Vegan News

Veteran Dallas vegan chef rolls out new food truck with tacos and asada

Feniks Vegan hibiscus asada with guacamole and fresh chopped cilantro.

dallas.culturemap.com

A new food truck has opened in Dallas from a chef well known in the vegan food realm. Called Fēniks Vegan Spot, the trailer is from Christian Rios, who previously had a restaurant in Richardson called Lahla's Plant Kitchen, which closed in 2021.

Rios has spent the past two years saving for the trailer, taking home-remodeling jobs to accumulate a bankroll.

He started taking it out on the road in mid-2023, doing popups around town, then celebrated a grand opening of sorts on November 4, outside Mashup Market in Denton, where the trailer will occupy a semi-permanent residence, providing Rios' fans a predictable place to find his food.

The custom-made food trailer offers a detailed menu of vegan plates, from chicken & waffles and tacos to Cajun lobster-mushroom pasta.

"I did the popups for six months and it was a great way to get out and meet people," Rios says. “But I knew I wanted to expand.”

Rios, who's 40, first came to DFW in 2015, but has worked in dozens of restaurants, taking points on each: Outback Steakhouse, Mexican diners, and Italian restaurants.

“Cooking is my love language, I started when I grew up,” he says. “My mom wasn’t the best cook, so I taught myself about food and just started to learn and grow.”

He attended culinary school in Austin where he learned about classic French cuisine, which he calls the upper echelon of cooking.

"I am applying French techniques to my menu," he says. "Working in a lot of restaurants exposed me to all kinds of food, so now I have a grasp on international foods and I can bring that to the food trailer menu."

He became acquainted with vegan food while living in Austin.

“It was very big there,” Rios says. “I was at a point where I had to start thinking about my health and really loved the plant-based idea. I looked at it also as a way to use my culinary creativity."

One popular dish is his Hibiscus Asada, where he takes hibiscus leaves and brews them, then rinses, smokes, and seasons until they become "beefy." They're served with roasted sweet potatoes and grilled onions.

For chicken, he uses lions mane mushrooms, pressed hard to remove excess liquid, then fried with waffles.

The trailer gives him mobility and the opportunity to be part of events like Vegan Brewfest Dallas at Community Beer Co. on Saturday November 11.

He’s pondering a ghost kitchen where he can prep food for delivery, while also seeking a more permanent trailer location.

More immediately, “I’m going to be back outside Mashup in Denton after this weekend. And soon, I’ll have a permanent place.”

openings food-trucks vegan

Relo News

Oak Cliff Dallas address says bye Swank and hello Indian restaurant

Elephant Indian Bar and Grill

A location in Oak Cliff Dallas that has seen some turnover in recent years is about to see some more: It starts with Swank, the ambitious restaurant from chef Luke Rogers, which is leaving its address at 1115 N. Beckley Ave. and relocating to a new space at 218 W. Commerce St., on the street level of the new Langford at Trinity Groves apartment building, where it will open in 2026.

The restaurant's final day at its current location will be Saturday, July 26.

"We want to give guests one last chance to toast the place that started it all," Rogers says in a release.

But 1115 N. Beckley Ave. won't be empty for too long: The space will soon be home to Elephant Indian Bar and Grill, an Indian restaurant from chef Praveen Prasannan, an industry veteran with international experience working in the kitchens of hotels and on cruise ships.

This will be a second location of Elephant Indian Bar and Grill following the original that opened in the original Buzzbrews location at 4154 N. Central Expwy. in 2024.

Prasannan says he wants to expand his customer base by bringing Indian food to areas currently lacking in Indian options. He's also opening an Elephant to-go spinoff in the Park Cities, at 5601 W. Lovers Ln. #110.

He also owns Shivas Bar and Grill, an elevated Indian concept, with his brother Prinu, which has locations in downtown Dallas and Allen.

The menu at Elephant Indian features Indian classics such as chicken tikka masala, butter masala, tandoori, and a variety of biryani, the comforting rice dish.

There are also Indo-Chinese fusion dishes, such as veggie fried rice, chilli paneer, and hakka noodles; plus wraps, hummus with naan bread, and thali, a selection of different dishes served in small bowls on a round tray, served with choices of steamed rice or naan.

Prasannan is a forward-thinking chef who has also created a number of vegan items and meatless versions of their signature dishes, including a rare vegan version of butter chicken and Kadai vegetables, a mix of stir-fried vegetables. Prices are affordable, ranging from $6 for a soup or salad to $26 for lamb biryani.

Prior to Swank, 1115 N. Beckley Ave. was home to some big-name restaurants over the years, most recently Beckley 1115, and before that VH, and before that Outpost, and before that, Campo featuring chef Matt McAllister, and before that an Argentinian place called La Carreta Argentina.

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