Fried Chicken News

New concept in Trinity Groves in West Dallas serves wings by the pound

The place is called LB Wings, LB for "pound."

Courtesy photo

Trinity Groves, the former restaurant incubator now turned Phil Romano concept farm in West Dallas, has launched two new concepts, one doing poke, the other chicken wings. What are the odds that one of those two concepts could potentially offend someone? If your answer is "even," you are correct.

Trinity Groves is also reopening two concepts that have been closed due to the coronavirus.

Newbies first:

Hula Girl Poke
Hula Girl Poke jumps on the four-year-old poke trend, featuring bowls heaped with raw fish, rice, and the random vegetable and sauce.

You can build your own bowl, selecting your choice of marinated fish, rice, sauce, and toppings. But they also have pre-set signature bowls such as the Hawaiian Bowl with white rice, fresh tuna, green onion, carrots, cucumber, pineapple, and poke sauce.

Hula Girl follows a Romano tradition of giving restaurants names that some have described as sophomoric but could just as easily be called offensive. (See: "Sum Dang Good Chinese".) They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and apparently they are correct.

LB Wings
LB is a new wings restaurant selling wings and tenders by the pound. They calculate one pound as six wings or tenders.

LB has the usual assortment of sauces like buffalo and lemon pepper, plus less common recipes such as spicy orange sambal and green curry. The menu also includes sides such as coleslaw, fried okra, bourbon corn, mac & cheese, and potato salad.

What's impressive about LB is that it cuts right to the quick when it comes to wings. It's not about delicate issues like brining the chicken, or the artisanal quality of the sauces or the sides. It's about: How much meat do I get?

Reopenings
Babb Brothers BBQ and V-Eats have also reopened for business, with refreshed menus. The two restaurants form the flip sides of a coin:

Babb Brothers BBQ is all about smoked brisket, ribs, pork, and chicken.
V-Eats is the vegan restaurant with avocado frites, cauliflower bites, and breaded shiitake mushrooms.

The four restaurants are open for pickup and delivery only. They are taking call-in and online orders and are available for delivery via the ChowNow, Uber Eats, and Postmates platforms. Customers can place one order for multiple cuisines and pay one delivery fee.

openings

Bowls News

California acai bowl chain to open its first Texas location in Plano

Tru Bowl

A California chain that specializes in açai bowls is coming to Texas: Called Trū Bowl, it'll make its Texas debut in Plano, in the Shops at Granite Park in a storefront next door to Tiff's Treats, at 5760 SH-121 #145.

Bringing the concept to Texas is franchisee Lilian Nguyen, an accounting professional who became enamored with the concept while visiting family in Newport Beach.

“We had Trū Bowl every day for breakfast, it was so delicious," she says. "We came back home and we tried some local spots, but they were not the same."

They chose the buzzy Granite Park shopping center at the southeast corner of the Dallas North Tollway, surrounded by many corporate offices — the perfect market for the quick and healthy fare that Tru Bowl serves.

Tru Bowl was launched in the Los Angeles area in 2019 by entrepreneur Cyndi Schoenecker, who wanted to provide a quick and easy nutrient-dense meal; acai is the small purple berry from the acai palm tree, native to Central and South America, known as a "superfood" because it contains antioxidants and is believed to provide health and nutritional benefits.

Tru Bowl lets you craft-your-own bowls with a base that's pure açai.

“On its own, it tastes very refreshing and crisp, and not overly sweet," Nguyen says. "You can let the ingredients you choose determine of the sweetness of the bowl."

The shop will offer more than 10 signature bowls such as:

Trū Blue: Blue majik, açai, chia pudding, strawberry, banana, blueberry, coconut, hemp seed, goji berries, and honey
Rio Bowl: Extra açai, hemp granola, strawberry, blueberry, coconut, banana, and hemp hearts
EZ-Trū: Açai, maple cold oats, chia pudding. hemp heart granola, strawberries, bananas, blueberries

Prices range from $11-$15, depending on size. In addition to the açai bowls, they'll serve smoothies, cold brew, and matcha.

The Plano location will be the 21st in the chain, joining locations in Arizona and Illinois. It will accommodate dining-in with seating for about 22 people.

"Dallas has a strong food and wellness culture, and we think people will appreciate the fresh ingredients," Nguyen says.

openings