Chicken News

Fowl new restaurant in hot Uptown Dallas address is strictly for the birds

There'll be chicken and a whole lot more.

Photo by Firebird Fowl

UPDATE 9-20-2021: Firebird Fowl opens on September 20.

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An address in Uptown Dallas with good times in its bones has landed a new tenant: Called Firebird Fowl, it's a restaurant with what is truly a unique angle, set to open at 2816 Fairmount St. this summer.

This location was most recently Dos Jefes, but party people from the '90s and '00s might recognize it as the former home to Nick & Sam's Grill and once upon a time, Martini Ranch.

Firebird Fowl is a highly creative concept that takes the most popular food group right now — chicken, of course — and does it one better.

Owners David Taylor and Timothy Summers were originally plotting a Nashville hot chicken place, but after seeing that trend blow up in Dallas, they hit pause.

"It started because we love Nashville hot chicken — we used to travel to Nashville all the time and would wait in lines for hours just to get it," Taylor says. "I thought we'd be the first to do a place here, but out of nowhere, the hot chicken thing just exploded."

"We said, 'That's it, we're stopping,' but we used the opportunity to come up with something more creative," he says. "We had talked over the years about doing a couple concepts and they all entailed birds like chicken and turkey, and we said, 'Why don't we do a place where we combine them all?'"

Firebird Fowl goes for birds of all kinds: duck, chicken, turkey, emu, quail, and even ostrich, with some creative sounding dishes.

Their menu is still in progress but for example, the chicken category alone has more than half a dozen items, from the Nashville hot chicken sandwich to "giant wings" to spatchcock chicken to a chicken wrap.

There are duck tacos. Turkey Cobb salad. Ostrich burgers. And a Texas emu cheesesteak sandwich.

Developing the menu gave them a newfound appreciation for different kinds of fowl.

"Emu is like steak, and we'll be sourcing it from a couple of ranches, so it's almost farm to table," Taylor says. "We're so excited about this menu, it's as healthy as can be, but with a Southern flair."

Taylor is also the creator of DizziBrands, a food truck-restaurant specializing in alcohol-infused desserts such as ice cream, sorbets, cupcakes, frozen pops, brownies, dummies, and gourmet gelatin shots. DizziBrands is currently on hold, due to changes in the liquor laws by the TABC, but they'll soon be able to serve those products at Firebird Fowl.

"The cool thing about this restaurant is that our entire dessert menu will be Dizzibrands recipes including our signature Margarita Key Lime Pie, Cinnamon Whiskey Apple Pie, and Spiced Rum Cheesecake," Taylor says.

Getting the location at Fairmount was a personal score of sorts. Tim Summers says he fondly remembers Martini Ranch as a one-of-a-kind spot, known for serving extremely stiff drinks and for their popular Monday Night martini specials.

"We're going to do an homage," Summers says. "They used to have their 'Martini Mondays,' so for our first month, we'll do some flashbacks with discounted martinis, because of the love we had for Martini Ranch."

uptown openings

Hummus News

Revered family-owned Mediterranean restaurant debuts in North Dallas

Zon Zon

Samantha Marie Photography

Zon Zon food spread

An upscale Mediterranean restaurant is coming to North Dallas from a trusted name: Called Zon Zon, it'll open at 5455 Belt Line Rd. #130, in the Work/Shop center, and it's from hospitality group Yela Concepts, led by Yaser Khalaf (Darna, Baboush), together with his son Mak Khalef in their first collaboration.

According to a release, it'll open on December 22.

Named for Mak's sister Zaina (“Zon Zon”), the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner with a refined take on Mediterranean dining, rooted in tradition but with modern influences.

"We tried to merge what embodies Mediterranean cuisine with dishes that people in Dallas love," Mak says. "A lot of the dishes we have on menu are Mediterranean but have American and Texan influences."

Mezze favorites include hummus topped with green shatta and extra-virgin olive oil; baba ghanoush with charred eggplant, tahini, dukka, and pomegranate; crispy cauliflower with saffron labneh; tuna neya with tahini, mixed pickles, and Aleppo pepper; and kibbeh with ground lamb, onions, pine nuts, and dill labneh.

Salads include seared tuna salad with freekeh and golden beets; Tahini Caesar with tahini–Caesar dressing and za’atar croutons; and roasted beets with burrata, oranges, and pistachios.

Entrées include roasted chicken with garlic-batata and pomegranate jus; chicken shish kebab over saffron rice with almonds and raisins; hanger steak shawarma frites — a clever twist on steak frites with hand-cut fries; ZZ’s Wagyu cheeseburger with smoked provolone and house pickles; Prime ribeye with za’atar chimichurri and heirloom carrots; and apricot lamb couscous.

The beverage program complements the menu with a Mediterranean-focused wine list and creative cocktails such as the coffee-kissed Midnight Istanbul and ZZ’s Margarita, with burnt pineapple and ras el hanout.

Designed in collaboration with Dallas-based Coeval Studios, the restaurant features a 2,130-square-foot interior with an expansive 735-square-foot patio that seats 76, for a total occupancy near 100.

The restaurant boasts an open kitchen, while decorative finishes include modern woodwork, rich textures, and Middle Eastern-inspired details — stylish yet inviting, with a setting that feels like home.

“The inspiration behind Zon Zon came from wanting to create the kind of place we’ve always wished existed — a neighborhood Mediterranean spot that feels both familiar and exciting," says Yaser in a statement. "We wanted to create a comfortable space where guests can meet up with friends or neighbors on a regular basis."

Mak went to college to study biomedical engineering, but says he couldn't resist the lure of the restaurant world in which he grew up.

"Zon Zon is a reflection of everything we love about food," Mak says. "What makes this especially meaningful is building it with my dad — bringing our family’s story and passion to the table."

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