Sushi Coming Through

Wasabi sushi soon to be circling at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco

Wasabi's menu includes sashimi and sushi rolls.

Wasabi/Facebook
Wasabi features a conveyor belt from which you can grab whatever you like.

Wasabi/Facebook
Wasabi's conveyor-belt items have ID's tracked by a computer, monitoring howlong they have been on the belt and what needs to be resupplied.

Wasabi/Facebook

Grab your sushi here: Wasabi, a small Washington, D.C.-based restaurant chain, will bring its conveyor-belt sushi to Texas — specifically Frisco, in Stonebriar Centre mall. The restaurant will take up the space previously occupied by a Microsoft kiosk, in the lower level of the food court. A mall spokesman said it'll open in July.

Founded in 2006, Wasabi has four locations: one in Virginia, two in Massachusetts and one that opened in Florida in 2012. All are located in mall food courts. The Stonebriar Wasabi will be modeled after the one in Natick, Massachusetts, with a bay sticking out from a center circle that resembles the Starship Enterprise.

"The centerpiece is our eye-catching conveyor belt, where plates of sushi, sashimi and nigiri glide around the restaurant," reads Wasabi's Facebook page.

Wasabi won't be the first sushi spot with a conveyor belt (a.k.a., a kaiten). There's Sushi Envy in north Plano, and there was Genki Sushi in North Dallas, which closed last year. But Wasabi will be the only conveyor-belt sushi in which each plate has a radio frequency ID chip tracked by a computer to tell how long it has been circling, circling. And if you care to clock the conveyor belt's speed, it's "a serene quarter of a mile per hour."

In addition to standard sushi items, Wasabi does trendy creations like the "BLT," with bacon, lettuce and mayo-scallion-soy sauce wrapped in a roll and topped with fresh tomato. There are always cooked, raw and veggie items such as the Sunrise roll with sweet potato, carrot, roasted red pepper and veggie cream cheese.

Distinctive desserts include green tea mousse and the chocolate "beignet," with chocolate enclosing a center of mango puree. And like fellow chain Sushi Samba (which once had a branch at Galleria Dallas), Wasabi's menu features a few Latin American items like ceviche and tiradito, the Peruvian rendition of raw fish.

unspecified

Taking the field

Dak Prescott-backed Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux kicks off in Wylie

Photo courtesy of Walk-Ons

Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux is opening in Wylie on August 10.

A Louisiana sports bar chain that counts Cowboys QB Dak Prescott as a partner continues to build its fan base in Dallas-Fort Worth: Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux is set to open a new location in Wylie on Monday, August 10.

Announced earlier this year, the restaurant is at 906 FM 544, near the intersection of Highway 78 and FM 544. The opening marks the chain's 20th Texas location and its second operating restaurant in the DFW area.

Founded in Baton Rouge in 2003 by former LSU basketball "walk-ons" Brandon Landry and Jack Warner, Walk-On's has grown to more than 80 locations nationwide. The company is co-owned by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (an Austin native), and franchise partners include Prescott, along with former NFL player Derrick Brooks, and college football coach Dabo Swinney.

Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux Wylie The new Walk-On's is at 906 FM 544, Wylie.Photo courtesy of Walk-On's

The menu is centered on seafood and classic Louisiana dishes: fried seafood platters, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, po'boys, fried oysters, gumbo, fried alligator, and boudin balls. Prices range from $10 to $20.

Starters include waffle cheese fries, fried pickles, boneless wings, cheeseburger sliders, spinach-artichoke dip, and venison nachos. They have a bread pudding made with Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

There's also a plentiful selection of beers on tap, plus margaritas and other crafty-ish cocktails.

The Wylie restaurant is owned by franchisee Cooper Thomson, who says the community made the city an appealing place to expand.

"I am thrilled to expand Walk-On's presence in Dallas, and particularly in the community of Wylie," Thomson says in a release. "To be a part of the growth in this area - to serve families and be a place where little league teams celebrate and football fans cheer on their team - is such a special opportunity."

Although Walk-On's has been in the DFW market since pre-pandemic times, Wylie will be its second restaurant in DFW open currently, joining a location at Grandscape in The Colony. Earlier Dallas-area locations in Irving and Arlington have closed, although the company has previously said it plans to reopen the Arlington restaurant at a new location.

The Wylie restaurant features a sports bar with dozens of TVs, a large outdoor patio, and a family-friendly dining room designed for game-day crowds.

Grand opening festivities will kick off at 10:30 am on Monday, August 10, with a ceremony featuring Walk-On's founder Brandon Landry, franchise owner Cooper Thomson, Wylie Mayor Matthew Porter, city officials, and representatives from Wylie High School and Wylie East High School.

The celebration will include donations to the two schools' athletic departments, followed by a ribbon-cutting at 10:45 am. Doors open to the public at 11 am, and the first 100 guests to dine will have a chance to win free Walk-On's for a year.

Walk-On's will be the second sports bar concept with celebrity cred to open in DFW within a few days' time. Shark Club, from Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi, opened Friday, August 7 in Northlake.

dak prescott celebrities sports bar walk ons wylie