Energetic and American

Joule Dallas reveals new eatery CBD Provisions, from Consilient's Tristan Simon

As part of the expansion of the Joule Dallas hotel, Dallas-based Consilient Restaurants will open CBD Provisions, an "energetic American eatery" in spring 2013. The restaurant will celebrate American comfort food with an artisanal standard and progressive sensibility.

CBD — one presumes that stands for "Central Business District" — will be led by operating partner Greg Katz and an executive chef to be named. The restaurant will embrace local, regional and responsibly raised products and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Plus there will be a complete menu until midnight on the weekends and a big-deal Sunday brunch.

Nationally renowned bartenders Chad Solomon and Christy Pope will oversee the beverage program, which will center on modern American cocktails and regional craft beers.

New York City-based designer Claudia Woods will tackle the interiors, which will evoke the tradition of big-city brasseries in a style befitting the location in the heart of historic downtown Dallas.

Consilient Restaurants is a diversified restaurant group owned by Tristan Simon and Tim Headington. Consilient restaurants include Hibiscus, Victor Tangos, The Porch and multiple Fireside Pies.

Greg Katz has been the operating partner of Victor Tangos in Dallas since its inception in 2008. Previously Katz served in various management capacities at Il Mulino and the Carlyle Hotel in New York City and the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas.

Claudia Woods was previously a senior design architect for the highly regarded Rockwell Group, where she led the design teams for Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami, Nobu Budapest in Hungary, and Danny Meyer’s Maialino in New York City.

Chad Solomon and Christy Pope co-founded Cuffs & Buttons Consulting & Cocktail Catering in 2006 along with Sasha Petraske, owner of Milk & Honey in New York City. They are regulars at conferences such as Tales of the Cocktail, StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress and San Antonio Cocktail Conference and have been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Food & Wine.

After many years in New York City, Solomon and Pope relocated to Dallas in October 2012.

So the name, CBD. Let's try it out: "Hey, let's go grab a bite at CBD!" Add it to a new group of restaurants with abbreviations, such as Acme F&B, and the number restaurants, such as FT33, Stampede 66 and Central 214. CBD is more direct than the new Tacos & Avocados in Roanoke, which is dying for you to call it T&A.

CBD has a military vibe, like the now-closed Commissary or Company Cafe. What else could CBD stand for? Can't Be Dallas? Cooks Big Dinners? It never ends.

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Global tastes

New food truck in Carrollton puts a Venezuelan spin on empanadas

The central Venezuelan variation of empanadas is fried whole before being sliced open to hold additional fillings and toppings.

Photo courtesy of Empanada Factory.

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A unique new food truck serving authentic Venezuelan empanadas has parked in Carrollton. Called Empanada Factory, the trailer joins a pod of quick-service food trucks at 3490 Rosemeade Pkwy., at Marsh Ln.

The new initiative comes from Gloria Romero and her husband, Samuel Gómez. Originally from central Venezuela, the couple brings a regional variation to the local food scene known as empanadas operadas ("operated empanadas"). Unlike traditional empanadas, these are fried whole first and then sliced open to add additional fillings and toppings — the "surgery" that gives the dish its name.

Made with cornmeal dough rather than wheat flour, they are significantly larger than standard empanadas, holding up to 4 ounces of filling compared to the typical 1.5 ounces in traditional empanadas.

At Empanada Factory, customers can choose from six fillings: queso blanco, jamonada (cooked ham in cubes), chicken, shredded beef, cazón (dogfish), or a seafood mix. Base empanadas range from $4 to $6, with $1 add-on toppings including black beans, cheese, plantains, chorizo, sausage, melted Gouda, and avocado.

Beyond empanadas, the menu features $12 arepa bowls — crafted from arepa dough and served with a choice of one protein and three toppings — as well as quesillo venezolano ($4), a traditional Venezuelan dessert similar to flan but with a firmer texture.

The Arepa Bowl, featuring a crispy arepa dough base filled with shredded beef, black beans, avocado, and house sauces.Photo courtesy of Empanada Factory

Drink options include lattes, drip coffee, Venezuelan sodas, and fresh fruit shakes (served frappé or on the rocks) in flavors like mango, passion fruit, blackberry, and Caribbean native fruit guanábana (soursop).

After selling out during their first two weeks, Romero and Gómez feel confident in their new home.

“Carrollton is very established in Latin culture, and the location is accessible to everybody,” Romero says. “People know the area, so they know where to find us.”

Romero and Gómez describe themselves as "eternal entrepreneurs" who have owned several businesses, including Redy POS — an all-in-one ordering platform designed for food trucks and quick-service restaurants. In addition to sharing their cultural heritage, Empanada Factory serves as a real-world test kitchen and showcase for their software, which streamlines ordering and fulfillment to keep wait times minimal. Several neighboring food trucks in the area are already Redy POS clients, they say.

Alongside a streamlined ordering system, the owners emphasize that product quality remains their primary focus.

"What you see on social media is what you actually get; we focus heavily on maintaining the quality of our food, making sure it looks and tastes just as it is displayed in our photos," Romero says.

To deliver on that standard while maintaining fast service, the couple chose to start small with a food truck model and limited weekend-only hours (8 am-2 pm). Pre-ordering is available via their website, and they offer direct, home delivery within a 10-mile radius with no third-party app markup.

carrollton food truck