Welcome to SideDish’s weekly dispatch of need-to-know News Bites, from quiet closures to opening updates and everything in between, including coronavirus-related intel.
The Crispiest Fried Chicken Around Makes Its Dallas Return
In 2013, folks mobbed Lower Greenville’s Bonchon. They came for the South Korean chain’s fried chicken and other spicy-good dishes. But it only lasted seven months, even after adjusting to high demand. (There is still a location in The Colony.)
But, oh, the good juicy news is that Bonchon will be moving its headquarters from New York to Dallas. According to a release, the company’s move to Dallas jibes with its plans to expand throughout Texas. The first fast-casual restaurant is slated for Addison around February 2021, with three to four openings around the state within the year. Hey, that’s all the more closer to its parmesan-dusted crinkle cut French fries (yes!) and bull dak (my personal favorite) with spicy chicken stir-fried with rice cakes in a fiery gochujang sauce, topped with thinly sliced scallions, onions, and mozzarella cheese.
Buc-ee’s Unofficial Online Snack Store
A big-time Buc-ee’s fan and Plano e-commerce professional, Chris Koerner thought other like-minded snack lovers would appreciate having their Beaver Nuggets shipped to them. After failed attempts to get the retailer on board, Koerner took things into his own hands. He bought up a bunch of snacks from Buc-ee’s and sold them online (first at BeaverSnax.com, which was bordering on copyright infringement and, well, might attract the wrong clientele) at TexasSnax.com.
Texas Monthly has the details. It’s not Buc-ee’s official yet. Koerner says they seem interested in the proof of concept and is being very nice and entirely cooperative about his technically unsanctioned site. Even Buc-ee Don Wasek has been supportive, Koerner tells me. “[He] has been more than gracious to us, and sent us a note stating that if any stores give us trouble purchasing everything we need, to let him know.” The website will be launching apparel this Friday, November 20, since they’re find through site data that there’s a big demand for it. “So we are hard at work getting everything photographed and listed before black Friday hits.”
Postino Coming to Deep Ellum Next April
I wrote about a Postino WineCafe location coming to Dallas back in August, and it appears it’s a buzzy food news item at Dallas Morning News and Eater Dallas. Both have more details on the Phoenix-based wine bar and what one might expect when it arrives in Deep Ellum come next April. As I wrote over the summer, the chain is opening an Italian wine bar on Main Street next to a supposedly soon-to-come John Fluevog shoe store and Merit Coffee.
So far its only two other locations in Texas are in Houston. Postino, so named because its original location converted an old post office in Phoenix into a wine cafe, means “postman” in Italian. Playing to that theme means an Italian-leaning menu with a long lineup of Americanish bruschetta, charcuterie and cheese boards, and a deep-ish international wine list. While I’m sure it is “beloved” and “popular” to many, as other pubs have said, it could also be described as the restaurant equivalent of rustic wood kitchen signs that say “It’s wine o’clock somewhere” in cursive. No shame if that’s your vibe!
If you like happy hour wine and charcuterie for $25-ish on Monday and Tuesday, then live your best life!
The High Demand for Free Food and Produce Boxes Continues
Last Saturday, November 14, the North Texas Food Bank did another round of food distribution at Fair Park. It was its largest yet. The promise of one frozen turkey, a 20-pound box of shelf-stable dry products, a 15-pound bag of fresh produce and a gallon of milk drew long lines.
In all, the food bank gave away somewhere in the realm of more than half a million pounds of food to 8,500 families. It can’t be understated how much need there is eight months into this pandemic. To give the NTFB a hand, Dallas-based ride share company Alto is helping Texans help Texans: On Friday, November 27, Alto is launching a porch pickiup canned food drive to support the NTFB. Alto members will receive a sign-up link to fill out, then Alto will swipe any donations left outside by 9 a.m. on Friday.
Drivers Crash Into Two Dallas Restaurants
In what appear to be entirely unrelated incidents, drivers drove into S&D Oyster Company and Haute Sweets Patisserie on Tuesday. The driver at Haute Sweets accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake, and injured three employees when the vehicle drove into the kitchen, including chef-owner Tida Pichakron. The shop will be closed for at least a month for repairs, but it will be open today to sell off all surviving pastries.
