Breakfast News

There really is a truck inside the new Green Truck Cafe in Lewisville

There is also avocado toast, and great cappuccino.

Green Truck Cafe

A new cafe is bringing the town of Lewisville a taste of good, fresh food with a hip mien. Called Green Truck Cafe, it's at 1108 W. Main St., across from Lewisville High School, in the middle of town.

Owner is Trent Nabors, whose prior exploits have centered on inner city Dallas, including Bo-Leo's Taco Shack near Fair Park. Nabors' attention has shifted north, and this new concept has been a hit. It took over a space that was previously an Army-Navy center next to the Dollar Store, which they transformed into a restaurant, no small feat.

"I originally came on as a consultant and ended up buying the place," Nabors says. "The city of Lewisville is craving cool things, there's a big untapped market here, and the locals have really supported this place. We get some people who eat here 3-4 times a week."

Green Truck Cafe is somewhere between a diner and a coffee shop, with aspirational food and coffee. They're open for breakfast and lunch, 8 am-4 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and also are doing weekend brunch.

"We're not a coffee shop but we have a high-end coffee and espresso program - we're more like a hip cafe," he says. "We're doing things like smoked salmon on bagel, and we don't have much competition for dishes like that."

Breakfast includes French toast, chicken & waffles, and a granola bowl. There are lots of interesting egg dishes such as their distinctive Luka Shakshuka: eggs poached in tomato and red pepper sauce with grilled bread and a side of hummus.

They serve their hummus, which they amusingly call "hipster hummus," with veggies and bread. They also have flatbreads, a burger, and other sandwiches such as grilled chicken, turkey & artichoke, a Cubano on a pressed hoagie bun, and a rotating sandwich of the month.

A "croissant brekkie" is filled with eggs, turkey bacon, cheddar, and hollandaise. There's a "good morning flatbread" with chorizo and eggs, and a veggie stack sandwich with hummus, mushrooms, tomato, spinach, and olive oil on 9-grain bread.

Aside from the $12 burger, everything on the menu is under $10.

"We're making our own chicken-apple sausage, and we pickle things and sell them in jars," Nabors says. "Our chef, Daniel Morones, is a bad-ass. He's worked at some high-end places like Whiskey Cake, this is his first chance to be in charge and shine."

With their proximity to a high school, they can't serve alcohol, but they're giving out free mimosas on Saturdays and Sundays.

As for the name, there really is a green truck: a gorgeous vintage 1947 Ford pickup, painted a beautiful sage green, that sits inside the dining room. "We got it in Oklahoma," Nabors says. "We gutted it and build a bed with plywood and a bench inside. It's become a popular place for people to come and take photos."

breakfast

RIP Al

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat dies at 69 after ALS battle

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, RIP

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, founder of the acclaimed local steakhouse Al Biernat's, passed away on November 13, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; he was 69.

Biernat was one of Dallas' all-time great hospitality figures, dating back to his days at The Palm steakhouse, for whom he worked in Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.

Biernat founded his namesake restaurant in 1998 on Oak Lawn Avenue, where his standard of excellence and doting charm made it a destination for special occasions, Park Cities swells, and celebrities in town.

His sense of hospitality had little competition in Dallas. He was a charming and personable host who genuinely liked people, and it didn't matter whether you were Conan O'Brien, David Crosby, or one of the other high-profile diners that visited his restaurants — or else just a regular schlub: He had a knack for making everyone feel special and remembered.

Biernat was born on August 20, 1955 and grew up in Michigan, then lived in Colorado, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, before moving to Dallas to work at The Palm in the West End, where his dynamic presence gave the restaurant an incomparable vitality; it closed in 2017.

He opened Al Biernat's at 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. in 1998, followed by a second location in North Dallas at 5251 Spring Valley Rd. in 2017.

He began to experience ALS symptoms in May 2023, was diagnosed in December, and revealed his condition in February 2024. The revelation was met with an outpouring of sympathy and well wishes from the hospitality industry — a sign of the high regard in which he was held.

The average life expectancy for people with ALS is two to five years after diagnosis. Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing, or in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. He began to have difficulty communicating in September, and spent his last days in a hospice.

On September 18, he broached the topic of dying, before ending on a note of gratitude to friends and family.

"Having Bulbar ALS I am realistic about my future," he said. "Friends and family have asked me if I’m afraid of dying, and this is what I say to them. Because of the salvation of Jesus, I will be rejoicing in my spirit to see him in all of his glory. Since we are all flesh, soul, and spirit, only my flesh is being left behind. But don’t get me wrong, I have a blessed life in this world, with a loving wife, and a beautiful family and many wonderful and caring friends. I am grateful!"

Both Al Biernat's locations will continue to remain open under the management of Biernat's nephew Brad Fuller, as they have for nearly the past two years.

Biernat is survived by Fuller, as well as his wife Jeannie and three daughters: Angelica Saylor, Kaitlin Biernat Connell, and Jess Biernat, plus five grandsons and two granddaughters. . According to family members, details regarding a celebration of his life will be announced soon.

deaths