The sincerest form of flattery
Dallas restaurant news, the spinoff edition: Hook Line & Sinker leads a convoy
The fried catfish at Hook Line & Sinker stands out from its peers.Hook Line & Sinker/Facebook
The people of Bedford will soon be able to sample Twisted Root's Frito Banditoburger in their own backyard.Twisted Root Burger Co./Facebook
Park Tavern in the Shops at Park Lane will soon have a sibling to the west, indowntown Fort Worth.
The Mediterranean shrimp salad at TruFire Kitchen & Bar has spinach, orzo,cucumber, tomato, feta cheese and, of course, shrimp.TruFire Kitchen and Bar/Facebook
Torchy's Tacos opened its fourth DFW location December 5.Torchy's Tacos/Facebook
After serving up crispy fried catfish and shrimp on McKinney Avenue for the past 17 years, seafood shack Hook Line & Sinker is ready for expansion. A second branch will open on Preston Road in early 2013. Hook, a.k.a. HLS, trolled northward for its new baby bro and will take over a Taco Cabana between Frankford and Campbell roads.
This will be Hook Line & Sinker Version 2.0, says Markus Pineyro, founder of the Urban Taco chain and partners with HLS founder John Tuma.
"Hook Line & Sinker has excellent food," Pineyro says. "John has always taken a lot of time with sourcing and with attention to the product, yet he kept it affordable. But I learned when I opened the Urban Taco on McKinney that the second branch is pivotal. You need to be able to re-create the level of quality and make it even better."
Hook Line & Sinker enjoys an all-walks-of-life clientele, with pickup trucks parked next to Mercedes Benzes — a mix you don't often see around Dallas-Fort Worth.
Hook Line & Sinker was a revelation when it opened in 1995, and not just because its fried fish seemed cleaner and less oily than anywhere else. It enjoys an all-walks-of-life clientele, with pickup trucks parked next to Mercedes Benzes — a mix you don't often see around Dallas-Fort Worth.
"Hook Line & Sinker has the ability to fit in with all demographics, whether it's West Village or Bishop Arts," Pineyro says. "It can camouflage itself as far as appealing to different people."
He and Tuma will capitalize on the restaurant's decor, duplicating its fun neon and kitschy boat motors. They will also expand the selection of grilled fish.
"I keep telling people, 'You gotta try the grilled salmon, the trout,'" Pineyro says. "They're amazing, and we expect them to be popular at the Preston location."
They also see the two concepts flourishing together.
"Hook Line & Sinker has the beer and the shrimp and the ice-house atmosphere, while Urban Taco is margaritas and tacos," he says. "We want to see what we can do about putting the two next to each other."
More spin-offs
Hook Line & Sinker is not the only place about to be cloned. Dallas restaurants are in expansion mode, with second and third locations coming soon all over the place.
Torchy’s Tacos, the Austin-based gourmet taqueria, opened its fourth Dallas-area branch in Casa Linda at 9440 Garland Rd. on December 5, where it serves specialty cocktails and infused tequilas along with beer and tacos.
Park Tavern, one of the many Restaurants America concepts sprouting up all over DFW, has signed on to open a location in Fort Worth, in the City Place development downtown, at 150 Throckmorton St. The first is in the Shops at Park Lane in Dallas, where it's using cheap happy hours to pack 'em in.
TruFire Kitchen & Bar, an ambitious, polished, American-meets-pizza-meets-hummus restaurant in Frisco, is finally poised to open its second branch in Southlake, in the old Jack's Porch space at 1239 Main St. TruFire was conceived by a couple of ex-Brinker/P.F. Chang's guys, who launched in April 2008.
The website reads: "We make familiar food, while still giving off a unique flavor," which doesn't seem like something to brag about, but they do a pizza and a salad with fig, and that's always a good thing.
Twisted Root Burger Co. will open a restaurant in the Mid-Cities — Bedford, to be exact, in a new shopping center north of 183. Owner Jason Boso hopes to open in February 2013.
A third branch of Mellow Mushroom, the hippie-ish Atlanta chain, will open in Mansfield, following branches one and two near TCU and Arlington. Owners Kim and Montie Slawson are Mansfield residents and selected a unique spot near historic downtown.
Tacos Y Mas Mexican Grill just opened a fourth location at 1540 Keller Pkwy., in Keller. It's a bit of a hike from the other three branches, all in Dallas proper, but a staffer said that one of Taco Y Mas' owners lives out that way.
Blue Mesa Grill will open a branch in Arlington's Lincoln Square, which, according to the Facebook page, will be happening in February. This will be the sixth BMG in Dallas-Fort Worth; there's also one in Lubbock.
Quaker Steak & Lube, a garishly decorated wing chain from Pennsylvania that inexplicably brags that its nickname is "The Lube," is opening a second location in far north Plano off State Hwy. 121, following one that opened previously in Carrollton.
