NOLA News

New restaurant in Dallas' Design District revels in NOLA-style seafood

Fried shrimp and hand-cut French fries.

Photo courtesy of N'Awlins

A new Cajun seafood spot is celebrating its grand opening: Called N'Awlins Seafood Sports Bar, it's a New Orleans/French Quarter-inspired restaurant and sports bar located at 1400 Hi Line Dr. #116, in the space previously occupied by Primo's.

According to a release, the concept of N'awlins Seafood Sports Bar derived from an idea that company founder and owner Blair Johnson had in 2003. The goal is to deliver Cajun flair to game days via food and Bourbon Street décor. (The release also mentions bottle service, although bottle service seems more Dallas than NOLA.)

Finally, it has come to fruition.

"We're all very excited to finally present the N'awlins vision to the Design District," Johnson says in a statement. "Once you've experienced the atmosphere, food, and service you will quickly understand why I chose this concept for my first restaurant venture. I want everyone to feel the hospitality of New Orleans when they are here."

N'awlins had its share of setbacks in the road to getting open. That included changing its location as well as COVID-19. They first opened in May, but experienced some technical hiccups before they were able to get gear.

Now at last, guests can step into a Mardi Gras wonderland, with hand-painted murals on the walls and bar tops, a Mardi Gras-themed décor, chandeliers, and 25 flat-screen TVs.

The menu was crafted by Johnson, executive chef Stefen Briley, and chef Ryheem Lumpkins, and features Crescent City classic dishes of his hometown with a large variety of options, such as:

Oysters
Jambalaya
Crawfish Etouffee
Gumbo
Beignets
crab & spinach dip
lobster mac & cheese
Creole crab cakes
blackened catfish topped with shrimp & crawfish
pan-grilled redfish topped with crab and shrimp
steak & lobster
Cajun smoked trio: turkey keg, stuffed with lobster, shrimp, & crawfish
shrimp & grits

There's a whole fried section featuring baskets and platters with wings, chicken tenders, and seafood, with hand-cut fries. There is also steamed and boiled seafood such as crab, shrimp, and crawfish.

The cocktail menu features craft cocktails such as the Bourbon Street Tea, Oak Cliff, and Highland Park Martin. Bottles are also available to purchase. The drink menu was created by N’awlins bar manager Domenique Slaughter.

Additionally, the restaurant has a dog-friendly patio seating area for guests to dine outdoors.

They'll be open Tuesday-Thursday from 11 am-11 pm; Friday-Saturday from 11 am-12 am; and Sunday 11 am-10 pm.

At the grand opening on June 19, they'll feature drink specials on draft beers, appetizers, and cocktails. It will be a celebration of women empowerment and Freedom Day/Juneteenth with live music by Unfaded and drink specials.

openings

Wings News

New chicken wing joint sells 'em by the pound in Dallas' Deep Ellum

Wings By the Pound

A no-nonsense wing spot has debuted in Dallas' Deep Ellum: Called Wings By the Pound, it sells exactly that, at a shop at 2707 Main St., in the former home of the Slutty Vegan burger joint, which closed in 2024.

Wings by the Pound states proudly that it "isn't a combo joint" but is instead "a counter built on one idea — call your weight, watch it hit the scale, and take it off the scale." Then presumably you take it home, you eat it, end of story.

It presents itself as an alternative to typical wing spots which sell wings by the number. Numbers are complicated.

"We sell you weight. Pick wings or tenders, call your poundage from a half-pound to four, and we weigh it up in front of you," they say.

From there it's the standard wing-joint set of choices: wings or tenders, level of heat, sauces, and sides. "No combos, no guessing," they brag, although is there a lot of guessing with wings?

Here's some very specific numbers:

One pound of wings, which they approximate at 12 pieces, is $15.05. Two pounds, or 24 pieces, is $27.11.
One pound of tenders, which they approximate at 8 pieces, is $17.02. Two pounds, or 16 pieces, is $25.06.

They also sell french fries — crinkle cut — in choice of plain, cheese sauce, or "pound sauce" for $8 to $15. Pound sauce is their version of the prototypical secret sauce, which generally boils down to Russian-ish dressing, i.e., mayonnaise and ketchup with various add-ins, spicy and otherwise; the version at Wings By the Pound incorporates hot sauce.

There are wet sauces, including Thai, chipotle, hot honey, and garlic Parm; dry rubs, including suya (peanut) and jalapeño-lemon; and five dips: cheese sauce, ranch, bleu cheese, honey mustard, and pound sauce.

Some might recall that there was a Wings By the Pound concept that first debuted in 2020 at Trinity Groves, the restaurant incubator in West Dallas, but that closed in 2022.

This Wings By the Pound is a new concept from ArkDal Hospitality Group, headed by Cary Thompson, Royce Colley, and Mo Wells, which also operates Velour Restaurant in Victory Park.

The location in Deep Ellum has no seating on premise and functions as a take-out spot only. A spokesperson said that the location opened in mid-June.

chicken deep ellum openings