Sweet home Chicago

Chicago-style tavern D.L. Mack's debuts in Uptown Dallas' West Village

D.L. Mack's features Windy City-inspired pizza and more.

Photo courtesy of D.L. Mack's

A Chicago tavern-style restaurant is opening at West Village: It's a third location of D.L. Mack's, the classic American tavern concept from Vandelay Hospitality Group, and it's opening at 3699 McKinney Avenue, Suite 106, AKA the former Midici space.

According to release, doors will open on Wednesday, March 4.

D.L. Mack's made its debut at 6501 Hillcrest Ave. in 2021 from Vandelay, whose other concepts include East Hampton Sandwich Co., Hudson House, Drake's Hollywood, Brentwood Restaurant & Bar, and The Anchor Bar. A second D.L. Mack's followed, at Preston Royal, in 2022.

The menus feature classic American dishes with a Windy-City theme. The centerpiece: their Chicago-style cracker crust pizza, as well as martinis, which are a Vandelay motif.

The West Village location will feature Chicago tavern-style cracker crust pizzas such as the Honey Truffle Chicken with white sauce, chili flakes and arugula; Return of the Mack with sausage, giardiniera, and sweet onions; and Spicy Vodka with ZaZa sauce, basil and Chicago peppers.

Return of the Mack pizza.Photo courtesy of D.L. Mack's

Additional menu items include:

D.L. Mack’s Famous Chicken Tenders
Mozzarella bites
Spicy rigatoni
The Chopped McCarthy (salad with chicken, bacon, beets, cheddar, egg, and ranch dressing

New menu items will include:

Jalapeno Queso Dip served chilled with chips
The Hickory Burger with cheddar, Canadian bacon, jalapeno, onion, hickory sauce
Grilled Chicken Burger fully loaded with mustard and truffle aioli
The Truffle Burger with gruyere, bacon, gorgonzola, onion, arugula, and truffle aioli

In addition to martinis, the bar will serve hand-crafted classics such as The Gimlet, Manhattan, Paloma, Peach Bellini, and more. Happy hour is a daily thing, from 4-6 pm at the bar, with $10 martinis and half-price wine.

Happy hour is a daily occurrence at the bar.Photo courtesy of D.L. Mack's

Decor in the 4,600-square-foot restaurant will be a throwback to a retro Chicago-style pizzeria, featuring a nostalgic color scheme of white, black, maroon, and kelly green; Tiffany-style lighting pieces; artwork showcasing historic Chicago scenes; and sports memorabilia.

“D.L. Mack’s is exactly the kind of neighborhood tavern I’ve always loved — the kind of place that feels familiar the second you walk in,” says Hunter Pond, founder, chairman & CEO of Vandelay Companies, in the release. “The response from our guests has confirmed what we believed from the start: Dallas connects with that timeless, Chicago-inspired nostalgia. West Village is a natural fit for us — it’s energetic, walkable, and right in the heart of it all."

This is the second recent West Village opening for Vandelay; a location of Hudson House debuted at the Uptown Dallas development on February 4. They clearly like the fourth day of the month.

Reservations can be made now at the restaurant's website. Once doors open on March 4, hours of operation will be 11 am-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday, and 11 am-9 pm Sunday.

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Teresa Gubbins contributed to this story.

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Listen up

Underground hi-fi 'listening bar' Shyboy opens in downtown Dallas

Photo courtesy of Shyboy

Shyboy lounge is new on Main Street in downtown Dallas.

A new lounge is turning up the volume beneath the streets of downtown Dallas: Shyboy, billed as Dallas' first "hi fi bar," will debut at 1313 Main St., in the subterranean level of The Drakestone building.

According to a release, opening weekend events will take place March 4-7.

The new nightlife concept comes from The Headington Companies, the folks behind the Joule hotel and other Main Street developments.

"Inspired by hi-fi listening bars around the world, with roots in Tokyo’s post-WWII 'jazz kissas,' Shyboy offers a social and listening experience unlike any other nightlife space, with progressive, genre-bending programming, signature hi-balls and cocktails, and two state-of-the-art OJAS sound systems, designed by Devon Turnbull," says the release. (Turnbull's speakers have been used in projects with Mark Ronson, Public Records in Brooklyn, and more.)

Jazz kissas are cafes that specialize in the playing of and listening to recorded jazz music; here, jazz is played for active listening rather than as background serenade.

Piggybacking on that idea, Shyboy will offer "an immersive environment where design, lighting, and atmosphere are treated as essential elements of the performance, inviting guests into a unique experience that blurs the line between listener and participant," they say.

The 3,000-square-foot underground space, once a bank vault in the historic Davis Building (renovated and rebranded as The Drakestone residential building in 2017), will house one of the most advanced sound systems in the city within its historic concrete "bones." Interiors were designed by acclaimed Dallas-based 5G Studio Collaborative.

The venue includes two distinct spaces. The main room functions as a social listening environment, where towering speakers double as sculptural focal points beneath curved underground ceilings.

A second chamber, called The Vault, is designed as a more intimate lounge for private events, sound classes, performances, and art exhibitions. The Vault’s entrance features an installation from artist Lachlan Turczan’s Optical Resonance series, which uses water and light to visibly respond to sound waves, the release says. The room also includes a newly commissioned reflective sculpture by Florentine artist Duccio Maria Gambi.

Shyboy’s inaugural month will include a lineup spanning house, deep grooves, soul, and global dance sounds. Opening weekend, March 4-7, will welcome talent like JT Donaldson (Shyboy music director), Dallas legend Red Eye, Sound Advice Vol. 1, Skeme Richards, Patrice Scott + Brandon Epocha, and Wamono Nights.

The calendar later in the year will feature appearances by celebrated DJs and producers such as Theo Parrish, Derrick Carter, Eli Escobar, Kai Alcé, and the Los Angeles-based listening collective In Sheep’s Clothing.

Shyboy’s cocktail menu starts at $13, and the bar will serve soft-serve ice cream.

Throughout March, there will be no cover charge for entry; for more information, visit the venue's website.

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