Frezko Taco Spot
3105 E. Southlake Blvd. or
Food truck near Seventh Street and University Drive
www.facebook.com/frezkotacospot
Pie Five Pizza
3701 Justin Road
Flower Mound
www.piefivepizza.com
Sera Dining and Wine
2418 Forest Park Blvd.
www.seradiningandwine.com
Original Pancake House
4646 SW Loop 820
Overton Park Plaza
Coming in 2016
www.originalpancakehouse.com
Dagwood’s Grinders and Growlers
1736 Mall Circle
Ridgmar Mall satellite
www.dagwoodsdfw.com
There is a new chef at the helm of Sera Dining and Wine. Sous chef Victor Villarreal has been promoted to chef with the departure of chef Jen Williams (the uber-creative former prodigy at Magnolia Cheese Company). Villarreal has a lengthy local resume and a long history with owner John Marsh, who first worked with him at Grace. With 20 years of culinary experience, Villarreal began with Sera at the end of May after a stint working alongside Marcus Paslay as sous chef at Clay Pigeon. He has brought gnocchi and fresh pasta dishes to Sera’s recent menus, which have been big hits with diners. Villarreal plans to bring the ever-popular Belgian-style mussels and frites back on a more regular basis.
Dagwood’s Grinders and Growlers is set to open in the satellite to Ridgmar Mall. The new concept comes from the fertile imagination of chef David Hollister (of Gas Monkey Bar and Grill and Yucatan Taco Stand fame) along with restaurateur Chris Hutchinson. This “elevated” sandwich spot will win customers with top-quality ingredients, house-made sauces and chef-inspired combinations. For instance, the chef special is called El Venado. It contains blackened garlic-cured venison tenderloin on Cuban bread dressed with arugula, asiago, charred shallot mustard, mushroom confit, parsley and balsamic reduction. You can also expect 24 rotating taps and the option to fill your growler to-go. Oh, and the duo is working on the sister restaurant Dagwood’s Fire Grill Tap, set to open later this fall on Foch Street.
The space vacated by Bennigan’s in Overton Park Plaza is becoming The Original Pancake House. It will be the first location in Fort Worth for the well-established national chain, which was founded in Portland, Ore., in 1953. Signature items such the apple pancakes baked with sautéed Granny Smith apples and the famous lemony Dutch babies, as well as French style omelets and hard-to-find crepes, have kept pancake lovers coming back for generations. The Hulen Street store will be the seventh one planted in North Texas. Original Pancake House evidently has a lot of crepe pans in the fire right now so we’ll have to wait until sometime after the New Year for this location to open.
Frezko Taco Spot in Southlake is tiny, but pleasantly located away from the busiest traffic intersections. It just celebrated its one year anniversary in August. Like most who have tried it, I stumbled on this joint tired and hungry one afternoon while making my way out of the Southlake Boulevard melee, and I am very pleased to recommend it. Owner Eliazar Salinas couldn’t find any authentic street tacos when he moved here from Detroit a few years back. “We don’t own a freezer or a can opener. Everything is made from scratch,” he says. “Our recipes are over 110 years old. They were my great-grandmother’s recipes, including a bowl of her frijole charro which comes with every order.” Be on the lookout for the new Frezko Taco Spot food truck, which will be up and running this month located near the intersection of Seventh Street and University Drive.
CEO Randy Gier started Pie Five Pizza in Fort Worth in 2011. Too bad he didn’t get a patent on the process, since the build-your-own pizza craze is reaching fever-pitch. Pie Five opened its 16th Dallas-Fort Worth location on Aug. 21 in Flower Mound, the 57th store opened in that four-year span. “At Pie Five, we’re passionate about farm-fresh ingredients, handcrafted crust and creating an experience that really wows our guests,” said Gier. “Everything from our hand-cut veggies to our homemade desserts can make you feel good about what you’re eating at Pie Five.” He has big plans for expansion in the next five years as well, by opening 500 new locations across the country.
Got some food and wine news? A great spot to try? Contact Courtney Dabney at cdabney@bizpress.net.