Food Truck News

Caribbean food truck rustles up oxtails and jerk chicken in West Dallas

Lynn Rich specializes in Caribbean food.

dallas.culturemap.com

There's a new food truck doing Jamaican food, found in the unlikeliest of places: in front of another restaurant. Called Lynn Rich, the truck is in the parking lot of Henry's Majestic, at 2303 Pittman St., where it's serving oxtails, jerk chicken, and more.

The truck is named after owner Lynn Rich, a native of Jamaica who taught himself how to cook traditional recipes. As an adult he moved to California where he met his Dallas native wife.

When the couple moved to Dallas two years ago, Rich brought his recipes with him, working in the catering industry, preparing dishes from Jamaica and the Caribbean for events and parties.

"So where do I get my start? It would have to come from within," Rich says. "I've been cooking for over 20 years. I've been on my own since I was 10, so everything is self-taught."

The food truck's specialty is oxtails, but Rich also touts the shrimp pasta and oxtail pasta. Other offerings include curry chicken, curry goat, jerk chicken, fried fish, and beef patties. Prices run from $12 to $25 a plate.

Lynn Rich is one in a rotation of new food trucks that Henry's Majestic is inviting to camp out when their kitchen is closed or on weekends when they become so busy that an extra food vendor or two on site helps ease the burden on their kitchen.

The trucks park near the property's garden area with picnic tables. Food trucks can pull up and serve, then diners can eat in the garden, while still being able to hear the music and walk over to one of the bars to get drinks. Henry's is just starting to implement the program, so it's still in the works, without a schedule of vendors or set times.

Hours at Lynn Rich can vary from day to day, but the truck is typically open seven days a week, maybe starting at 11 am or maybe at 1 pm, until food is sold out. Word of mouth has been strong.

"As I say, the food goes fast, so I'll set the hours from 11 am to 7 pm, but the food normally sells before that," Rich says. "So, basically the food speaks for itself."

Steakhouse News

High-profile Palladino's Steak & Seafood heads to Preston-Royal Dallas

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Filet Mignon will be on the menu.

A high-profile new steakhouse is coming to North Dallas: Palladino’s Steak & Seafood, an eponymous concept from Dallas restaurateur Joseph Palladino, will open at 5959 Royal Ln., in the former Spec's space.

Palladino is the larger-than-life ex-NYPD police officer-turned-restaurateur known for concepts such as Nick & Sam's Steakhouse and the Coal Vines pizza chain.

Palladino first landed on the Dallas restaurant scene in 1998 to partner up with the equally larger-than-life restaurateur Phil Romano, and went on to have a hand in the creation of Nick & Sam’s, the glitzy steakhouse on Maple Avenue (now run by Sam Romano, son of co-founder Phil Romano), Nick & Sam's Grill, Dos Jefes, and more. He created Coal Vines as an homage to the casual neighborhood restaurants reminiscent of his upbringing in New York.

Palladino's Steak & Seafood is a newly created concept, which will combine steakhouse, Italian dishes, and seafood, particularly sushi. The first location is already penciled in for New York, opening in the former Michael Jordan Steakhouse at Grand Central Terminal, which closed in 2018. It's being designed by the international design firm Rockwell Group and is slated to open in early summer.

Joseph Palladino and Troy Aikman Joseph Palladino and one of his many celebrity pals, Troy Aikman.Instagram

Palladino was approached by the landlords to open a restaurant in the center. Given Palladino's local following and celebrity draw, as well as the large local appetite for steakhouses, Dallas made sense as a second location, particularly at the highly desirable intersection of Preston and Royal.

On the culinary side, Palladino is partnered with veteran chef Sam Hazen, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America as well as an instructor there. His star-studded resume includes La Côte Basque, the Quilted Giraffe, Quatorze, Michelin three-star Le Gavroche, Terrace in the Sky, Cascabel, and Tavern on the Green. He was most recently at Tao, the glitzy Asian concept from Tao Hospitality, where he worked for a decade, giving him sushi expertise.

Palladino is busy getting the New York location open first, with a target date of "soon," and the menu has yet to be revealed, although Hazen previewed a dish on Linked In, consisting of a slice of toast with a cut-out center of pate, with accompaniments that included cornichons and mustard — like a pate version of the classic "egg in a hole."

"But it'll have high-quality steaks and seafood, along with some of my trademark specials and Italian dishes," Palladino says.

The hospitality will match the cuisine and ambience. “I intend to bring a very special steakhouse to the city, one that the locals can embrace," Palladino says. "They’re going to receive a good experience — that’s important to me.”

"Pate in a hole" dish shared by Palladino's chef Sam Hazen.Sam Hazen

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