Tastemaker Award Winners

The 2015 Tastemakers are the rulers of the Dallas restaurant and bar scene

Our annual Tastemaker Awards pay tribute to the people and places doing exceptional work in the Dallas restaurant and bar community. For the last several weeks, we have introduced you to the nominees in nine categories, from Rising Star Chef of the Year to Best Burger.

A panel of expert judges helped us compile the contenders, and they selected all of the winners except for Best New Restaurant. That was determined by you, our readers, and it was a close race.

But enough about how we did it. Meet the 2015 Tastemaker Award winners, whom we toasted at our grand tasting event at the Empire Room:

Restaurant of the Year: Gemma
Chef of the Year nominee Stephen Rogers and his wife, Allison Yoder, do American food with a fresh California sensibility and seasonal focus at this Henderson Avenue award-winner. Rogers is a native of Dallas; both worked at Napa Valley restaurant Press. The wine program gets as much care and attention as the food.

Chef of the Year (tie): Tim Byres, Smoke, and Graham Dodds, Hibiscus
Fun to see these two share the title. Graham Dodds has breathed new life into Hibiscus, giving it the seasonal focus for which he is known. Tim Byres, Dallas' smoked-meat guru, has made Plano seem cool with the second outpost of his famous Smoke.

Rising Star Chef of the Year: Sarah Snow, The Grape
Sarah Snow has spent time in some great Dallas kitchens — Common Table, Pyramid Restaurant, Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Bijoux — but now she's manning the stove at The Grape, where she churns out, among other things, the special hand-made pastas for which she's known.

Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Cane Rosso
At this authentic Neapolitan pizzeria chain, the use of top ingredients, some local, transforms pizza from its former stature as throwaway grub into a true gourmet experience. Despite a mini-expansion, each branch fits its neighborhood, from Deep Ellum to White Rock Lake to Fairview.

Best New Restaurant: Clark Food & Wine Co. and C'Viche
These sibling restaurants on hot hot hot Greenville Avenue come from former Rosewood Manion on Turtle Creek chef Randall Warder, who dove back into the fray after a stint as a corporate chef. Clark Food & Wine is an American restaurant with a modern European sensibility; C'Viche is a casual drop-in with several varieties of ceviche and a fabulous bar with sangria, tequila, mojitos, caipirinhas and margaritas.

Bar of the Year: Parliament
At this State-Thomas watering hole owned by Bartender of the Year Eddie "Lucky" Campbell, the atmosphere is transformative, the service attentive, the level of seriousness intense and the cocktails simply transcendent. Parliament also is our readers' pick for best new bar of 2014.

Bartender of the Year: Eddie "Lucky" Campbell, Parliament
Eddie Campbell is the a master of his craft and yet always learning new things. He's an enthusiast in his field, generous of spirit, a friend to everyone. Wherever he goes, the best drinks happen.

Brewery of the Year: Revolver
This Granbury brewery has carved out a reputation for doing things right since it opened in fall 2012. Its beers are approachable yet well-made, and the Blood & Honey, a wheat beer flavored with blood orange, orange zest and local honey, is a big local favorite.

Best Burger: Off-site Kitchen
OSK is a chef's fantasy of what a burger joint is, located on the more industrial side of the Design District. The Locals Only — a medium-rare patty, with thick bacon and a harmonious balance of ingredients that includes mustard, American cheese and jalapeño — is just $4.75, so it's cheap and good.

Rabbit pappardelle at Restaurant of the Year winner Gemma.

Photo by Kevin Marple

Rabbit pappardelle at Restaurant of the Year winner Gemma.

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new roots

L.A. celebrity favorite The Ivy plants Dallas branch near Katy Trail

Photo courtesy of The Ivy/Facebook

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A Los Angeles restaurant famous for celebrity sightings on its bright floral patios is opening a branch in Dallas: The Ivy will debut in fall 2027 at 4205 Buena Vista St. inside The Terminal at Katy Trail.

“This will be the first Ivy outside of Southern California,” says India Wolfe, the restaurant founders' daughter, in a release. "I felt a strong calling to bring The Ivy somewhere new and to plant roots there with our family.”

India’s parents opened The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard in 1980, followed by Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica five years later.

While her father, chef Richard Irving, and mother, Lynn von Kersting, remain in LA, Wolfe and her husband, Ernest Wolfe IV, will move to Dallas in February with their two children and dogs, to operate The Ivy. The restaurant will be located inside a luxury apartment tower overlooking the Katy Trail.

India started working as a teen at the family's third branch in Santa Monica and learned everything "from greeting guests and waiting tables to staging events, filming viral social media, and modernizing the business for a new generation," says the release.

Both she and her husband spent time in other professions but were drawn to the dining field. Ernest helped his in-laws so often at The Ivy that they finally employed him full-time.

“I love working with him," India says, "and we complement each other’s skills really well, not unlike my mom and dad.”

The Ivy The family behind The Ivy.Courtesy photo

The Wolfes say they want the Dallas restaurant to retain The Ivy’s familiar cooking, warmth and character, while making it feel like home in a new city.

“I love the idea of people taking a walk on the Katy Trail and then meeting friends for brunch at The Ivy,” India says.

Her parents are assisting with the design and menu; India wants a contemporary vibe but doesn’t plan to change what works so well.

“I don’t want to make it too different because I think the reason that people from Dallas come to The Ivy is because they love The Ivy,” she says. “That said, this new restaurant will certainly stand on its own two feet.”

Unlike the original, the Dallas Ivy will have a bar, an idea India dreamed up. While restaurant bars are nothing unusual, India actually envisioned what her family jokingly calls “the D Bar" (so named for Dallas), where guests can clink glasses and share good energy around a curved, D-shaped counter.

Her interest in art and flowers will result in a space well-appointed with roses, a family tradition, and local blooms like zinnias and snapdragons.

The Ivy serves upscale American comfort food and Californian cuisine with influences from Italian, French, Cajun, and Mexican cooking. Dishes are made with seasonal ingredients, so the menus evolve throughout the year.

While the Dallas menu is being developed, the restaurant's Southern California winter menus, for example, include starters such as crab cakes, Caesar salad, and grilled-vegetable salad. Pasta options include lobster ravioli with Ivy pink sauce and lobster tagliatelle. Wood- or stone-fired pizzas include margherita and Cajun shrimp pies, while house-baked breads, old-fashioned red velvet cake, coconut cake, and chocolate chip cookies round out the menu.

The Ivy has always been at the center of family life, India notes. Now she and Ernest are bringing that way of life to Dallas.

She adds, “I am confident it will be a great home for The Ivy and for our family.”

openings katy trail