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    Everyday Japanese Cuisine

    Kinoko dishes out authentic Japanese cuisine you won't find anywhere else inDallas

    Teresa Gubbins
    Nov 27, 2013 | 12:12 pm
    • Kinoko's ramen with fried rice.
      Photo courtesy of Kinoko
    • Tofu and pork sukiyaki at Kinoko in downtown Plano.
      Photo courtesy of Kinoko

    If your knowledge of Japanese food comes strictly from Japanese restaurants in Dallas, you might assume it was all about tempura, noodles and sushi. Kinoko shows us another way. This sister operation in old downtown Plano is doing a unique kind of Japanese home cooking you're unlikely to find anywhere else.

    The restaurant, which opened in September on Avenue K in the old Daisy's space, serves homey dishes such as sukiyaki with tofu and pork, fried stuffed bell peppers, and okonomiyaki — a foodie delicacy that on its own is worth the trip. Speaking of foodie fetishes, Kinoko also does ramen. Insert feverish sigh here.

    The team behind Kinoko is Kumi Yamamoto and her sister Aki, plus Kumi's husband, Justin Sauer. Kumi and Justin built the place almost entirely by hand, including the custom benches built by Justin and the cheerful yellow-and-orange paint job executed by Kumi.

    The restaurant serves homey dishes such as sukiyaki with tofu and pork, fried stuffed bell peppers, and okonomiyaki — a foodie delicacy that on its own is worth the trip.

    Kumi, a native of Japan who attended University of North Texas, wanted something she could do together with her sister.

    "I decided to do this restaurant because I wanted to be close to my sister, and my sister was living in Japan," Kumi says. "She is a wonderful cook. She does the absolute best gyoza dumplings. I wanted to bring her over and do restaurant together. Everything we make is from scratch, except for the mochi ice cream. My sister and I make everything."

    The menu is an amazing journey with items both familiar and exotic. There is edamame, miso soup and Aki's signature dumplings. But there is also a healthy "Mom" streak evident in items such as fresh-squeezed juices; a "veggie lover's salad" with mesclun greens, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, beets, broccoli, cucumber and cherry tomatoes, topped with chia and hemp seeds; and an entree like grilled salmon, with kinpiragobo (sweet and soy gobo roots and carrot stir fry), asazuke veggies and miso soup.

    Prices are incredibly cheap. Edamame is $1. Miso soup is $1.50. Six dumplings are $6. The salad, big enough for a meal, is $6.

    The place where Kinoko shows what it's made of is its $8.50 daily special, which gets you an entree with sides, plus a side salad or soup. It's something new almost every day. It could be fried stuffed bell peppers, filled with ground beef and pork spiced with a hint of curry. Or it could be okonomiyaki, a gritty street food-type dish that's somewhere between a pancake and a goulash.

    "We've done it for a special – it had squid, ground beef, flour, egg and cabbage," she says. "On top of that, we put nori powder, red ginger, bonito flakes, demi-glace sauce and Japanese mayonnaise."

    They served it with "furofuki daikon," a daikon radish cut into big pieces and cooked slowly in fish broth. "It's very traditional Japanese," Kumi says. "The broth penetrates all the way into the radish and makes it really soft and tender and so juicy."

    Dessert includes sweet potato and apple pudding, with sweet potato, cream and caramelized apples.

    They know they've hit it right when they see how many of their customers are Japanese. "About 80 percent of our customers are Japanese, and they rave about the food," Justin says.

    "Japanese food in America is sushi or tempura, and not really Japanese everyday food," Kumi says. "We wanted more people to be able to enjoy Japanese food like the home-cooked food that Japanese people eat every day."

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    Restaurant News Roundup

    This Dallas restaurant news remains upbeat despite a few closures

    Teresa Gubbins
    Nov 17, 2025 | 5:51 pm
    pumpkin pie Kona Grill
    Kona Grill
    Pumpkin cocktail and pumpkin pie at Kona Grill

    This roundup of Dallas restaurant news has competing themes: There are the seasonal holiday releases one expects at this time of the year, but there are also a sprinkling of closures that have occurred within recent days. But chin up, there's an opening or two to balance things out.

    Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:

    H-Mart, the Korean supermarket, opened its first location in Dallas, at 2534 Royal Ln. in Koreatown. The chain has more than 72 stores including six in Texas, with two in DFW, in Carrollton and Plano, and another opening soon in Haltom City. The Dallas store is not as large as the Carrolton store but has a nice food court. The parking situation is rumored to be a nightmare.

    Outback Steakhouse closed its location in Plano at 1509 N. Central Expy. on October 26; it had been there for more than 30 years. Fans of the signature Bloomin' Onion fried appetizer can still find satisfaction at 50 locations in Texas and 16 in the DFW area including two that opened recently in Allen and Prosper, joining locations in Addison, Arlington, Burleson, Denton, DeSoto, Euless, Forney, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Hurst, Irving, Lewisville, and Mesquite.

    Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs in Frisco has closed. The restaurant opened in 2022 at 15922 Eldorado Pkwy. #700, with authentic Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches that made it a beloved destination for the local Chicago-loving community. But the location proved to be a challenge. Owners Rick and Jamye Henry say they may consider reopening at a different address down the road.

    Ferris Wheelers BBQ, the restaurant and live performance space in Dallas' Design District, has closed after eight years and will become a new concept managed by Spune Productions, the local music promotion and event company. It opened in 2017 with an emphasis on its barbecue menu, then forged a partnership with Spune to ramp up the live music side in 2023.

    Lazi Cow, a bubble tea shop concept founded in California, opened a location in Denton at 21800 Bricker Rd. in early November with a menu of boba tea, coffee, frozen drinks, bowls, and Japanese taiyaki pastries. This is their third DFW location, following Frisco which opened in 2024, and Colleyville, which opened in August 2025.

    The Last Point is a new sports bar from Kelcher Entertainment Group opening at 4578 Belt Line Rd., in the former Addison Point, an Addison sports bar that first opened in 1977. Carrying on the legacies of The Midway Point and Addison Point, the Last Point offers 21 large-screen TVs and 3/4-pound burgers.

    Kona Grill, the Asian-American restaurant at NorthPark Center, has brought back its pumpkin menu with two cocktails — Pumpkin Spice Margarita with tequila and reàl pumpkin purée, and a Pumpkin Mocha Martini with vodka, pumpkin spice rumchata, nitro-infused espresso, and crème de cacao. There's also food: Pumpkin Bisque withshrimp; lobster & mushroom ravioli with asparagus and shiitake mushrooms; and pumpkin pie with honeycomb crumbs. Go real matchy-matchy like the influencers do and order the whole thing.

    La Rue Doughnuts, the acclaimed doughnut shop at Trinity Groves, has changed its hours: They are now open on Mondays which bring them to seven days a week. Simultaneously, they've shortened their hours on weekends and will no longer remain open until 8 pm. New hours: Monday-Friday 7 am-2 pm, Saturday-Sunday 8 am-4 pm.

    il Bracco, the Italian restaurant in the Park Cities, has new seasonal dishes including a burrata salad with figs, grapes, walnuts, arugula and fennel; Amalfi tuna salad with citrus, cucumber, arugula, and pistachios; Marsala trumpets with trompetti noodles, mushrooms, garlic, and Marsala; crab cappelletti, available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; cioppino fisherman’s stew; wild mushrooms with garlic and thyme; white beans with Italian sausage and sage; and cauliflower with pistachio, mint, currants, and Reggiano.

    Bobbie’s Airway Grill, the popular Preston Hollow restaurant, has new seasonal dishes including smoked salmon dip; blackened trout with jalapeño coleslaw; redfish topped with crab in a lemon butter sauce with savoy spinach; stone crab claws, an off-menu feature available through spring; and rotating soups including chicken tortilla Monday-Wednesday, potato leek on Thursday-Friday, and Texas Red Chili on weekends.

    Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer has conjured up the Something Bad CrazyShake, an over-the-top chocolate peppermint milkshake with mint green frosting, crushed Oreos, chocolate cake, a whimsical pretzel broomstick, finished with a playful witch hat — available November 20-30 at Black Tap locations in New York City, Dallas, and Las Vegas at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

    Taziki’s Mediterranean Café has a new limited-time Turkish Meatballs, inspired by founder Keith Richards’ recent trip to Turkey and the authentic chargrilling techniques he experienced, available through January 25. Rather than simmering in sauce, these lamb meatballs are chargrilled to order and can be ordered with rustic tomato sauce, in a pita gyro, or as a salad topper.

    Torchy’s Tacos taco of the month for November is the Space Cowboy, featuring fried chicken, red chile sauce, cilantro lime rice, avocado slice, cotija cheese, and cilantro, in a flour tortilla. They also have a Drink of the Month: a limited-time margarita called the “Out of Office" with habanero-infused blanco tequila, Tajín rim, and two serrano pepper coins for garnish.

    Maple Leaf Diner is offering whole pies during the holiday season in three varieties: pecan, chocolate pecan, and pumpkin, priced from $27 to $31.

    Cinnaholic has two limited-edition flavors for the season: cinnamon roll decorated with Christmas cookie frosting, topped with cookie bites; and cinnamon cookies with chocolate chips, pretzels, marshmallows, oreos, and holiday sprinkles.

    BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse is launching two seasonal flavors of its signature Pizookie cookie, available while supplies last: The Dubai Chocolate Pizookie with Ghirardelli chocolate, pistachio sauce, and kataifi in a crackable chocolate shell; and the Monkey Bread Pizookie featuring cinnamon pull-apart bread with vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle — returning after a two-year absence. They also have two seasonal cocktails: The Dubai Chocolate Espresso Martini with Monin pistachio and nitro-Infused espresso, drizzled with pistachio sauce and rimmed with chocolate fudge and kataifi; and the Holiday Lights Lucky Ducky with tequila, rum, vodka, peach schnapps, blue curacao, sweet & sour, pineapple juice, Starry, hard candies, and light-up cubes.

    Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a new edible blue shimmer sugar topping that adds sparkle to any smoothie or bowl for free. Guests should request "Mermaid-style" on their orders.

    DQ Texas restaurants have a new Peppermint Bark Blizzard Treat combining white and milk chocolatey layers, peppermint candy cane pieces, and soft serve.

    Yogurtland has two seasonal items: a special Peppermint Mocha frozen yogurt with chocolatey coffee and peppermint in side-by-side dispensers which you are suggested to swirl; and the Ginger Bread Man Cookie topping featuring a spiced crunch.

    Jamba, ordinarily known for its healthy juice smoothies, has a new Frozen Hot Chocolate topped with Nutella and coconut whip, available through January 12. They also have new bites including chicken empanadas, and herbed mozzarella bites with marinara sauce. The chain has 22 locations across DFW and 47 across Texas.

    Wingstop has a special Fiery Lime flavored wing, born from the flavor profile of a spicy margarita with lime and chili.

    Sprinkles the cupcake chain is opening its "Holiday Boutique" with limited-edition treats that include a Spiced Cranberry Vanilla cupcake: a vanilla cake filled with spiced cranberry compote, topped with cream cheese frosting, and finished with freeze-dried cranberries. Available through November 27.

    The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas has named Jacopo Nardini as its new Director of Food & Beverage. Nardini brings more than 15 years of hospitality experience having held senior food and beverage leadership roles at prestigious Forbes Five-Star resorts across Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. Most recently, Nardini served as Director of Restaurants at The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay.

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