Do You Know the Dallas Muffin Man?

Jonathon Erdeljac never expected his muffins to be big. the native Houstonian is the type of person who wants to do one thing and do it well. When he was executive chef at Bread Winners, it drove him crazy that he would go to work and have to crank out 20 varieties of muffins every day. “If I was nailing three out of five, that’s good in baseball, but not good for me,” says the 36-year-old redhead. “I’m very passionate about what I do.” So last year, when he and his wife, Christine, struck out on their own to open a restaurant called Jonathon’s Oak Cliff, Erdeljac made a decision. Looking for something to make his fruit plate stand out, he added a muffin—but just one kind, which changes every day. Erdeljac isn’t afraid to experiment. Recent offerings: mint chocolate chip; blueberry cream cheese; bacon banana with cream cheese frosting; and a white chocolate, caramel, almond, blueberry muffin (inspired by a Snickers bar). “I believe in flavors,” he says. His chicken and waffles makes his customers happy, but, to his surprise, it’s the muffins that have made him famous. “It always amazes me what people are going to know you for.”