Buzzy Lewisville center puts meaty burgers and chef ramen on the menu

A vibrant center in Lewisville has two newly opened restaurants, covering the key categories of burgers and ramen.

Ramen Izakaya Akira is a traditional Japanese ramen restaurant from chef Akira. He needs no other name. His menu includes spicy chicken broth ramen and garlic lovers pork amen, as well as appetizers such as Japanese-style dumplings. Akira is a creative chef who also offers daily specials such as sea urchin shooter dressed in Japanese salsa.

The Grind Burger Bar & Tap Room is a burger restaurant with "better" burgers such as the My Boy Blue, with bacon, blue cheese, avocado, smoked onion and baby spinach. The Umami Tsunami has charred tomato, mushrooms, baconnaise, and crispy parmesan cheese.

Appetizers include Shiner Bock tempura-battered jalapenos with a yuzu ranch as well as the Seven-Layer Ranch Queso with white cheddar, avocado, charred poblanos, brisket, tomato and sour cream.

The two restaurants have opened in the growing Castle Hills Village Shops a neighborhood destination and gathering place in the master-planned Castle Hills community located at 2520 King Arthur Blvd. in Lewisville.

For The Grind, this is a second location; the original is in McKinney at Alma and Stacy roads. General manager Matthew Hey says that they're looking forward to being part of the neighborhood. "We chose the Castle Hills location because it's an amazing community and needs a great burger bar," Hey says.

Castle Hills Village Shops' lineup has become a real foodie zone, with high-profile concepts including The London Baker, a specialty bakery featured on Food Network, and The Salty Cow, a gourmet cheese and provisions shop.

Other eateries include TBD Kitchen, PI.E 3.14 Everyday Eatery, Kanzi Sushi & Hibachi, Z’s Wok, and Sophia’s Kitchen.

Neighborhood conveniences include a women’s hair salon, men’s barber, dog groomer, pet boutique and nail salon as well as dental, chiropractic and orthodontic offices, a convenience store, professional photographer and more. Castle Hills Village Shops also provides residential opportunities including condominiums over retail and townhomes overlooking Lake Avalon.

In addition to conveniences such as beauty salons and doctors' offices, the Village Shops has an outdoor plaza area with shaded seating, a permanent stage, and water features for casual neighborhood get-togethers as well as popular developer-sponsored community events, like the recent Holiday in the Plaza, which drew more than 2,500 guests.

Castle Hills is a master-planned community located south of SH-121 at Josey Lane, with single-family homes, detached luxury golf villas, townhomes, condominiums, and estate homes, priced from the $170s to $2.5 million and up. Residents enjoy shopping, parks, lakes, schools, swimming pools, hike-and-bike trails, a community garden, tennis and basketball courts, multiple community centers, and The Lakes at Castle Hills private country club and golf course.