Egg Roll News

Crimson Dragon Cafe brings Asian fusion family touch to Richardson

Chicken wings at Crimson Dragon Cafe.

Photo courtesy of Crimson Dragon Cafe

An Asian fusion restaurant with a personal touch has opened in Richardson: Called Crimson Dragon Cafe, it's located at the CityLine complex on the ground floor of The Riley apartments, at 1450 State St. #400, a space previously occupied by Pho Dangki Fusion, which closed in early 2026.

Crimson Dragon is from Stephanie Nguyen, a spirited 33-year-old entrepreneur who got into the restaurant industry when she was 20. She was most recently a stay-at-home mom who is leaping back into the restaurant world with this cafe, serving everything from her grandmother's egg rolls to her twist on American favorites like her crispy chicken wings.

"Crimson Dragon is an homage to my mom," Stephanie says. "Her birthstone is a ruby, so that's where Crimson is from, and her Chinese zodiac sign is a dragon."

Skewers are a theme, offered as an entree with choice of fried rice or garlic noodles; or as an appetizer, in options from shrimp, chicken, beef, or mushroom.

Starters include spring rolls, wings, and Dragon Bombs, an original creation she compares to the Juicy Lucy, the famed burger with a core of molten cheese inside.

"For the Dragon bombs, we use ground chicken and shrimp, rolled into a meatball that's stuffed with mozzarella cheese, then dusted in crumbs and fried," she says.

Grandma's Egg Rolls are a signature dish she learned to make by her grandmother's side.

"I grew up watching her make egg rolls over the span of many years," she says. "We make three variations: pork, chicken, and vegetarian which has two types of mushroom, and tofu skin for a meaty texture. We take the vegetarian option seriously."

Nothing on the menu is more than $15, and for the large workforce in the area, they offer $12 lunch specials with classics like chicken teriyaki on jasmine rice; garlic noodles; Golden Fried Rice; and chicken katsu sandwich which they serve stacked tall on Texas toast.

The space is pretty and bright, with nice touches like gleaming wood-top tables and curvy modern metal chairs.

They're about to add breakfast, with earlier hours and a menu featuring breakfast croissants, sandwiches, and burritos — as well as Asian-themed chicken katsu with waffles, and what she called "our little Asian twist on an English breakfast" with hash browns, tomato, and king mushrooms.

"Breakfast was something we planned when we first opened," she says. "We're here to serve the demand for good fresh food at a reasonable price. We put in a lot of love and make sure everything is as fresh as can be."

openings

Boots & Booze

New Deep Ellum venue vows to win hearts with food, fun, and wedding chapel

Photo by Kathy Tran

The Window at Boots & Booze will serve Deep Ellum early morning through late night.

A new all-day hangout will soon bring comfort food and cocktails, a dog-friendly courtyard, live music stage, and even a whimsical wedding chapel to Dallas' Deep Ellum. Boots & Booze, a new concept from Dallas-based Wush Hospitality Group, will debut its first phase on Friday, October 23 at 3014 Main St., across the street from Terry Black's Barbecue.

The first phase includes The Window, a walk-up kitchen; The Courtyard, an outdoor bar and gathering space; and its signature Shotgun Wedding Chapel.

“This is meant to be a place where you can grab breakfast or coffee before work, bring your dog for the afternoon, meet friends for a drink, catch live entertainment or celebrate something completely unexpected,” Sherry Hazrati, co-founder of Wush Hospitality Group, says in a release. “You don’t need a special occasion to come here. We want people to feel welcome the minute they walk in.”

The Window will serve coffee and breakfast starting at 6:30 am on weekdays, with brunch beginning at 11 am on weekends. The menu, developed by Hazrati and the group's culinary team, changes throughout the day.

Breakfast options include the Crispy Potato and Egg Sandwich and Quick Shift Meals. Lunch brings the Golden Honey Chicken Breast Sandwich, Double Onion Chopped Beef Sandwich, Main Street Philly, and Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese. Dinner offerings include Hearty Chicken, Crispy Potatoes, and After Hours Potatoes.

Weekend brunch features Hot Honey Chicken French Toast and shareable brunch boards, along with lighter and gluten-free options.

The beverage menu includes coffee drinks, sodas, cocktails, wine, and beer, including a gluten-free option. One signature drink is the Cold Fashioned, a frozen take on the Old Fashioned made with Still Austin Whiskey.

Guests can grab to-go meals or settle into The Courtyard, which has a bar, stage, and flexible seating for everything from game-day gatherings to live entertainment and community events.

The Shotgun Wedding Chapel is a "playful” element, says the press release, which is not to say it isn’t a functional wedding venue for couples eager to tie the knot. The team expects ceremonies and other pageantry year-round inside Shotgun.

Sherry Hazrati Boots & Booze Sherry Hazrati and her Wush Hospitality Group are behind Deep Ellum's new Boots & Booze venue.Photo by Kathy Tran

Hazrati says the goal is to make guests feel welcome and give them a reason to return.

“We want people to leave remembering how we made them feel and come back because they feel like they belong," she says.

The group plans to expand the concept with Boots & Booze Scratch Kitchen, a full-service restaurant led by executive chef José Luis Rodriguez Perez, former owner of Dallas restaurant Mixtitos Kitchen. Details and an opening date have not been announced.

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