More Thai Food

Uptown Dallas Thai restaurant curries new location in the great north

Crushcraft heads north.

An Uptown Dallas Thai restaurant that loves the late nights is opening a second location. CrushCraft Thai will spin off a baby brother at The Star in Frisco, with an opening date of August 22.

CrushCraft was founded in 2013 by Jack Nuchkasem, a former hospitality executive with experience at hotels such as the Omni, Renaissance, and Sheraton, in partnership with chef Paul Singhapong, as a fast-casual concept with a menu that's refined yet approachable and affordable. Entrees range from $7-$10, along with cocktails and local beer.

The current chef is Kay Ridgway, who completed culinary training at the Art Institute of Dallas and began working as a line cook at the Uptown CrushCraft location. She moved her way up and is now executive chef and partner.

CrushCraft Thai offers a fresh, made-from-scratch daily menu using ingredients in a creative way. Traditional dishes include kra pao – ground pork, jasmine rice, basil, bell pepper, onion, and fried egg.

There are coconut milk-based curries, wok-fired noodle dishes, and salads such as the "skinny b*tch" with wok-seared cashews, crispy tofu, red quinoa, kale, and red cabbage in Thai peanut vinaigrette.

"We take a handmade approach to our cooking and create Thai food with a twist," Ridgway says. "We feel as though some of the traditional techniques and methods to make great Thai food, while admittedly not the most efficient, are somewhat of a lost art that we feel is vital to our menu."

They take the same approach in cocktails such as the refreshing Strawberry Smash with Tito's vodka, St. Germaine, muddled basil & strawberries, and lime juice, poured over basil-strawberry infused ice cubes.

Designed by Jones Baker, who also designed the original in Dallas, the Frisco location has a patio and a vibrant open-air market feel.

"I like our format of casually coming in and out without having to go through the formal dining experience," Ridgway says. "Great food should be accessible to everyone, and I think this is such a big part of the culture we bring with CrushCraft. We really just want to be a part of the neighborhood and be the go-to place for simply great Thai food."

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Pizza News

Donatos Pizza totes its unique crust to new location in Flower Mound

dallas.culturemap.com

Donatos

A pizza chain with a quirky obsession on its crusts is coming to Flower Mound: Donatos Pizza, the franchise famous for spreading its toppings to the very edge of the pizza, will open a location at 1400 Long Prairie Rd. #160.

According to a release, it'll open on December 17.

Donatos Pizza was founded by Jim Grote in Ohio in 1963 from a single stand, and remains family-owned. Their signature is to place the toppings on their pizzas "edge to edge" — for clueless diners who do not like plain crust edges. (Come on, the crust is the best part.)

Their menu features more than a dozen varieties of pizza such as veggie, four cheese, and pepperoni with hot honey. Their signature crust is a thin-crust but they also offer thicker alternatives as well as a cauliflower crust. Pizzas come in a 7-inch individual and go all the way up to a 14-inch large. Prices range from $15 to $25.

Fans appreciate their better-than-average ingredients and describe it as more flavorful compared to other corporate pizza chains, with a crisp thin crust and generous toppings.

In addition to pizza, Donatos' menu includes oven-baked wings, sub sandwiches, including meatball and Italian cold cuts, plus appetizers and salads.

The Flower Mound location will be a family affair, owned by Lynne and Ralph Pence, whose son Travis will oversee day-to-day operations. The Pence family has deep connections to Donatos including the fact that Lynne's sister used to work for the company, while her brother-in-law still does.

"We're from Columbus, Ohio — it is where our kids grew up and where our family is—it also happens to be the hometown and birthplace of Donatos Pizza," Lynne says. "Our daughter in Oklahoma found out Donatos was coming to Edmond, where she lives, and called us. She was so excited that Donatos was finally coming down south and we wanted to be a part of it."

This is the second Donatos in the Dallas area: a location opened in Frisco in November — the first in Texas.

There are currently 470-plus locations in 28 states. That includes 175 stores plus nearly 300 non-traditional locations nationwide, including select Red Robin restaurants, sports, and entertainment venues.

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