Dallas, TX
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
FC Dallas returns home this weekend looking to build off last week’s road result as Real Salt lake comes to town for another important Western Conference matchup. With the schedule beginning to pile up before the summer World Cup break in June, grabbing points at Toyota Stadium feels more important than ever right now.
RSL arrives with one of the more balanced attacks in the conference and enough pace to punish mistakes in transition. For Dallas, this one is about staying organized defensively, controlling the midfield battle, and continuing to find consistency in the final third. If those three items can be checked off this weekend, there’s a real opportunity to keep the momentum moving in the right direction before a long summer road trip.
Let’s dive into some notes, predictions, and more.
TL;DR: Match Preview
Quick hits before kickoff.
- Score prediction: FC Dallas 2 – 1 Real Salt Lake
- Key player to watch: Petar Musa – To make the World Cup roster later this month for Croatia, Musa has to continue scoring here and guide the team to a big home win.
- Why this game matters: The next two are at home and after that there are nine straight road games. Dallas has to bank some points at home while they can before the long summer road trip.
FC Dallas Notes:
All-time vs RSL: FC Dallas holds a 24-15-13 all-time regular-season record against RSL. Dallas has scored 79 goals against Salt Lake. RSL has scored 63.
Home record vs RSL: Dallas has a solid 14-2-8 at home against RSL in regular season meetings. Dallas has scored 44 home goals against RSL. Salt Lake has scored 23 goals at Toyota Stadium versus Dallas. Dallas last won at home versus RSL on April 16, 2023. Jesús Ferreira and Bernanrd Kamungo scored for Dallas that night.
Homegrown clock: Homegrown keeper Michael Collodi was the only HGP earning minutes this season until Nolan Norris joined him on the field. Collodi has played the full 90 in each match, while Norris has been in and out of the lineup. Norris also has one goal on the season. Caleb Swann also made his debut off the bench in New York. Together, they have played 1595 minutes. To add more perspective here, Dallas HGPs only accounted for 1683 minutes in 2025.
What to Watch For: FC Dallas vs. Real Salt Lake FC Dallas returns to Toyota Stadium riding momentum from a historic road win in New York, but RSL arrives with one of the most dangerous young attacks in MLS. Here’s what to watch when the Burn host the Claret-and-Cobalt on Saturday.
Notable season stats:
- FCD is 7th in crosses in MLS with 144.
- The Burn are 6th in total distance covered in MLS with 286.24 km (800 miles).
- FCD is third in MLS in aerial challenges won with 171.
- FC Dallas is 9th in MLS in xG with 18.81.
- FCD is 8th in MLS in shot efficiency with 1.19.
- Musa is 4th in MLS in xG with 7.77. He also ranks tied for 4th in MLS in shots with 40.
Potential FC Dallas Lineup:
With another three-games in seven days stretch coming up, Eric Quill will likely go with as strong of a lineup as possible in these next two home games.
Formation: 3-4-3
Projected Starting XI
Availability & Disciplinary Report
⚽
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended with next yellow card: none
Suspended with next two yellow cards: Osaze Urhoghide, Nolan Norris
🗒️
Availability Report
Season-ending injury list: Kaka Scabin
Out: Anderson Julio (Lower leg), Bernard Kamungo (lower leg)
Questionable: none
On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Geovane Jesus (North Texas SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras
International duty: none
Real Salt Lake Notes:
Key player for RSL: Diego Luna
Scouting Real Salt Lake: What FC Dallas Needs to Know 🔎 A detailed scouting report on RSL ahead of FC Dallas’ 2026 showdown, breaking down formations, key players, tendencies, and tactical edges.
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended on next yellow card: none
Availability Report
Out: Jesus Barea (knee), Emeka Eneli (knee), Ari Piol (Achilles)
Questionable: Juan Jose Arias (groin), Justen Glad (groin), Lukas Engel (hip)
International duty: none
Big game this week for FC Dallas. Before we get into it, members have the full scouting report, projected lineups, and injury report. If you want to go into Matchday actually knowing what to watch for, now’s the time.
→ Join Big D Soccer
A mystery trust bought one of the most expensive homes in Texas this week — just months after buying another multimillion dollar property nearby.
The Lost River Trust bought the mansion at 4815 Saint Johns Drive in Highland Park from Dallas entrepreneurs Melbourne and Jamie O’Banion on May 5, according to county records. The final sale price is undisclosed, but the sellers had the home listed for $24.9 million at the time.
The six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home spans 11,433 square feet on a 0.6-acre lot, according to the listing. It was built by Mark Molthan and designed by Tom Weber. They listed the home on March 23 for about $2,200 per square foot.
Allie Beth Allman, founder of the eponymous brokerage, represented the sellers. Damon Williamson with The Agency represented the buyer, according to Redfin.
Just two Dallas homes last year sold with listing prices higher than $25 million, though both sold for well below what they asked. The trust of the late Fortress Investment Group CEO Josh Pack sold his former home at 6601 Hunters Glen Road for $30.5 million after asking $35 million, and manufacturer Guinn Crousen sold his home at 4000 Euclid Avenue for $25.5 million after asking $33 million.
Only six homes in Texas are asking a higher price, according to Zillow. Two effectively tie with the home on Saint Johns Drive: a spec mansion on Strait Lane that’s asking $25 million, and another new construction at 4 Lana Lane in Houston that’s asking $25.5 million.
The Lost River Trust bought another luxury home just six months ago. On Nov. 14, the trust purchased the home at 3709 Euclid Avenue, a four-bedroom, six-bathroom, 5,845-square-foot house that was asking $14 million when it withdrew from the market in September. It’s about half a mile south of the home on Saint Johns Drive.
Melbourne O’Banion is the CEO of Dallas-based tech startup Bestow, which produces software for life insurance companies. His wife Jamie O’Banion is the founder of Dallas-based cosmetics company BeautyBio.
The Crespi Estate at 5619 Walnut Hill Lane, listed by the Cox Family for $64 million, remains the most expensive home on the market in Texas.
Read more
Dallas entrepreneurs Jamie and Melbourne O’Banion list Highland Park mansion for $25M
Estate of late Dallas plastic surgeon Sam Hamra sells historic Highland Park teardown to mystery buyer
Robert Vaughn buys University Park spec mansion that asked $26M
DALLAS – Thunderstorms will roll through parts of North Texas on Friday. Thankfully, none should be severe. Mother’s Day could be a different story.
Friday Forecast
According to FOX 4 Weather Meteorologist Berkeley Taylor, a cluster of thunderstorms will work their way east across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on Friday morning.
Everything is well below severe limits, just with lots of lightning!
Scattered showers and thunderstorms will move in and out through the day on Friday. Coverage is about 20%.
An isolated strong storm or two can’t be ruled out, but the overall threat is low.
Temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s for the morning, before climbing into the 80s by the afternoon.
Weekend Forecast
Saturday will look similar, with even lower coverage expected.
Sunday presents the best chance to find rain and storms – about 50% as a cold front moves through North Texas.
North Texas is under a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather. The biggest concerns will be with wind and hail.
Timing-wise, the front looks to move through in the afternoon/evening.
7-Day Forecast
Once the front is south of North Texas on Mother’s Day, the rain should come to an end, and it will stay dry into next week.
Temperatures will start to warm into the upper 80s and low 90s by midweek next week.
The Source: The information in this story is from the FOX 4 Weather team and National Weather Service.
-
New York45 minutes agoMan Dies in Subway Attack; Mamdani Orders Inquiry Into Suspect’s Release From Bellevue
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoPatchy dense fog turns to stronger thunderstorms for Metro Detroit to start the weekend
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour agoWhere to watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 9
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoFC Dallas vs Real Salt Lake Preview: Lineups, Storylines & What to Watch
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMiami Area Gets First New Manufactured Home Community in Decades
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoWhat we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoA Frontier plane hits a pedestrian during takeoff at Denver airport
-
Seattle, WA2 hours ago
Where to watch Seattle Mariners vs Chicago White Sox: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 9