Closure News

Mockingbird Diner near Dallas Love Field closes due to staffing issues

In its heyday, Mockingbird Diner had a fine CFS.

Photo by Marc Lee

An indie home-cooking style restaurant across from Love Field has closed. Mockingbird Diner, which opened in December 2017 with a menu featuring Texan dishes such as chicken-fried steak, closed on May 31, per a Facebook post by manager Jack Perkins, with the simple words: "She gone."

Perkins launched the restaurant in collaboration with chef Jeana Johnson, in an odd new build at 3130 W. Mockingbird Ln., on the site of what used to be a motel called the Love Field Inn. Targeted to locals, airport workers, travelers, and hotel guests, it aimed to become the quintessential Dallas place, serving elevated renditions of Texas standards.

The menu included home-cooking favorites like fried chicken, meat loaf, Frito pie, pork chops, and ham steak with the bone in, all executed with the finesse you'd expect from Johnson, whose experience includes opening her own restaurant, Mot Hai Ba, as well as many years working in fine-dining restaurants such as Stephan Pyles.

It also had excellent pies and biscuits, thanks to contributions from pastry chefs Mynetta Cockrell and Sarah Green.

Unfortunately, the original chef team was gone by June 2018.

Perkins was headed to a golf tournament and wasn't available for a conversation, other than to say that Maple & Motor, the popular burger joint he founded in 2009, "is still mine and rolling," and "I already have a couple of new projects in the offing."

The reason he gave to the DMN for the closure was "staffing," stating that he was losing "10 or 12 people a month." This was even after switching to a cafeteria format in March, which allowed for a smaller workforce.

Perkins, who was manager but did not own the restaurant, told the newspaper he was "befuddled" by the process.

Some former employees who asked not to be quoted said that the work environment was unhealthy, sometimes literally: A sign hanging in the kitchen proclaimed "No sick days." Another said that "his disrespectful behavior as a boss is legendary."

Commenters on Facebook, a rock-solid source, note that the staff seemed to be "fairly miserable," and that, once the restaurant went server free, it "tanked in every way," including an inexplicable increase in price and a decline in the quality of the food.

The building is still in the hands of the silent owner-investor. Perkins, who Eater once dubbed "one of the mouthiest restaurateurs in town," says he's OK with the closure, saying, "It was like holding the snake in the middle from the start. Truth is, I'm kind of glad I got to drop her."

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Coming soon

Cuban-style burger chain Frita Batidos to make Texas debut in Dallas

Photo by Noah Fecks

Frita Batidos' signature burgers and milkshakes, along with crispy fried plantains.

An acclaimed Cuban-inspired burger restaurant from Michigan is making its Texas debut in in Dallas' buzzy McKinney-Knox neighborhood: Called Frita Batidos, it will open at 4620 McKinney Ave., just off the Katy Trail, on August 17, a release says.

Founded by chef Eve Aronoff Fernandez, Frita Batidos debuted in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2010 and has since expanded to Detroit and Brooklyn. The Brooklyn location earned national attention after its signature Frita was named one of New York City's best burgers by The New York Times.

The restaurant serves Cuban-style street food and takes its name from two Cuban staples that are the focus of its menu: fritas, the island's signature burgers, and batidos, tropical fruit milkshakes.

Their fritas are served on a soft egg bun and topped with shoestring fries. Options include beef, housemade chorizo, chicken, black bean, and Gulf redfish, with toppings such as cilantro-lime salsa, avocado spread, tropical slaw, Muenster cheese, and a sunny-side-up egg.

Frita Baditos Frita, a Cuban-style burger.Photo by Noah Fecks

Their batidos are made with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh fruit in flavors such as coconut cream, passion fruit, fresh lime, hibiscus, chocolate español, and cajeta. Guests can also order a lighter version made with mango, pineapple, and crushed ice, or add a splash of dark rum to any shake.

Other menu highlights include crisped plantains with dipping sauces, loaded plantains topped with black beans and cheese, coconut-ginger rice layered with black beans and Muenster cheese, churros, cinnamon-sugar plantains, and rotating housemade paletas.

The beverage menu features cocktails such as a margarita, mojito, piña colada, daiquiri, sangria, and pisco hibiscus lemonade, along with housemade tropical sodas, fresh juices, and nonalcoholic versions of its cocktails.

"Frita Batidos emphasizes fresh, high-quality, locally sourced ingredients, served with care in a warm and welcoming atmosphere to create a community gathering place," the owners say in the release.

The Dallas restaurant occupies a bright, airy space designed by architect Neal Robinson, a longtime collaborator on the brand's restaurants. The dining room features communal picnic-style tables, outlets for guests who want to work while dining, and dominoes for customers to play. A mural by graffiti artist FEL3000ft emblazoned with the phrase "Por Que No?!" serves as the centerpiece.

Frita Baditos Badito, a tropical milkshake.Photo by Noah Fecks

Frita Batidos founder Aronoff Fernandez is a a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef who previously owned the acclaimed Ann Arbor, Michigan restaurant Eve and authored the cookbook Eve: Contemporary Cuisine/Methode Traditionelle. She founded Frita Baditos in 2010, she says, "grounded in the tenets of the Slow Food Movement, following the seasons, cooking from scratch, working with small, local purveyors and farmers and most importantly fostering warmth and conviviality around food."

Frita Batidos will be open Sunday-Wednesday from 11 am-10 pm and Thursday-Saturday from 11 am-11 pm.

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