Hotel News

New Sam Moon hotel opens with Tex-Asian style at booming Plano center

A deluxe new hotel comes from the owners of Sam Moon.

Photo courtesy of Renaissance

A new hotel has opened at the booming Legacy West development in Plano, from a name that's familiar in the retail world. The Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West Hotel comes from Sam Moon Group, the Plano company known for its hugely popular accessories stores.

Located on Legacy Drive near the Dallas North Tollway, the hotel is the latest opening at the mixed-use complex Legacy West, where it will serve as the south anchor.

Sam Moon has eight stores and six shopping centers. This is its first hotel project, which will be managed by Marriott International. Spokesman Daniel Moon calls the Northwest Collin County area "an emerging hub of international business with close proximity to DFW International Airport and some of the world’s most vibrant companies."

Corporate headquarters nearby include JC Penney, Toyota, Liberty Mutual, and FedEx.

Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West has 15 floors, 304 rooms, 16 suites, 19 meeting rooms, and a 15,000-square-foot ballroom. Other amenities include:

a lobby bar named Whiskey Moon
the Texas Tea House, a coffee and tea shop
Oma, a daily restaurant serving Asian fusion cuisine
fitness center
heated pool, outdoor bar and grill, cabanas, and fire pits

Little expense was spared on the interior and design, which uses water, fire, and natural materials to incorporate Asian and Texas themes. There are lasso-inspired light fixtures, cowboy drawer handles, and wallpaper with images of the Shanghai skyline. Massive wall art portraits have been made from repurposed floppy disks.

The bathrooms have chromatherapy lighting options; some incorporate both a wetroom shower and bathtub.

Asian fusion restaurant Oma will serve three meals daily. It has a globally inspired menu with "regional and worldly classics" and a special fusion of Tex-Mex and Asian.

Next door is Whiskey Moon, a whiskey bar with a limited menu of Japanese buns such as pork belly, smoked salmon, and avocado tempura. In addition to tea and coffee, the Texas Tea House will have grab-and-go food.

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Burger News

Northeast burger chain Slap Burger set to smash in Richardson

Slap Burger

Smash burger from Slap Burger, coming to DFW.

A buzzy burger concept from the Northeast is coming to Texas: Called Slap Burger, it's a small smash burger chain based in New Jersey, and it's opening its first Texas location in Richardson, at 888 S. Greenville Ave., in a center called the Arabian Village, taking over a space that was previously occupied by a CBD shop.

Slap Burger was founded in Paterson, New Jersey as a smash burger joint that adheres to the principles of halal, including using meat from halal purveyors and avoiding certain ingredients such as pork. (Their bacon and hot dogs are made from beef.) Halal has been increasing in popularity, due to both a growing Muslim population as well as a rising demand for "ethical" clean-label food.

Slap now has five locations in the Northeast — two in NJ and three in NY — as well as an expansion to Tampa, Florida.

They specialize in smash burgers, loaded hot chicken tenders, and cheese fries topped with slap sauce. They make a decadent banana pudding dessert, and they also keep late-night hours.

Their burgers are four ounces, featuring the lacy and crispy edges that are a signifier of a smash burger, topped with caramelized onions, American cheese, and pickle on Martin's potato buns, which they toast on the outside, leaving the inside of the bun soft.

They do two other burger styles: the Slap’N Melt, which features cheese stuffed into a beef patty, then seared so the exterior is hard and the interior is melting cheese; and the Slap N Jack, a double patty burger with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and pepperjack cheese.

Other menu options include hot dogs, as well as fried chicken in a number of ways: as a sandwich with pickles and cole slaw on a griddled bun; as tenders; in a loaded platter over choice of mac & cheese or fries; or chicken & waffles, with choice of an Oreo or Fruity Pebbles waffle.

Alcohol is not allowed at a halal restaurant, but Slaps has house-made lemonade in a variety of flavors such as dragonfruit, strawberry, orange Curacao, and mango.

Shepherding the concept to DFW is Adam Shawish, the enterprising owner of Arabian Village, who is transforming the center into an exciting foodie destination with businesses such as Arwa Coffee, recognized as the first Yemeni-style coffee shop in DFW.

Shawish was inspired after visiting Slap Burger while on a trip to the Northeast, seeking interesting concepts that might make a good fit at the center.

"One night, my wife and I had already had dinner, but I was determined to try it and they were open late," Shawish says. "I fell in love with it on the first bite. Texas has a lot of burgers, but I said, 'This is my type of hamburger.' It's very simple, not mixed with anything, the buns are not too soggy — just a pure burger experience, not like anything else in Dallas-Fort Worth."

Shawish says that construction is underway and they hope to get it open by Christmas.

"My office is right next door," he says. "Every time I get ready to go home for the day, I ask the kids what they want for dinner, and I can't wait for Slap Burger to open so that I won't have to ask."

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