Each week, SideDish will dispatch a round-up of need-to-know News Bites, from quiet closures to opening updates and everything in between.
And Now for Some ‘Cue News
We’re only halfway through the week and yet the reigning food story, thus far, is all about Heim Barbecue. The Fort Worth favorite from husband and wife duo Travis and Emma Heim will bring their “farm to smoker” barbecue philosophy to Dallas. The operation began as a line-garnering food truck five years ago. And now Heim Barbecue will open its first Dallas location and third overall at 3130 West Mockingbird Lane near Dallas Love Field, in the space previously occupied by the Mockingbird Diner. Now Dallasites no longer have to make the journey to Fort Worth for those famous bacon burnt ends.
Primo’s Makes Its Long-Awaited Return
The storied Tex-Mex restaurant will reopen in its original home on February 7 (proper festivities are planned for February 21–23). The OG Primo’s closed in 2013 after a nearly three decade run. But Primo’s 2.0, ahem, Primo’s MX Kitchen and Lounge, promises a more elevated approach as the restaurant’s under new management, says the Dallas Morning News. As for those two buck frozen margaritas everybody loved so much? They’ll make a comeback, too, on Tuesdays for the first opening month alongside a broadly modern Mexican menu.
Mot Hai Ba’s Victory Park Opening Inches Closer
The Dallas Observer checked in with chef-owner Peja Krstic about his Vietnamese restaurant’s sequel in Victory Park which is, as of now, slated to open in March. Unlike Mot Hai Ba’s intimate Lower Greenville space, the second location is more than twice the size seating-wise. And double the space, double the chef prowess: Krstic has installed Joel Orsini, formerly at Booty’s nee Izkina, as chef de cuisine. This is great since D’s own Eve Hill-Agnus is a fan of what Orsini did at the Deep Ellum restaurant.
Dear Japan, Please Send Noodles
No, not a car, but a new Japanese import: Marugame Udon. The Japanese chain is plotting two Dallas locations, reports Dallas Culture Map, courtesy of restaurateur Mark H. Brezinski (Pei Wei, Velvet Taco, Banh Shop), Pete Botonis (another Pei Wei alum), plus an investment group. Will the thick noodle soup usurp ramen and its Dallas dominance? Probably not. But it’s always nice to have noodle options.
Meanwhile, on SideDish…
Counter Culture Coffee will officially debut its training center in Deep Ellum this weekend.
Eat these eight healthy dishes right now. (Psst, it’s what the D Magazine food team craves when we want something that won’t send us into a two-hour nap.)
Heading to the rodeo in Fort Worth? Our FrontRow editor and myself have some recommendations on how to spend your day.
“What happens when a chef of Davaillon’s caliber leaves a chef-size hole where he once occupied his indefatigable position at the pass?” ponders restaurant critic Eve Hill-Agnus in the aftermath of chef Bruno Davaillon’s Buillon departure as executive chef.
We’re still reeling from Bolsa’s closure.
