Nashville Hot Chicken News

Hangry Joe's to cook up Nashville-style hot chicken in southwest Dallas

There is your chicken sandwich combo with waffle fries and a drink.

Photo courtesy of Hangry Joe's

There's a new player in the Nashville-style hot chicken world coming to Dallas, with tenders, sandwiches, and the best name of all: Called Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken, it's a concept from Richmond, Virginia and it's making its Texas debut in southern Dallas, at 4140 W Camp Wisdom Rd., a block or so west of the Southwest Center Mall (aka the old Red Bird Mall).

Jay Kang, who's part of a team of restaurant entrepreneurs bringing Hangry Joe's to Dallas, says they're planning to be open in January 2022.

Calling it a chain is premature since Hangry Joe's was only just founded in May 2021. It's from Derek Cha — famous for having founded the Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt chain 2009 — in collaboration with his partner, Mike Kim, who partnered up to create the very best Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich.

They brag that their sandwich is not only spicy-hot but also juicy and crisp.

There are currently two locations in Virginia, but with at least four more in the works.

Like most of these Nashville-style hot chicken places, Hangry Joe's has a fairly simple menu revolving around fried chicken tenders with a crunchy coating which you can get in varying levels of heat. Hangry's has five levels, the hottest being "Angry Hot."

There are:

chicken tenders, which they call chicken fingers
chicken sandwiches, served with cider slaw, pickle, and hangry sauce on a brioche bun
chicken & waffle, with 4 tenders and a funnel waffle

Their fries are waffle fries, which you can get plain as a side, or else loaded, topped with chicken, jalapeño, and cheese sauce. They also have fried okra, a nice treat.

Hangry has a couple of other noteworthy extras including a salad with chicken breast; and Korean chicken nuggets, served with rice and choice of soy garlic or spicy soy garlic.

The food is getting great reviews, says Kang, the Dallas franchisee; you need only skim their Facebook page to see the raves.

"It's unique and tasty," Kang says. "We know there's already a few Nashville-style chicken places in Dallas now, and we've tried them, but this tastes so different."

The other notable thing about this debut is that it's located south of I-30, in a city where much of the new opening buzz tends to be focused north. But this is only the beginning, Kang says.

"We're planning on opening a lot more locations in Dallas and in Texas," he says.

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Cheesesteak News

N.Y. cheesesteak restaurant opens in Dallas in former Sal's Pizza spot

G's Cheesesteaks

A legit cheesesteak concept from New York is now open in Dallas: Called G’s Cheesesteaks, it's part of a small chain from Staten Island, and occupies a space with foodie legacy: the former Sal’s Pizza at 2525 Wycliff Ave. #116, where it opened in early March.

G’s Cheesesteaks comes from restaurateur Giacomo Pisano, who founded the concept on Staten Island in 2015 when he was only 20 years old. There are four locations in New York and New Jersey. Dallas is the fifth location, and the first in Texas.

It's the culmination of a family legacy that stretches back to Giacomo's grandfather, Giacomo Sr., who emigrated from Carini, Sicily, and opened a pizzeria in New York. Giacomo's father, Jack, continued the pizza tradition, as did his uncles who opened their own pizzerias in New York city and Pennsylvania.

G's specialty is Philly-style cheesesteaks including a classic with fried onions, Cooper sharp cheese, and cheese wiz. But they also offer the sandwich in 11 varieties, with trendy additions such as the Mike’s Hot Honey steak with pepperoni, sliced steak, bacon, and cheese wiz; and a veggie with fried onions, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, marinara sauce, and cheese.

The sandwiches are served on sesame seed-topped long rolls which they proudly bake in house. Prices range from $10 for a half sandwich to $18 for a full prime rib or cutlet sandwich.

But there's lots more on the menu than cheesesteaks, with appetizers like fried mac & cheese bites, plus smash burgers, chicken tenders, wings, fries, and onion rings loaded with options like black truffle or BBQ sauce and cheddar.

There are milkshakes, as well as alcohol including beer and wine on tap.

Introducing the concept to Dallas is franchisee Enoc Soltani, a Dallas native who's been in the hospitality and restaurant industry for the past 10 years. He was previously a general manager and junior partner at Nick & Sam’s steakhouse. G’s Cheesesteaks is his first restaurant.

Pisano is a close friend and business partner; Soltani was inspired by his brand and growth of the restaurant.

“Giacomo has been coming down here to Dallas the last three or four years and talking about opening up, and we decided to take a leap of faith,” Soltani says. “I believed in him and what his visions are, so I thought why not open in the city that I know best. It's fast food, but we like to consider ourselves elevated fast food with a level of hospitality.”

The location in the former Sal's Pizza was also appealing, closing after 42 years due to rent costs, and Soltani had gotten to know owner Sal Jakova personally. (Sal's has since opened a stand at the Maple Street Food Hall, a food court at 4711 Maple Ave.)

"We loved the spot and we've seen the area grow and flourish over the years," Soltani says. "So it meant a lot to me taking this as my flagship store, and knowing a lot of Sal's clients and the area, it just called to me."

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