BBQ News

Chef-owned Kansas City-style barbecue restaurant in Dallas to close

Only a fee more days to sample this BBQ.

Photo courtesy of 18th & Vine

A barbecue restaurant in Uptown Dallas from an acclaimed chef is closing: 18th & Vine BBQ, which has been dishing out chef-caliber brisket and more, will close after more than seven years.

According to a spokesperson, the restaurant will close on Saturday, June 17.

"We're disappointed, but with the ongoing construction across the street, we're not able to provide our loyal team with the kind of income opportunities they deserve, there's just not enough business," the spokesperson said.

The construction consists of an expansion of the Old Parkland office campus in the block between Maple, Throckmorton, Fairmount, and Reagan, where Trammel Crow is building an office tower - construction that has had an irrevocably negative impact on business at the restaurant.

"Even our to-go service has suffered," the spokesperson said. "It's too difficult for drivers to get through, so they won't come over here."

18th and Vine was founded in 2015 by Kansas City native Matt Dallman, who took his inspiration from famous Kansas City haunts such as Arthur Bryant's, Gates, and Oklahoma Joe's (now Joe's Kansas City). He formed a partnership with acclaimed chef Scott Gottlich, giving them the opportunity to feature both traditional Kansas City BBQ as well as a companion selection of chef-driven dishes such as a chopped salad with hearts of palm.

Gottlich eventually took over full ownership of the restaurant, and earned a nomination for Best New Restaurant in CultureMap's 2016 Tastemaker Awards, as well as a spot on CultureMap's 10 Best BBQ joints.

They're looking for another location, probably in a northerly direction, such as North Dallas, Addison, Plano, possibly even Rockwall. Meanwhile, they'll be open for the rest of the week.

The restaurant posted a letter on their Facebook page, thanking customers for their patronage.

"Serving you all for the last 7-1/2 years, we cannot even begin to thank you for the support and business you have entrusted us with. It has been a privilege and honor for us to provide here in the local community our passion for KC BBQ and hospitality. Your reception of consistent loyalty and patronage is unparalleled."

The restaurant gave a nod to the special following it had in the Kansas City alumni community.

"Thank you for trusting us in creating memories for you from rehearsal dinners and first dates, to Kansas City watch parties and graduation dinners," it said.

They're inviting fans to join for one last BBQ hurrah, and are welcoming walk-ins or reservations up until Saturday June 17.

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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

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Pancake News

Asian restaurant Sweet Stacks debuts jiggly pancakes in Frisco

Sweet Stacks

Fluffy, jiggly pancakes have landed in Frisco via Sweet Stacks, an Asian restaurant that just opened at 252 W. Stonebrook Pkwy. #640, in a space previously occupied by its sibling restaurant Sweet Rice.

Sweet Stacks calls itself a "one-stop destination for the best of Asian flavors," bringing together Asian food, drinks, and desserts under one roof. It's a spinoff of Sweet Rice, a small Asian restaurant chain with locations in Dallas-Fort Worth (Bishop Arts, Mockingbird Lane, and Mansfield) and Washington state.

Sweet Stacks' menu stars souffle-style Japanese pancakes — taller than regular pancakes, with a light, fluffy, jiggly texture, almost like a souffle. Sweet Stacks offers them sweet, topped with fresh fruit for $16; or savory, with bacon & eggs for $18. Part of the "joy" of ordering the pancakes is that they are made to order and take up to 30 minutes to make. If you have to wait, you know it's good.

Sweet Stacks is from a team that includes Sweet Rice founder Von Linavong and chef Mina Sourignavong, who was running the kitchen at the Frisco Sweet Rice.

They debuted the Sweet Stacks concept in Fort Worth in late 2025. The pancakes generated such a buzz that they decided to transition the Frisco Sweet Rice into a Sweet Stacks. There's also another Sweet Stacks in the works for Arlington.

The menu's other other signature is its stellar beverage program featuring matcha lattes in a variety of flavors including strawberry matcha latte, mango matcha latte, and Thai tea matcha latte.

Sweet Stacks also serves dishes from Sweet Rice featuring Asian, Thai, and Laotian food, including:

Laotian spicy sausage made in-house
Khao soi, a northern Thai dish with egg noodles in a coconut curry
Pad Kra Pow, A Thai street food with rice, protein, garlic, chillies, basil, and topped with a fried egg
Spicy Basil Spaghetti with stir fried cabbage, onion, and green bell pepper, in a chili sauce enhanced by Thai basil

There are three kinds of curry — yellow, red, and green — plus chicken wings, Japanese standards like edamame, and Chinese dishes including potstickers, egg rolls, crab wontons, and fried rice.

The Frisco location also has a dining room with in-house seating.

breakfast desserts frisco japanese pancakes openings