia
After much critical acclaim at Oak Cliff seafood restaurant Driftwood, chef Omar Flores has rebounded at Casa Rubia, his Spanish tapas restaurant and one of the success stories at Trinity Groves. Classics like paella and mussels are on the menu but upgraded via Flores' finely tuned chef perspective.

Jeff Harris, AF+B
How to put this: Chef Jeff Harris, formerly of Craft Dallas and Bolsa, is good enough to get people from Dallas to drive to Fort Worth. At AF+B, he's doing high-end gastropub fare, putting a fine-dining polish and creative flair on rustic dishes such as chorizo Scotch eggs.

Kelly Hightower, Oso Food & Wine
Between owner Michael Cox and veteran chef Kelly Hightower, there's a lot of experience at Oso Food & Wine, Cox's charming neighborhood restaurant at Preston and Forest. Hightower is in his element with international flavors from Mediterranean hummus to lamb kofte with Moroccan spices to an Italian-themed chop salad.

Andrea Maricich, The Second Floor
At the Second Floor, the high-end hotel restaurant at the Westin Galleria, chef Andrea Maricich starts with traditional dishes, then adds cultural influences and seasonal notes that bring a new level of excitement. Her spring menu includes deviled eggs with New England lobster and a lemon Parmesan crisp.

Matt McCallister, FT33
Chef Matt McCallister continues to make waves at FT33, his Design District fine-dinery known for its minimalist-sounding menu and plate presentations in which much energy is devoted to making things look like a pile of rubble. The chef remains on the crest with the announcement of Filament, a second restaurant opening in Deep Ellum.

Kyle McClelland, Proof + Pantry
Northeast native Kyle McClelland helped anchor Proof + Pantry, the One Arts Plaza restaurant that was at the center of a media maelstrom when it rejected a review from the Dallas Morning News. He'll also helm a new sibling restaurant, Madrina, which will feature Mexican dishes crafted via French techniques.

Stephen Rogers, Gemma
Gemma is the favorite restaurant of the foodie set, thanks to husband-and-wife owners Stephen Rogers and Allison Yoder. Rogers is a Dallas native who cooked in California before returning to his hometown where his thoughtful menu filters global flavors through a California sensibility.

John Tesar, Knife
One of the city's most mercurial and talented chefs, John Tesar is known for never being afraid to speak his mind; in staid, scared Dallas, that makes you dangerous. Knife, his modern revision of a steakhouse with a whole pantheon of meats, was one of the most important openings of 2014. Never at rest, he's now also helping out at the Design District restaurant Oak.

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Buy tickets now to the Tastemaker Awards on May 14.

Mercurial and talented chef John Tesar.

Chef John Tesar of Knife steakhouse in Dallas

Photo by Marc Lee [https://marcsclips.com/]

Mercurial and talented chef John Tesar.

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Skewers News

Chinese restaurant Yang's Smokehouse in Plano has sensational skewers

Yang's Smokehouse

Crispy tofu balls at Yang's Smokehouse

A new family-owned Asian restaurant specializing in skewers has opened in Plano: Called Yang's Smokehouse, it's a Chinese place now open at the Mitsuya Marketplace center at 240 Legacy Dr #306, in a space previously occupied by Friendship BBQ, with a menu featuring dishes you won't find anywhere else in Dallas.

That includes skewers of all kinds: meats such as beef tongue, pork belly, lamb, sausage, mini pork ribs, pork skin, and duck gizzard; and veggie skewers including green beans, cabbage, eggplant, zucchini, and lotus slices.

These skewers have a history that dates back to the restaurant's roots in China, says Yang's founder Candice Cao.

"The legacy of Yang's Smokehouse began in 1980 with secret family recipes from my Grandma Yang, which were passed down through generations," Cao says.

After being widowed at the young age of 30, Grandma Yang launched a charcoal stall from which she served skewers, enhanced by her hand-crushed spice blends and cooked over live fire. She eventually built a small chain with six locations, each serving about 10,000 skewers per day, Candice says.

Candice's mother joined the business and now Candice, who came to Dallas more than a decade ago to attend Dallas Baptist University, represents the third generation.

"I'm proud to follow the family tradition of women owning their own business," Candice says.

While skewers are the star, Yang's also serves unique dishes that are native to the Guizhou province in southwestern China where Candice is from.

That includes spicy stir-fried clams in black bean sauce with garlic, ginger, scallion, and cilantro; and a dish called Spicy and Numbing Chicken Knee Cartilage featuring a delicacy taken from the small joint connecting the drumstick to the foot.

"Asians know about this dish — it has a really strong, spicy flavor that almost has a numbing effect," Candice says.

There are also crispy tofu balls, popular snacks in Guizhou featuring a crisp tofu skin wrapped around soft mashed tofu filling which is dressed up with radish and spices and fried.

"It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and we serve it with a spicy dipping sauce that has radish and cilantro," Candice says. "We recommend poking a little hole and adding some of the radish to make it juicy. It's one of our most popular items, equally loved by vegetarians and diners seeking truly authentic Chinese food."

Other menu items include egg fried rice, Korean kim chi egg rice, stir-fries, potato pancakes, potstickers, cucumber salad, and "Southern" cold noodles — featuring sweet potato noodles in a simple but satisfying sauce made with soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and chili, topped with cucumber, perfect for summer.

They recently added an all-you-can-eat skewers offering at lunch, Monday-Friday, for $40 that'll last through the summer.

To guarantee a smooth and successful launch in the U.S., Candice brought in a secret weapon: Grandma Yang herself.

"Grandma traveled here to help get Yang's off the ground," Candice says. "She doesn't speak English but that is not stopping her from coaching the team in the kitchen."

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