Cali style pub food
Cali gastropub gives Dallas' Greenville Avenue a new burger to chew on
A California gastropub known for its burgers is coming to Dallas. Oh, you mean Eureka? No. Called Laurel Tavern, it will go into the space at 1920 Greenville Ave. previously occupied by Clark Food & Wine, with an opening set for the fall. Clark Food & Wine closed at the end of 2016.
Laurel Tavern comes from a restaurant outfit called ACME Hospitality Group, led by William Shamlian, Michael Leko, Mark Leddy, and Jonny Valenti, with a portfolio of casual restaurants and sports bars such as Beelman's Pub in downtown L.A., and Forman's Whiskey Tavern in Toluca Lake.
They opened the first Laurel Tavern in Studio City, in the San Fernando Valley area north of Los Angeles, in 2008, then opened a second branch south of Los Angeles in Hermosa Beach in 2016. They describe it as having "the best burger in the Valley."
The Greenville Avenue branch will be similar to the other two locations with a focus on quality food, handcrafted cocktails, craft beers on tap, and wines by the glass.
The menu for Greenville Avenue is being created by executive chef Roger Hayot, a longtime veteran of the Southern California restaurant scene who had his own restaurant in the late '80s called Authentic Cafe. While the Dallas menu is still being finalized, it will definitely feature small plates, salads, and sandwiches.
Two things that will definitely be on the Dallas menu include a pair of burgers: the Jalapeno Burger with chipotle sauce, jalapenos, poblano, pepper jack, and onion rings; and the Laurel Burger with honey mustard, avocado, pickled red onion, and shredded lettuce.
But they're yet not committing to a full recreation of the menu from Studio City. Will Dallas have their hot pretzels? Their pork belly skewers? Their French dip sandwich? Their kale-Caesar salad? Let's start agitating for all the things.