Biscuit king returns to East Dallas with Southern restaurant food hall

Southern food fans and biscuit lovers will welcome the return of restaurateur Scott Jones, who is launching a unique concept in his old stomping grounds of East Dallas.

Called Kitchen, it will be a mini "food hall" and takeout market with culinary concepts that rotate from time to time. It's opening in late October at 6041 Oram St., next to the little Bangkok Inn, in the space that used to be the 6041 Oram Laundry Mat.

Local diners know Jones for having created acclaimed concepts such as Screen Door, Cowtown Diner in Fort Worth, and the reboot of Dallas Italian restaurant Café Italia.

His most recent restaurant action was another Southern concept in East Dallas in 2012, when he opened his restaurant Jack's Southern Comfort Food at 1905 Greenville Ave., in the old Ali Baba space. The neighborhood loved his food, but that space was — and still remains — problematic due to its lack of parking, and Jones eventually closed in 2013.

With the launch of Kitchen, he'll reprise the Jack's Modern Southern Kitchen menu, as well as another new concept called Dallas Meatball Kitchen. Kitchen will feature on-site dining, takeout, and delivery to the neighborhood.

"We want people to come in and congregate, and enjoy a variety of things," says Jones.

Jack's Modern Southern Kitchen menu includes chicken in a dumplin' — Jack's signature biscuit dough rolled out and stuffed with roasted chicken and veggies, browned, and finished in a chicken jus, then served with more chicken, carrots, and peas.

And then there are the biscuits that made Jack's famous: buttermilk, jalapeño bacon and cheddar, sundried tomato, basil and mozzarella, and cheddar and chive, with your choice of gravies from a selection that includes black pepper cream, truffle mushroom, brisket gravy, or Jimmy’s Italian sausage gravy. Top it with a fried egg for breakfast.

Other classic Jones dishes include deviled eggs, shrimp and grits, chicken pot pie, Sunday pot roast, and a full mac and cheese menu.

The second menu is Dallas Meatball Kitchen, a concept dedicated to the meatball, from the basic all-beef meatball to gourmet alternatives, like smoked chicken meatball with cilantro poblano cream sauce on a Tuscan white bean ragu.

Other meatball options include buffalo chicken meatballs over polenta fries, topped with spicy giardiniera and blue cheese; turkey meatballs in a bourbon marsala mushroom sauce over cheese grits; and Thanksgiving meatballs — turkey meatballs wrapped in cornbread dressing, rolled in panko and deep-fried, then served over buttermilk mashed potatoes alongside jalapeno cranberry sauce.

There'll also be pastas and baked dishes such as brisket lasagna and sweet potato lasagna.

Decor will be midcentury modern with black and white wide-plank wood floors, natural wood accents, and pops of yellow. Guests order from the counter. Beverages will include aqua frescas, watermelon punch, lemonade, and iced tea with flavored simple syrups.

Kitchen will have a takeout market with prepared entrees, casseroles, sides, dips, soups, and salads. Dried goods in stock will include biscuit mixes, crackers, cookies, biscotti, granola and granola bars, soups sauces, sides, and entrees, including casseroles.

Kitchen will be open from 10 am-9 pm on weekdays, and 9 am-9 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.