Chef News

Asian restaurant with ties to Dallas' Monkey King to open in Fort Worth

Noodles coming from Eazy Monkey.

Courtesy photo

A rad new restaurant with Dallas ties is opening in Fort Worth. Called Eazy Monkey, it's an Asian-themed restaurant that will open in late summer at 401 W. Magnolia Ave., from chef Andrew Dilda, who has worked for more than a decade in some top restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth including CBD Provisions, Barter, and Lonesome Dove.

For this new venture, he's partnered with Andrew Chen, who founded the Monkey King Noodle Company chain of local restaurants; and Sonali Kumar, also a partner in Monkey King.

Dilda, who was nominated for Rising Star Chef in CultureMap's Tastemaker Awards in 2014, is also Monkey King’s Director of Culinary Operations, but clarifies that Eazy Monkey is independent from the chain.

"It’s not a branch of Monkey King," he says. "It's a concept Monkey King is investing in."

Dilda describes the menu, which he's developing with an assist from Chen, as “Asian-inspired flavors with Texas roots." Dishes include:

Crab rangoon nachos
Smoked brisket bao buns
Cheeseburger fried rice
Dan Dan Sloppy Joes
Beef cheek hash
Orange chicken and bubble waffles

Drinks will include craft cocktails and canned beers.

Many of the recipes were inspired by Dilda's travels to Beijing, where he helped open a brewery and barbecue restaurant called Jing A Brewery; and Estonia, where he consulted on another barbecue concept.

"I wanted to come up with something fun and easy and approachable for everybody, but with little twists here and there," Dilda says. "I want to offer something for everyone. Bring your kids, they’ll find something cool. Adults will have plenty to choose from. I also want it to be a place where people in the service industry can come and hang out after they get off and have a cool meal and a beer."

A native of California, Dilda moved to Saginaw when he was a teen. As he had done in California, he immersed himself in Fort Worth’s skate/punk scene. While still in his teens, he began to run sound and lights for some of his friends' bands.

At Eazy Monkey, he'll weave in some of those very personal elements, including a '90s/skateboarding/pop-punk vibe; the restaurant will be located blocks away from a soon-to-open skateboard park called Fire Station Park.

"I want this place to remind people of KDGE/The Edge, back when The Edge was cool," Dilda says. "And when there were shows down the street at Mad Hatters."

But the restaurant will strike a balance between rock 'n roll and upscale.

"It’s not going to be a loud, noisy, music-blaring place," he says. "There may or may not be a skateboard wall, a '90s-theme mural, and other nods to the '90s. But it’ll all be done tastefully."

chefs openings

Downtown News

2 longtime side-by-side bars in downtown Dallas to close

The Mitchell

Farewell to The Mitchell

Not one but two watering holes in downtown Dallas are closing, and that includes The Mitchell, the bar at 1404 Main St. that has been a staple of the downtown scene for more than a decade.

Its younger sibling and next-door neighbor Ye Olde Scarlet Pumpernickel Tavern will also close, says co-owner Adam Salazar, who calls it a real estate decision.

"The two bars are owned by a group, and they've decided to sell the buildings," Salazar says. "It's unfortunate, but it's a little beyond my pay grade."

The Mitchell opened in 2015, taking over a space in the heart of the Central Business District that had previously been home to bars such as the Chesterfield, One Eyed Penguin, and Prohibition — and long ago, a Chinese restaurant called Mandalay.

They made good use of the kitchen, serving food that regularly earned praise. But their main emphasis was always on having a lively, bustling bar, inspired by bars one might find in cities such as San Francisco or Chicago.

As for the Scarlet Pumpernickel, Salazar opened that in 2020, commandeering a space that had been occupied for 14 years by City Tavern, but which had originally been home to a Greek restaurant called the Zodiac. (City Tavern relocated to 1514 Elm St. in 2019.)

"The Mitchell was doing well, and I feel like the Scarlet could've been there for 50 years," Salazar says. "I am proud of everyone who works there. We didn't always do mainstream stuff, especially the Mitchell, where we only offered one bottle of vodka — but were successful doing it. We were definitely a staple in downtown, especially with the service industry."

He says they'll be closing over Easter weekend. "The idea is to get the building vacated, so it will be easier to sell," he says.

Meanwhile, "we're going to go out with a bang," he says. "We'll be open so that downtown people can come visit us in the next week, and bring back some of the classics like the Monte Cristo sandwich, that we served over the years."

downtown nightlife closings