A key part of our annual CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, which celebrate the best food and drink in Dallas, is what we call a Wild Card category that changes from year to year based on what culinary trends have emerged.
Previous wildcards included kitchens like fried chicken, but for 2021 everything will revolve around the ghost kitchen. Sometimes referred to as a virtual kitchen, it is a new model of restaurant that has an entire menu but no actual store. Instead, the food is all deliverable or to-go.
Ghost kitchens sprang straight out of the pandemic when eating became a challenge, but they are showing signs of lingering well beyond that day in the future when we achieve herd immunity.
It’s a chapter in our editorial series where we highlight nominees in categories like Best Bars, Best Neighborhood Restaurants, Best Emerging Star Chefs, and Best Restaurants – chosen by a jury made up of former CultureMap Tastemaker Award winners and local F&B experts, which helped narrow the final list to 10 finalists.
Who will win? Find out at the Tastemaker Awards Party on August 19th at the Fashion Industry Gallery, where we’ll have canapés from nominated restaurants as host CJ Starr reveals the winners. Buy tickets here.
Here are the 10 nominees for the best ghost kitchen:
Fuku – David Chang
The celebrity chef opened the first Fuku in New York in 2015, starring his famous fried chicken sandwich. Now he has ghost kitchens in cities like Baltimore, Miami, and Philadelphia. It has two locations in Dallas: 501 N. Houston St. in downtown Dallas and 3100 Dallas Pkwy. in Plano. Four chicken fingers with sauce are $ 9.50; also a sandwich with chicken fingers, pickles, fuku mayo and butter on a Martins potato roll. Add waffle fries, pickles, two sauces, and a drink and it costs $ 14.50.
George Lopez tacos
A well-known comedian makes street tacos with chicken tinga or pork carnitas in two versions: one with diced onions and coriander, salsa verde, pickled onions and roasted jalapenos; and another with fire-roasted peppers and onions, freshly diced onions and coriander, salsa verde and avocado crema. Ordering three tacos costs $ 13-14. They also have chips, guacamole, and churro canapes.
Guy Fieri’s Flavortown
Fieri’s delivery restaurant, which comes from the Brio Italian Grille / Buca di Beppo family, offers prototype Guy food: Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ Wings, a burger with Mac & Cheese, Buffalo Wings, Jalapeño Poppers wrapped in bacon, Cheesesteak Egg Rolls Cuban Sandwich, Queso- Dip and a chicken “Parm-eroni” with chicken, mozzarella, provolone, pepperoni-red sauce, crispy pepperoni-hay, parmesan and spaghetti.
MeMees wings
The family business between three sisters specializes in a unique variant of Memphis-style chicken wings that are tossed in honey and mixed with spicy spices. They also offer chicken tenders and side dishes with fried okra pods, crinkle-cut french fries with their own seasoning and a “twice-filled” potato, which is their variant of the “twice-baked” potato.
Okaeri Café
The Adored Pop-up specializes in authentic Japanese dishes such as okonomiyaki pancakes made from shredded cabbage; Omurice, a fusion dish with a soft omelette draped over a dome of fried rice; and bento boxes filled with Japanese curry and rice mounds sculpted into adorable little bear shapes. There are no pop-ups planned for now, but they do plan to open a stationary location in Richardson.
Advantage chickens – Jose
Concept in the restaurant José by chef Anastasia “AQ” Quinones specializes in chicken: half or whole chicken that has been pickled in salted water, marinated and fried, together with Mexican soup with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, corn and Mexican pumpkin; Charro beans, salsas, and Mexican rice. They also make two desserts, also very homely: churros or Mexican rice pudding.
BBQ with secret sauce – City Works
The take-away-only concept is offered at the City Works Eatery & Pour House in Frisco and Fort Worth and offers queso dip, wings, tacos, mac & cheese and country fried chicken, as well as grill options like baby back ribs, hot links and pulled pork served with white bread, cucumber and side dishes such as grits, mashed potatoes, corn cream, chipotle coleslaw and maple bacon baked beans.
TLC vegan cuisine
Vegan chef Troy Gardner was one of the first to introduce a ghost kitchen concept on his TLC debut in May 2020. It offers an extensive selection of vegan items that you can get in family meals or packed lunches. The menu includes chilli, fried chicken steak, lasagna with homemade ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan, as well as desserts such as chocolate lava cake and banana pudding.
Wow Bao – rotary kitchen
The Chicago-based outfit specializes in fast-paced Asian street food, including bao, pan-fried potstickers, steamed dumplings, rice and noodle bowls, soups, salads, and specialty drinks like fresh ginger ale. They have partnered with Reef Kitchens, a big player in the world of ghost kitchens, to open locations in the U.S. including Austin and Dallas, where they camp at Revolving Kitchen, the Garland home base for many ghost kitchens in the Dallas area Concepts.
World Pizza Party – revolving kitchen
This second virtual concept for the vegan chef and master chef Troy Gardner is Dallas’ first purely vegan pizzeria operated by Revolving Kitchen, with a menu that includes nine varieties, from sausage & mushrooms to BBQ chicken to spicy Sicilian and “pigless”. “Hot peppers, all made with plant-based products, including Impossible Beef and creamy mozzarella made from cashew nuts.
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