Fried Chicken News

Hot chicken concept The Cookshack to open in prominent Dallas location

Fried chicken from Cookshack.

Photo courtesy of Cookshack

A new hot chicken experience is coming to Dallas: The Cookshack, a fast-casual concept that premiered in Fort Worth in 2019, will open a location at 5456 E. Mockingbird Ln. in the former BurgerFi space.

Cookshack is a concept from two veterans of Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen: Mark Rogers, who is also the son of Cheddar's founder, and chef Stephen Payne.

Spokesperson Jason Sessions confirmed that construction on the location began in June and said that the restaurant would open in late 2023.

The restaurant does hot chicken in a variety of heat levels, in dishes that include chicken tenders, chicken & waffles, and a chicken sandwich. A basic order is $7 for 2 tenders, choice of side, and a slice of bread.

They use a dry rub on the chicken, and offer a choice of six sauces that include ranch, sweet heat, BBQ, buffalo, and Cookshack sauce, IE thousand island.

"We want to be 'Texas' hot chicken, not Nashville, because it is different," Rogers says.

Their hottest level has three peppers (scorpion, ghost, and Carolina reaper) and is called "AMF," which Rogers says is a spinoff of a ski run in Aspen. The ski run is called "Adios Mother-____". They've made AMF into the more family-friendly "Adios My Friend." This is in keeping with the tradition with these places where the hottest heat level always has to have some kind of cutesy gimmick.

Sides include mac & cheese, coleslaw, French fries, sweet potato fries, spicy "Dragon" French fries and "Texas caviar," aka black-eyed pea salad with corn, tomato, and bell pepper.

In addition to fried chicken, they serve smoked ribs, which you can get solo or in a chicken-rib combo.

They're particularly proud of their salads including one with chicken, avocado, dates, almonds, goat cheese, tomatoes, and corn; and a chicken kale salad with peanuts, tomatoes, cabbage, mint, cilantro, and parmesan cheese.

Their signature dessert is called Aunt Peggy's ice cream sandwich, one of those super-thick ice cream sandwiches made with oatmeal cookies and vanilla ice cream. The recipe is from Payne's aunt.

They also serve fresh lemonade, beer, wine, and margaritas, either frozen, on the rocks, or swirls.

Since their Fort Worth debut, they've opened locations in College Station, Houston, Katy, McAllen, San Antonio, Spring, and Webster.

But they'd always had Dallas on their radar, and were just waiting for the right location in a high-traffic area. BurgerFi, which opened in 2018, closed during the pandemic. It's centrally located near Mockingbird Station, US-75, and SMU, in the Mockingbird Central center at the corner of McMillan Avenue.

"It just so happened that the first location we could find was Fort Worth, bu it was always a race as to which would open first, Dallas or Fort Worth," Rogers says.

trends openings

Chef News

Beloved Dallas chef debuts farmers market restaurant Bucket & Rope

Bucket & Rope

Chef Victor Hugo is back.

A historical building near the Dallas Farmers Market has a stellar new tenant: Called Bucket & Rope, it's a new restaurant from acclaimed chef Victor Hugo, who previously owned the beloved Victor Hugo’s Dining and Bar in Oak Cliff, which closed in 2021.

Bucket & Rope is located at 600 S. Harwood St., in the space previously occupied by Green Door Public House, and is a partnership between Hugo and Mike Ruibal, owner of the famed Ruibal's Plants, who owns this space adjacent to his garden shop.

Dallas history buffs will remember that this structure, built over a century ago, was once home to Liberty Bank on Cesar Chavez Boulevard. It was relocated to the current location and rebuilt brick by brick to recreate the original structure. Green Door Public House was in the building for 10 years until it closed in August.

Ruibal was a regular at VH in Oak Cliff. He told Victor Hugo the first time they met that one day they would have a restaurant together.

“I decided to build a restaurant I would love, a neighborhood restaurant, and I wanted to do this with Victor," Ruibal says.

Bucket & Rope veggie plate Beautiful vegetable plate at Bucket & RopeInstagram

Hugo is an accredited chef who moved to Dallas from California and worked primarily for the Lombardi's group at Bistro 31 in Highland Park Village, before founding his own place in Oak Cliff.

After it closed, he launched a new VH location in Round Top at Oak Bones cabins, which he opens twice a year for the Spring and Fall antique shows in the area and for special events. He had a catering business as well — but was ready for more.

“Mike and I wanted to do something for the community, a place with great comfort food where neighbors can come two or three times a week, as an extension of their home," Hugo says.

The menu is New American, with steak, seafood, pasta, sandwiches and salads. Highlights include:

Rope In A Bucket: Crispy calamari strips, lemon caper aioli, Sriracha romesco
Steak Frites: 10oz New York Strip, green peppercorn sauce, skinny fries, spicy broccolini
Blackened Texas Redfish: Creamy parmesan risotto, green beans, mango habanero salsa
Duck & Rope Pasta: Duck confit, maitake mushroom, spinach tagliatelle, peppercorn cream, parmesan
Mike’s Burger: 8oz grilled Wagyu, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, bucket & rope sauce, grilled onions, pickles on brioche bun with skinny fries

Prices are reasonable, with salads and sandwiches at lunch for $12 to $18, and dinner entrees ranging from $18 for pasta to $28 for a Wagyu beef roast with cheddar grits.

An anecdote on the website explains that the name came from Ruibal's son, and that the team felt like it was a perfect fit for the building's history and aesthetic.

The restaurant represents a welcome return to Dallas' culinary scene for Hugo and his wife Brianna Ruelas, whose hospitality and great food at VH in Oak Cliff were much beloved.

“We are really excited to be part of this community, we have already met many customers who are happy to have us here," Hugo says.

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