East Plano Restaurant Spell

Vietnamese restaurant Dalat in Plano closed with hints of what's to come

The Plano branch of Dalat, the mercurial Asian restaurant famed for its late-night hours, has closed. A staffer at the original Dalat in Dallas confirmed that the restaurant closed on August 15.

The closure was abrupt; as recently as August 5, the restaurant was still advertising for kitchen help.

The Dalat empire debuted in 2012 when owner Khanh Nguyen opened Dalat on Fitzhugh with a menu specializing in Vietnamese comfort food. His willingness to stay open until 2 am created a niche for the restaurant as a place to go for late-night dining.

In early 2015, after dabbling in making pizza, Nguyen expanded next door with a sibling restaurant called Zalat that serves kitschy pizzas topped with "outrageous" ingredients such as Sriracha, Mexican-style corn and cold cooked macaroni. It stays open until 4 am. Eater called it a "stoner's fantasy."

A sign posted on the Plano Dalat hinted that the location would turned into a branch of Zalat instead. A staffer at the Zalat in Dallas confirmed that they'd be opening a second branch, but then said, "we don't know what's going to happen yet."

East Plano currently has pizza in Urban Crust, the popular pizzeria from owner Salvatore Gisellu.

The address at 1032 E. 15th St. where Dalat is located would seem to be prime turf, right on 15th Street at the corner of Avenue K. But it hasn't had much luck since the departure of Queen of Hearts, the costume and magic shop that was there for many years. Maybe it cast a spell?

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Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

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