Plate Lunch News

Dallas Hawaiian foodie favorite Pine Isle expands to new DFW city

Chicken, rice, mac & cheese from Pine Isle.

Photo courtesy of Pine Isle

A Hawaiian-inspired restaurant founded in Dallas is going west to Fort Worth: Pine Isle will be open in early fall at 3005 S. University Dr., near Texas Christian University.

Pine Isle is from Kevin Singharaj, who debuted the original Pine Isle in Dallas in 2025 as a takeout shop focused on Hawaiian dishes including poke, Spam, and the Hawaiian plate lunch — a comfort food dish featuring a protein like chicken paired with rice and macaroni salad, which has been a trendy item around DFW in recent years.

Singharaj, whose family owns the Zaap Kitchen chain, once lived in Hawaii and brings a personal and artisanal level to the genre, earning a following among foodies in the know.

"Hawaii was very special to me," he says. "Life was totally different there, and I want to provide an insight into my experiences in Hawaii to DFW residents."

The menu at Pine Isle features Hawaiian favorites like Spam musubi, the Spam version of sushi with a slab of Spam on top of rice; and loco moco, a plate with a beef patty and sunny side egg on top of steamed rice with brown gravy.

There's a big selection of lunch plates including Kalua pork with cabbage, teriyaki beef, garlic shrimp, miso chicken, chicken katsu, fried chicken, and kalbi Korean barbecued beef ribs. Other options include tuna poke bowls, poke nachos, hamachi, ahi tuna tataki, and garlic kimchi fries.

They recently added chicken teriyaki, which can be ordered a la carte or as a plate lunch; plus spicy Spam musubi; and spicy fried musubi.

Fort Worth will follow the same menu, quality, and overall experience as Dallas, but with a little extra.

"The biggest difference is that we’ll finally have indoor seating and an outdoor patio," Singharaj says. "Our Dallas location is only 950 square feet and was built around takeout, so this will give customers a different way to enjoy the food."

"We’re taking over the former Dutch’s Burrito Bar space, so we’ve had to get creative with the layout and operations to make sure we can maintain the same efficiency we’ve built in Dallas," he says. "I’m sure there will be some growing pains along the way, but our goal is simple: serve the same quality food and provide the same level of hospitality that got us here in the first place."

They weren't actively looking to open a second location, but Fort Worth turned out to be a perfect place for expansion.

"When Pine Isle started taking off, our first focus was investing back into the original store," he says. "We wanted to make sure we could handle the growth before chasing another lease. But this Fort Worth location just made sense. It’s right by TCU, and I also knew the area well since our Zaap Kitchen Fort Worth location is only a few minutes away."

"On top of that, customers have been asking us to come west for a while," he says. "Fort Worth has grown a lot over the years, and we’re excited to be a part of that growth."

trends openings

Sushi News

Wabi Sushi opens in Flower Mound with fun creative dishes to try

Wabi House

Sushi pockets at Wabi House

A highly creative chef has opened a new sushi spot in Flower Mound: Called Wabi Sushi, it's a Japanese restaurant which opened in May at 1450 Long Prairie Rd. #110, taking over a former Parlor Doughnuts which closed in December 2025.

Wabi Sushi (no relation to Wabi House, a small local chain) is from Dongwhun Lee, a sushi chef who learned the ropes of sushi while living in Los Angeles, and has worked at a variety of restaurants such as Avocado Roll Sushi.

"I have been working as 'Chef AK' at Japanese restaurants since 2006," Lee says. "My goal is always to make sushi accessible, both for sushi lovers as well as sushi beginners — to remove any barrier and make everything easy to eat."

Wabi Sushi's menu includes classics like sushi rolls, nigiri, rice bowls, and dumplings. But Lee is a creative chef who is constantly adding inventive dishes to capture diners' imaginations. (He once founded a breakfast concept called Three Egg Muffins, now closed.)

Signature items at Wabi Sushi include:

Korokke, a fried potato fritter that's a common comfort food in Japan. A variation of the French croquette, it's made from mashed potatoes, onion, and ground beef or pork, shaped into patties, covered with panko crumbs, and fried.
Inari sushi, AKA sushi pockets, these are another comforting dish that's almost like a cross between sushi and an open-faced dumpling. It has a paper-thin slice of tofu which is fashioned into an edible pouch, simmered in broth, then stuffed with seasoned sushi rice and choice of topping from an array that includes spicy salmon, tuna, seared salmon, spicy pork, shrimp, tamaago egg, Japanese tuna salad, avocado salad, or French carrot salad.

Many traditional inari options feature cooked ingredients, making them a good alternative for those who don't want to consume raw fish. The tofu has a sweet-savory quality that's appealing, and their handheld profile makes them great for takeout.

There are a few places in Dallas doing inari, although usually just as a single item on the menu. Wabi Sushi offers them in samplers such as three pockets for $10, or four pockets for $13. Lee calls them "the perfect bite."

"They're my daughter's favorite," he says. "We try to offer something affordable and it's a simple, easy-to-eat item that's great for lunch."

Other recent introductions include their oversized "sumo" dumplings, baked volcano rolls, and BBQ bowls — and there are more new items in the works.

"We're launching sushi tacos this summer, and shrimp ramen in the fall," he says. "We plan to keep updating the menu so there is always something new. But we always cover the basics, with food that's simple and good."

chefs openings