BBQ News

Dallas chef Kent Rathbun partners on innovative restaurant on the Katy Trail

These burnt ends are on the menu at Katy Trail Station.

Courtesy photo

Dallas diners have a surprising new place to find chef Kent Rathbun: on the Katy Trail.

The acclaimed chef is holding court at a new concept called the Katy Trail Station, located in an offbeat segment on the northern edge of of the popular jogging/bicycling path. The address is 4825 Cole Ave., at Monticello, right at the 122 KT mark and a few feet south of Javier’s.

The restaurant is an unusual partnership between Rathbun and Prescott Realty Group, who wanted to bring something new for neighbors and visitors of the Katy Trail. Rathbun describes it as "a place for people to take a little break from their run or walk."

It opens softly on October 28.

It consists of a 30-foot trailer tacked onto the back of a parking garage (owned by Prescott Realty), plus an expansive umbrella-covered patio with seating for about 30.

They'll serve breakfast and lunch, with a menu that includes:

breakfast tacos with choices from cheese, potatoes, sausage, brisket, and pork
pastries and biscuit sandwiches
fruits and parfaits
Lavazza coffee, including cold brew and nitro
Wagyu beef burgers
cilantro jalapeño grilled chicken sandwiches
pulled pork sandwiches
barbecued brisket
pecan smoked pork ribs
sides and salads

Beverages will incorporate a variety of sports drinks and flavored waters and sodas for those running and walking on the trail.

Initially, they'll be open weekends only from 11 am-4 pm, but plan to open daily from 7 am to late dinner, with an extension of the lunch menu as well as grilled steaks and seafood items. They also hope to offer catering to area businesses, and host catered parties on a soon-to-be-built deck.

Prescott Realty, which has a track record of doing interesting urban projects such as SMU Boulevard and University Crossing., owns the building at 3100 Monticello Ave. and saw a gap to be filled, says Prescott CEO Jud Pankey who approached the award-winning Rathbun about the concept.

"We looked up and saw Katy Trail and Glencoe Park across 75, but no place for breakfast, lunch, or coffee," he says. "Two Sisters Catering had shut down, and other restaurants in the area like Javier's and Chelsea Corner weren't open."

"We wanted to figure out something that would be good for building tenants and neighbors, and also for people using Katy Trail," he says. "The garage that comes with the building backs right up to the Katy Trail, so we turned it into a platform for Kent’s trailer."

Rathbun already co-owns Shinsei, Lovers Seafood & Market, and the recently-opened Dea along with his wife Tracy and partner Lynae Fearing. During the pandemic, he launched Catering by Chef Kent Rathbun and his Curbside BBQ venture, which surfaces at the Lovers Seafood parking lot at weekends. He's also set up his trailer at 4825 Cole monthly during the summer to do a test run. A portion of the current BBQ menu will be included at the Katy Trail Station.

The restaurant is part of a pilot program Pankey forged with the Dallas City Council and the Park Board to build a deck that would lead into the park. They'll donate a percentage of sales to the Friends of Katy Trail and the White Rock Conservancy.

“We're grateful to council members Paul Ridley and Paula Blackmon for their help," Pankey says. "Anybody that operates this has got to be able to give money back to the park. We could do it at other parks and generate lot of revenue."

"It's been a labor of love but I also want to be able to go down there and get a breakfast taco and a coffee," he says.

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Chef News

Culinary program at Lancaster High School mints chefs in the making

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Lancaster ISD culinary program students with chef Dean Fearing

A Dallas-area high school culinary program is racking up awards and top-notch expertise and food trucking all around campus: Lancaster High School, whose culinary program has been elevating students’ cooking skills over the past year with cooking competitions and a brand new food truck.

Chef LaTina Dawn, who leads the program, took charge as culinary arts teacher in the career and technical education (CTE) department in 2016. Dawn has helped expand the program — previously exclusive to 10th-12th graders — to ninth graders at the Barack and Michelle Obama Ninth Grade Center. Lisa Bray and Kymberlye Hunt assist Dawn with the classes, which have a combined 200 students enrolled.

Dawn, dubbed Chef D by her students, went to culinary school at El Centro College before obtaining her masters in education at Grand Canyon University in Arizona. Teaching in the classroom and kitchen just fell into place for her.

“I come from a long line of chefs in the family, so I did know that I wanted to cook and work with youth, but I didn’t know how I wanted both of those to connect,” Dawn says. “Then I went to culinary school and realized that as a leader in culinary school, I like to teach.”

The curriculum, which runs the full school year, features four levels, including introduction to culinary arts, foundations of restaurant management, food science, and two practicums. Aside from cooking dishes like Indian butter chicken, steaks, and barbecued and grilled meats, students also learn hospitality and catering.

BBQ is a big deal in the program, especially ribs and brisket. This year, a team of students participated in the HS BBQ competition, which features high school BBQ teams across Texas competing for a state title.

Lancaster ISD food truckLancaster ISD

In September, the district acquired its first food truck, which serves Lancaster ISD staff and students. There's no set menu, but dishes range from BBQ to tacos.

The program has caught the attention of well-known food & beverage figures such as chef Dean Fearing, who paid them a visit in October ("Wow - I had no idea that this school had such a fantastic culinary arts program! The culinary classes learned how to make BBQ Shrimp Tacos and did a top notch job!" Fearing said); and Breakfast Brothers owner Rickey Booker, who featured winners of the Student Chopped competition on his CW33 show In the Kitchen with the Breakfast Brothers.

"I would say out of all the students, about 60 percent have gone on to work at local restaurants and or start their own business," she says. "A few restaurants that they have worked at are Raising Canes, Bojangles, Braum's, and Chili's."

Students have attended culinary programs at Dallas College, University of Houston, and University of North Texas in Denton; they've also been accepted for scholarships at Escoffier in Austin and The Culinary Institute of America.

"The biggest takeaway is to see students that were afraid to step into the culinary world go out and excel in their own culinary businesses, which I've had several do," Dawn says. "From competing in competitions when at first you couldn't even get them to say 'hi' in the classrooms, that's what culinary does. You can put a plate of food in front of someone and take them into a different world."

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