Dallas, TX

Did a Dallas chef finally win a James Beard Award?

Published

5 months ago

June 17, 2025

Did a Dallas chef finally win a James Beard Award?

Since 1994, no one in Dallas-Fort Worth has won a James Beard award for Best Chef. That didn’t change in 2025, when the awards did not sway in the favor of North Texas’ top toques.

Of the five competitive awards for a D-FW chef or restaurant, none in our region won. Again.

There’s no crying in the kitchen, however, because Dallas managed to have a memorable night. Dallas chef Chad Houser was honored as Humanitarian of the Year for his work at Cafe Momentum, a restaurant that hires teenagers who have been arrested and/or incarcerated.

That’s an honor he already won, back in April 2025. The evening of the James Beard ceremony, Houser talked about his mission to help kids who need it.

“For me, it’s all about chances,” Houser said in a red carpet interview.

Second chances aren’t enough: It’s about “first [chances] through one hundredth.”

Perhaps that point of view could apply to the Dallas restaurateurs who left empty-handed at the Chicago ceremony.

Oren Salomon, whose North Texas bagel shop Starship Bagel did not win for Outstanding Bakery, said in a text message as the ceremony concluded that he’s proud of where he’s from.

“With or without recognition, I love serving where I’m from and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he texted.

“I’m thankful for Dallas.”

Dallas had five chefs or restaurants up for James Beard Awards in its final round in 2025, in addition to the noncompetitive Humanitarian of the Year honor. Let’s remember them one more time:

Chad Houser of Cafe Momentum

Winner, Humanitarian of the Year

It could be tough to operate a restaurant where the servers are teenagers who have previously broken the law. Executive Director Chad Houser said working with kids is the easiest part of his job.(Stanton Stephens)

Houser started Cafe Momentum as a small operation meant to help teenagers in a big way. Fast-forward 10 years, and more than 1,200 men and women between the ages of 15 and 19 have gone through the Cafe Momentum program, where each teen learned to serve customers and cook restaurant-quality food alongside required life skills classes.

The Dallas nonprofit will move to a bigger facility in 2026 and establish a new headquarters, thanks to the generosity of Dallas group The Meadows Foundation.

Cafe Momentum has expanded to Pittsburgh and has plans to open next in Atlanta and Denver.

“I’m often asked if Cafe Momentum has to be a restaurant,” he said as he accepted the award, “and I always say, ‘emphatically yes.’ Our industry is an integral part of every single community across the country.”

He said 60,000 children are incarcerated in the United States.

His message to them: “We see you, we’re ready for you, we’re here for you.”

RJ Yoakum, formerly of Georgie

Nominee, Emerging Chef

Chef RJ Yoakum moved to Dallas in early 2023 to work at Georgie.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

RJ Yoakum’s menu at Georgie, a fine-dining restaurant at Knox and Travis streets, received a Recommended rating from Michelin in 2024.

Yoakum was removed from his executive chef role at Georgie just days before the James Beard Award’s June 16 ceremony. The owner of Georgie has been tight-lipped about why he was let go, and Yoakum has not responded to questions for comment.

Yoakum worked previously at The French Laundry, a 3-star Michelin restaurant regarded as one of the best in the United States.

Other nominees for Emerging Chef were Kaitlin Guerin of Lagniappe Bakehouse in New Orleans, Nikhil Naiker of NIMKI in Providence and Jane Sacro Chatham of Vicia in St. Louis. Winner: Phila Lorn of Mawn in Philadelphia.

Regino Rojas of Purépecha in Dallas

Nominee, Best Chef: Texas

Chef-owner Regino Rojas works on an appetizer in the Purepecha room in Dallas.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

Seven times, D-FW chef Regino Rojas has been a semifinalist for Best Chef. That’s quite a run for the chef-owner of the casual Revolver Taco Lounge and its Michoacan tasting room, Purépecha, which share a retaurant space in Deep Ellum.

Netflix’s third season of Taco Chronicles featured chef Rojas and his pulpo (octopus) taco. D named sibling restaurant Purépecha the best restaurant in the city.

Other nominees for Best Chef: Texas were Emmanuel Chavez of Tatemó in Houston, Emil Oliva of Leche de Tigre in San Antonio and Michael Anthony Serva of Bordo in Marfa. Winner: Thomas Bille of Belly of the Beast in Spring, Texas.

Mābo in Dallas

Nominee, Best New Restaurant

Chef Masayuki Otaka stands in front of the seats at his Dallas restaurant, Mabo. Pictured... — Chef Masayuki Otaka stands in front of the seats at his Dallas restaurant, Mabo. Pictured here are all of the seats in the main dining room.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)

Tiny restaurant Mābo, which opened in Dallas’ Preston Center in 2024, is a yakitori omakase restaurant. Chef Masayuki Otaka cooks skewered meat and vegetables on a Japanese grill, serving each course to diners on the other side of the sushi-style bar.

At $200 per person, Mābo is one of the priciest fixed dinners in Dallas.

Chef Otaka is one of the quieter chefs in a bustling Dallas dining scene, but he has more experience than most: He co-opened Japanese restaurant Teppo on Dallas’ Greenville Avenue in 1995.

Other nominees for Best New Restaurant were: Alma Fonda Fina in Denver, Atoma in Seattle, Ema in Houston, Fet-Fisk in Pittsburgh, Mita in Washington, D.C., Ômo by Jônt in Winter Park, Fla., Penny in New York and The Union in Helena, Mont. Winner: Bûcheron in Minneapolis.

Bar Colette in Dallas

Nominee, Best New Bar

On Bar Director Ruben Rolon's menu are tiny cocktails — small in size and lower in alcohol... — On Bar Director Ruben Rolon’s menu are tiny cocktails — small in size and lower in alcohol content.(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)

When Bar Colette opened in 2023, tucked inside the West Village shopping center in Uptown Dallas, we called it “one of Dallas’ most interesting bars.” The opening cocktail menu was a journey to London, Paris and Mexico City, all from the middle of Dallas.

Brothers Brandon and Henry Cohanim and their team of bartenders have kept the adventure going as the food menu and the cocktail menu shape-shifted in new and interesting ways.

Other nominees for Best New Bar were: Agency in Milwaukee, Merai in Brookline, Mass., and ViceVersa in Miami. Winner: Identidad Cocktail Bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Starship Bagel in Lewisville and Dallas

Nominee, Outstanding Bakery

Owner Oren Salomon opened his newest Starship Bagel the week of the total solar eclipse in... — Owner Oren Salomon opened his newest Starship Bagel the week of the total solar eclipse in 2024.(Anja Schlein / Special Contributor)

After winning Best Bagel in 2023 and Schmear of the Year in 2024 at New York BagelFest, it wasn’t surprising to see Dallas-Fort Worth-based Starship Bagel make James Beard’s short list for Outstanding Bakery.

The shop has expanded from Lewisville to downtown Dallas and North Dallas’ Hillcrest Village.

Other nominees for Outstanding Bakery were: Atelier Ortega in Jackson Hole, Wy., Gusto Bread in Long Beach, Calif., and Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem, N.H. Winner: JinJu Patisserie in Portland.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas attorney Tony Box running for Texas attorney general

Published

8 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Press Room

Dallas attorney Tony Box running for Texas attorney general

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback.

Dallas attorney Tony Box is running to be the Democratic nominee for Texas attorney general, he announced this week, becoming the third member of his party vying to replace outgoing incumbent Ken Paxton.

Box, a first-time candidate, is an Army veteran, former FBI agent and former federal prosecutor who now works in private practice in Dallas. He will face former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski and state Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas in the March 3 primary.

Paxton, who has led the office for a decade, is giving up his post to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

In a press release, Box said he was seeking to “bring decades of public service and law enforcement experience to an office plagued by corruption and political theater.”

“The AG should be protecting consumers, cracking down on fraud and partnering with law enforcement, but Ken Paxton has turned this office into a laughingstock,” Box said in a statement. “I’ve spent my entire career fighting corruption, prosecuting criminals and standing up to powerful people who abuse their positions. Texans deserve better.”

Box’s journey to running for attorney general began when he was 16 years old and got shot in the stomach while protecting a coworker from a robbery. The episode prompted him to “dedicate his life to the service of others,” he said in a press release.

After graduating from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Box entered the Army. He was deployed to Iraq as a judge advocate general, the military’s version of a lawyer, and served as an investigator for the Congressional Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped uncover $30 billion of waste and fraud, according to his campaign press release.

Box spent a decade as an FBI special agent, serving on the SWAT team and deploying as part of the agency’s September 11th response, he said. In the meantime, he went to law school at night.

In 2018, Box joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri handling tax investigations and prosecutions, according to his LinkedIn. In 2022, he joined the law firm Gray Reed in Dallas, where he represents businesses and “high net-worth individuals” in civil and criminal tax cases, white-collar defense and regulatory investigations.

“The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Texas and the people of this state deserve a leader who is looking out for them, not corrupt politicians and their cronies,” Box said in a statement.

Across the aisle, four Republicans are competing to succeed Paxton as the GOP nominee: state Sens. Joan Huffman of Houston and Mayes Middleton of Galveston, former Paxton deputy Aaron Reitz and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin.

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Dallas, TX

Mailbag: Why waste offensive talent?

Published

1 day ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

(Editor’s Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in ‘Mailbag’ presented by Miller Lite.)

Is it more valuable for the Cowboys to hold their draft capital rather than use it to trade for a difference maker to create pressure and sacks? Why waist the offensive talent you have this year and hold on to the draft picks when it’s clear that Dallas has half a super bowl contending team? – Will Epler/Colorado Springs, CO

Patrik: I’ve made it no secret about where I stand on this topic: trade for one or two players to not waste this window of elite offensive play. You simply don’t know if Dak Prescott will equal or better this form in the years to come and, oh by the way, he’s already in his early 30s, and not in his mid-20s. Additionally, you can’t predict if George Pickens sticks around to keep the same level of weaponry surrounding Prescott, so forth and so on. Having shiny extra draft picks to use is fun, because of imagination. You get to imagine what might be and who they might select and, maybe, just maybe, that the pick turns out to be a Hall of Famer every … single … time. In reality, though, even for a team that drafts well, like the Cowboys, it’s still a crapshoot every … single … time. More picks are great fuel for draft show talks and mock drafts, but ask Dak Prescott if he gives an iota of a crap about any of that. Win now, while you have the quarterback and offense to do it, and stop pretending you have time to waste.

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