Preston Center

The Battle for Preston Hollow's Soul

Luke Crosland stands at the window of his seventh-floor office and looks out across Preston Center. In the foreground, a tangle of luxury SUVs battle for access to a shabby, two-story parking garage that seems to deteriorate before his eyes. The garage is ringed by a jumble of aging retail strips th ... More >>

Mark Cuban: Good at Owning Basketball Teams, Terrible at Real Estate

Dallas -- nay, America -- has many good reasons to love Mark Cuban. He turned the Mavericks into NBA champions. He's the most accessible billionaire in the universe. He yells at terrible refs on our behalf and feuds with the Perots. He was a disruptor before disrupting was cool. But for all of Cuban ... More >>

Preston Center Is Getting a Skybridge, and Maybe a Tom Thumb

Earlier this week, we spent some time examining why Preston Center, the aging shopping center floating on a sea of Park Cities/Preston Hollow riches, sucks so hard. Little did we know that Crow Holdings already had a plan to fix it. With a skybridge. Last December, Crow purchased the old Sanger-Har ... More >>

A Brief Primer on Why Preston Center Sucks

Anyone who's attempted to navigate the intersection of Preston and Northwest Highway at rush hour will have had ample opportunity while sitting through multiple cycles of the stop light to contemplate one of North Dallas' most enduring paradoxes. Here, at the spot where the Park Cities and Preston H ... More >>

Lyfe Kitchen Is Bringing its Fancy Fast Food to Fancy Dallas

The last time I heard about Lyfe Kitchen it was mentioned in an article in the New York Times Magazine a little more than a year ago. Mark Bittman was lamenting the options for affordable, healthy dining on the quick in America, and was resigned to bean burritos from Taco Bell and veggie sandwiches ... More >>

Mi Piaci Cucina, the Short-Lived Restaurant That Replaced Short-Lived Ocho, Has Closed

This is not the sort of sign you want to see taped to the door of a restaurant where you've held a long-awaited reservation for Easter Bunch, but customers who walked up to Mi Piaci's shiny glass windows expecting drinks and food have been met with locked doors since last Friday. The landlord has c ... More >>

An Ode to Spoon's "White Album," a Dessert Worthy of its Name

In Happy Endings, food critic Scott Reitz travels part of the globe that says "Dallas" in search of great desserts and great places to eat them. This is the fifth in an occasional series. If you've ever been in one of those dining situations where nothing is going right, there's no need to drive th ... More >>

There's Some Tendon in Miss Chi's Pho, and You'll Love It Eventually

I have to hand it to Miss Chi, the newish pho spot in Preston Center. Owner Lan Chi Li was bold to throw a little gelatinous tendon in her pho. Other restaurants that serve the soup have told me they won't include tendon and other challenging ingredients like tripe because none of their customers wo ... More >>

Believe the Hopdoddy Hype -- #2 Is Coming

Remember this summer when Frankie's closed? You were sad for four seconds and then you went back to browsing cat videos on Facebook. Or maybe your reaction was so devoid of emotion because you were secretly hoping the defunct sports bar would be replaced with something more interesting -- that you'd ... More >>

Some of Dallas' Best Restaurants Are Hiring, So Elbow Your Way into the Industry

Jay Jerrier is looking for a few good pizzaiolos, according to a recent post to his Facebook page. It links to an ad on Craigslist that asks experienced applicants to stop by the restaurant for a tryout. And it turns out Zoli's isn't the only prominent restaurant in the Dallas area that's hiring rig ... More >>

Tanoshi Ramen's Owners Are Already Planning Miss Chi, Another New Asian Restaurant

According to new signage up in Preston Center, Dallas can soon expect another notch in its Vietnamese restaurant belt. The new Miss Chi Vietnamese appears to be from the folks behind Tanoshi Ramen, which itself is a new noodle restaurant in Deep Ellum. Joey and Chi Le are the pair behind Tanoshii ... More >>

Dude, Sweet Chocolate's New Store Is Open on Greenville Avenue

Dude, Sweet Chocolate, the city's sauciest chocolatier, has opened up a new permanent store at 1925 Greenville Avenue, just down from the new Truck Yard and Trader Joe's. The spot quietly opened Friday and will have a grand opening this Friday at 7 p.m. Katherine Clapner opened her first little sho ... More >>

True Food Kitchen Will Bring Kale, Other Green Things to Preston Center

I have to admit the menu of the upcoming True Food Kitchen is looking attractive. I was never the type of person that went nuts for juice bars and dishes that prominently featured kale, but two years of dining as a food critic have taken a toll. I crave fresh vegetables and fruits like I used to cra ... More >>

Tanoshii Ramen and Bar, a New Late-Night Noodle Bar, Opens Next Week in Deep Ellum

Dallas' first exclusive ramen restaurant, Tanoshii Ramen Bar (2724 Commerce), will open next Tuesday, September 24, its owners have announced. Joey and Chi Le also own Wicked Po'Boys in Richardson and in the Preston Center. Now they're turning their attention to house-made noodles and "late-nigh ... More >>

The Scoop on Sprinkles Ice Cream (Photos)

When a brand spanking new doughnut shop and ice cream parlor both open on the same day, it makes for interesting times here in Big D. Last Friday while Glazed Donut Works in Deep Ellum posted a sign that they were already sold out just two hours after opening, another line was forming to get an ear ... More >>

A Dallas Anti-Aging Clinic is Entirely Too Proud of Its "Breakthrough" Penis Enlargement Shot

Juan Ponce de Leon got some bad information. The Fountain of Youth isn't in Florida, as the 16th-century Spanish conquistador eventually figured out. It's actually a thousand miles to the west in an otherwise unremarkable Preston Center storefront, conveniently sandwiched between the Park Cities and ... More >>

Il Cane Rosso White Rock Opens and More from a Busy April

Another month has come and gone and with it a handful of restaurants have opened. Read on for the full list of restaurants happenings in April, and be sure to share tips about new and/or dead restaurants in the comments section below or at dish@dallasobserver.com. Openings: Il Cane Rosso White Roc ... More >>

Wicked Po'Boys Now Open in Preston Center

Chi and Joey Le have expanded their N'awlins sandwich shop, Wicked Po'boys, to Dallas proper, after opening their first spot in Richardson (1811 N. Greenville Ave.) just last year. This second restaurant is in the heart of Preston Center (6030 Luther Lane, Ste. 130), which is ripe with new restauran ... More >>

Lovin' That Tesar Spoonful

I kind of wanted to hate John Tesar for putting his fine-dining seafood restaurant in the middle of the Preston Center. While the people that live nearby are no doubt grateful, I don't like driving that far to park near a DSW and look out the window at a guy running on a treadmill while I'm slurping ... More >>

Yes, There Are More Burgers and Even A Meat Maelstrom: This Week In Dallas Dining

Did someone say Wintervention? Looks like a nasty cold front is on its way. Time to break out those dutch ovens and braise some lamb shanks, I'm thinking. Or maybe a hearty beef stew is more your style. Whatever you plan on cooking, cold weather dishes make your kitchen smell amazing and always have ... More >>

Spoon Bar & Kitchen Opens, Il Cane Rosso Announces a Second Location and More From November

While a handful of restaurants popped up in the DFW area last month, November wasn't nearly as busy as October for restaurant openings and closings. Read on for the full list and be sure to share tips about new and/or dead restaurants in the comments section below or at dish@dallasobserver.com. Spo ... More >>

Dude, Sweet Chocolate Opens New Location in Preston Center and Fort Worth Next Week

Dude, Sweet Chocolate has just opened a second location at 8304 Preston Center Plaza Drive, between Taco Diner and R&D Kitchen. And another spot is set to open next week at 2925 Crockett (just south of Seventh, near Fireside Pies) in Town of the Cow. Prior to becoming a chocolate-dealer, Dude Kath ... More >>

Chef John Tesar's Spoon Bar & Kitchen is Now Open in Preston Center

Chef John Tesar's latest culinary project, Spoon Bar & Kitchen (8220 Westchester Drive) is now open in Preston Center (directly across from Hopdoddy Burger Bar). The dinner menu offers raw caviar, oyster and crudo options, salads, pasta (including house-made fusilli with red wine braised octopus ser ... More >>

GRIP Mediterranean Grill in Preston Center is Now Open for You To Make the Ultimate Gyro

GRIP Mediterranean Grill has opened in the Preston Center at 6030 Luther Lane (a few doors down from Hopdoddy) as a fast-casual pita wrap in the same vein of Chipotle. Like, exactly the same vein. If you tested the DNA, it'd be the same, just taste and smell different. The dining room is sleek and ... More >>

Hopdoddy Burger Bar Opens Wednesday in Preston Center

Hopdoddy is an upscale, yet casual, burger restaurant and bar that originated in Austin just a couple years ago. Founders Larry Perdido and Chuck Smith are old hats in the restaurant business. According to Austin Culture Map, they sold their Eddie V's Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille to the ... More >>

John Tesar is a Jedi of Self-Promotion

Allison V. Smith​Back in January, chef John Tesar announced he was kind of over the whole Commissary, One Arts Plaza thing. He was pulling out and shifting his focus to a new restaurant on Westchester Drive in Preston Center. Spoon was what Tesar called the space, and bloggers got to bloggin ... More >>

Southpaw's Brings Its Oddly Unfried Food to Uptown

Southpaw's Grill​Reza Anavarian, originally from Azerbaijan, flies to Georgia this weekend for an ESI Ironman Competition, which includes a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile jog through beautiful downtown Augusta. In addition to conditioning for that insanity, he's also training a ... More >>

The Obscure 45-Year-Old Song by Some Oak Cliff Kids That Sold Yesterday For $3,122

Via.At the Studio Club on Sherry Lane in Preston Center, The Gentlemen were, from left to right, Tommy Turner on keybs, a kneeling Tim Justice on drums, Mike Kelley on guitars and vox (on "Cry'n Shame"), Bruce Bland on bass and Seab Meador on lead guitars and vocals.​Fans of the Dallas garage-rock ... More >>

One Day Before Its "Open 24 Hours" Sign Goes Dark, Metro Postcards (From Gaston Avenue)

Photos by Dylan Hollingsworth James Adams, in front of the iconic Gaston Avenue diner he opened more than four decades ago​Tomorrow at 2 p.m., Wayne Adams will do something he hasn't done since The Great Remodel of '97: He will lock the front door to the Metro Diner on Gaston Avenue. Which is why ... More >>

Good News, Bad News: Gaston Ave. Metro Closing April 10. But Not Before Buck Breakfast.

​We've known for two months that the Metro Diner on Gaston Avenue is closing, but till today we never had a solid date -- just "end of March." Not so fast: Owner Wayne Adams, whose just-turned-90 dad James originally started the landmark diner, just called to say that last supper will be served on ... More >>

Damn, Damn, Damn It: Owner of Metro Diner Confirms Gaston Ave. Location Is Closing

​My cell phone is still packed with photos I took of my dad and son in front of the Preston Center Metro Grill on its final day of operations in August 2008. And now this? Teresa Gubbins breaks the news that the Gaston Avenue Metro, an institution since '68, is also about to close. I just got off ... More >>

Name Change at Houston's in Park Cities Worries Fans

From Hillstone.com​Houston's in Preston Center is now officially Hillstone, a name change that executive general manager Francis Luttmer reports has provoked some worried inquiries from longtime customers. "Their concern is we're going to take away their favorite dish," Luttmer says. "We're telli ... More >>

Wrestling the Ghost of Jimmy Buffett at Preston Center's Flying Fish

Photos by Patrick MichelsI once at a fish this big.​Flying Fish6126 Luther Ln.214-696-FISHDude Factor: 8, or Don Knotts, on a scale of 1 (Kevin Costner) to 10 (Ernest Borgnine) I'd been too long on the turf, dudes, and got the hunger for a little surf. Fish Shack would have done nicely, but no way ... More >>

Preston Center, "An Oasis"

This morning, Bloomberg News pays a visit to Preston Center, where a certain former president is about to set up shop, and finds that it's quite "popular with lawyers who don't want to be downtown, small accounting firms seeking proximity to wealthy clients, and investors who need office space outsi ... More >>

President Bush Is So Not Getting a Good Deal on Sherry Lane Place Office Space

Bloomberg's story concerning President Bush's new office digs in Preston Center -- first in Berkshire at Preston Center, before he moves into a larger space at Sherry Lane Place -- contains an note of interest toward the end. But first, this relevant aside: Says here that taxpayers will pay $38.95 p ... More >>

Panic in Preston Center!

We tried this once before, so here goes again: Can you please, pretty please, help the folks in the Dallas Public Library's Texas/Dallas History & Archives figure out just what in the heck's going in this picture? Because, right now, this is all they got to go on: "Crowds of children outside Preston ... More >>

Best Hurry to the Metro, Before Preston Center Gets a Lot Less Greasy

Wait, What? The Metro Diner's Closing? You're Kidding Me. That Sucks.

View Larger Map Two things that stunned me as I read this story about the closing of the Metro Diner: It's closing? On Saturday?!?! W. T. F? Haven't been in a couple of months, but it's my son's favorite breakfast spot -- my father's too, after we convinced him to return following a 20-year absence ... More >>

Newsweek Goes House-Hunting, So Laura Bush Doesn't Have To

View Larger Map Newsweek's "web exclusive" about George and Laura Bush's house-hunting in Dallas just went online. A highlight among many: Agents say that when Mrs. Bush checks out a listing, the agent who has the listing is asked to vacate the premises, and soon afterward a big black Suburban pull ... More >>

At Gordo's, Everything Must Go. Including Gordo's. For Now. Not Forever.

Daddy needs a new baby grand -- and a nice fountain, which, come to think of it, would look amazing in the front yard. Good thing we know where to get one: tomorrow and Sunday, from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., at the great Gordo's on Lovers Lane. Hard to believe, but tonight's the last night at that location, ... More >>

No One Voted, But They Did Eat Cake...

I spent a few minutes this morning talking to our old pal Zac Crain, who now says he can't believe he ever wanted to be mayor in a city where 71,000 people turned out to vote -- an "apocalyptic" figure, says the wanna-be candidate booted off the ballot. "I feel like I wasted a year, beating my head ... More >>

Join the Gun Club

It's safe to assume that not a soul dining at the Metro Diner in Preston Center this morning knew they were scarfing down eggs and bacon with punk-rock royalty, nor did they have any idea that sitting in their midst was an indie-filmmaking heroine who also has on her filmography a handful of Sex and ... More >>

Best Breakfast (Tie)

Landmark Restaurant & Original Pancake House

Bib Rustle

At Lobster Ranch, the main course claws its way to the top

Lights Out

The food at Bistro Latino rises above the darkness

Does a Bear Shop in the Woods?

Don't get malled. This year, do your business al fresco.

Best Kids' Shoes

Stride Rite

Best kids' haircut

Stride Rite (ask for Ginger in the back)

Hash Over

Grapes of glory; Coming and going

Dim memory

Szechuan Pavilion is a shadow of its former greatness