Vegan News

Dallas chef opens 'ghost kitchen' vegan restaurant for Lake Highlands area

General Tso's "chicken." It tastes like chicken.

Photo courtesy of TLC

There's a new vegan restaurant-of-sorts aiming to serve northeast Dallas including the Lake Highlands neighborhood and capitlizing on a hot new coronavirus-inspired trend: the ghost kitchen.

Called TLC Vegan Kitchen, it was launched in April by vegan chef Troy Gardner, best known for his vegan restaurant at Trinity Groves, V-Eats Modern Vegan.

Ghost kitchens are like a virtual restaurant, with no brick and mortar location. The food is made at a kitchen and is available via delivery and pickup only. Gardner is using Revolving Kitchen, a commercial kitchen that rents out its facilities to chefs, and is located at 520 Shepherd Dr. in Garland, just on the other side of Lake Highlands.

TLC stands for "Tastes Like Chicken," and capitalizes on Gardner's signature oyster mushrooms, that some diners say tastes like and has the texture of chicken. He'll also offer chef specials, family-style meals, boxed lunches, and a vegan menu of savory and sweets with items like:

pizza topped with homemade cashew mozzarella
chili
chicken-fried steak
lasagna with house made ricotta, mozzarella, & parmesan
chocolate lava cake
banana foster pudding

Delivery is available through TLC directly or through third-party delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats. If you go through TLC, deliveries are within a 7-mile radius, without additional fees. Visit www.tlcvegankitchen for direct delivery and curbside pick-up.

Food can be ordered online at any time and scheduled for pick-up for another day or time during their business hours which are Sunday-Thursday 4-10 pm, Friday-Saturday 4-11 pm.

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Fried Chicken News

Ambitious fried chicken restaurant from Denver lands in McKinney

Birdcall

Fried chicken from Birdcall.

A fast-casual chicken restaurant chain is flying into town: Birdcall, a Denver-based chain that specializes in fried chicken sandwiches and salads, will open in McKinney at 4702 W. University Dr., in a new center west of US-75.

According to a release, the restaurant will celebrate its grand opening on Monday, February 17.

Birdcall's main item is fried chicken sandwiches in nine varieties such as:

Southern with pimento cheese and southern coleslaw
Rancher with bacon onion jam, white cheddar, and Bird-B-Q Sauce
The Nashville hot deluxe with bacon, pepper-jack, tomato, lettuce, and herb mayo

They also do sliders, tenders, nuggets, and salads plus nine sides including fries, tater tots, loaded tots, and coleslaw. In addition, there's a vegan alternative using Meati, a faux chicken made from mushrooms.

Birdcall was created in 2016 by Peter Newlin and Jean-Philippe Failyau, two industry veterans who previously founded Denver-based concepts such as Park Burger and Homegrown Tap & Dough. With Birdcall, their goal was to not only offer a "better" chicken sandwich, but also improve the way fast-food restaurants operate.

There are now 12 locations in Colorado, Arizona, and Texas, with one other location in Richardson which opened in February 2024. (There were previously locations in Carrollton and Frisco, but both are now closed and no longer listed on their website.)

The McKinney restaurant will feature outdoor patio seating, a drive-thru, free arcade games, a bar, and self-serve ordering kiosks. Adding a creative and local touch to the vibrant atmosphere, the restaurant will also display murals by Dallas-based muralist Mari Pohlman.

The new location is part of the company’s goal to open 8-10 locations in the area, but leases have not been signed. All they need are leases and franchisees willing to open locations. Baby steps.

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