Here Is Thy Beef

Los Angeles' Top Round restaurant brings the beef to Dallas-Fort Worth

The beef in that sandwich is slow-roasted for 10 hours.

Photo courtesy of Top Round

A beefy new restaurant is coming to Texas, bearing roast beef sandwiches and curly fries. Called Top Round Roast Beef, it's a Los Angeles-based concept that will open its first Texas location at Toyota Music Factory in Irving in November.

Founded in Los Angeles in 2013 by chef Steven Fretz and partners Anthony Carron, Noah Ellis, and Jamie Tiampo, Top Round Roast Beef describes itself as "chef-driven fast food" with a commitment to all-natural, freshly prepared ingredients at an affordable price.

A graduate of the California Culinary Academy, Fretz spent much of his culinary career in fine dining, including Fifth Floor in San Francisco and Michael Mina's XIV in Los Angeles, where he won Angeleno Magazine's "Best New Chef" award.

At Top Round, that translates into roasting the roast beef for those sandwiches for 10 hours in-house. The curly fries are hand-cut from Idaho potatoes and fried in 100% beef fat; this is not a place for vegans.

There are also crispy chicken sandwiches, in which the chicken is marinated in buttermilk and pickle juice. Pickle juice is very chef-driven.

According to a release, the chain is "nostalgic of what fast food used to be," where everything is freshly prepared to order using all-natural ingredients." Is that really what fast food used to be? Fast food has always seemed kind of junky from the get-go. Nostalgia can sometimes add an unrealistic haze.

Following four successful years in Los Angeles, Top Round is now expanding with Top Round franchises in Dallas, San Francisco, and Louisville, and more locations on the horizon.

openings

Hot Dog News

Hot dog king Portillo's debuts new design at new location in Grapevine

Portillo's

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Chicago-style hot dog chain Portillo's is opening a new location in DFW, and it'll be the first of its kind for the chain. The restaurant is headed for Grapevine, at 460 W. SH-114, in the former Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, next door to Son of a Butcher, where it will open its doors on December 5.

According to a release, the location is the very first to feature the chain's "restaurant of the future" design comprising a smaller, more efficient footprint.

Most Portillo's are about 8,000 square feet (and some from the early days could go up to 10,000 square feet). The Grapevine location spans 6,250 square feet, with seating for up to 125 inside, and 40 on the patio. It will feature a Southwest Garage theme, and will also have their signature double drive-thru.

The menu will be the same: Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago-style hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, and two-layer chocolate cake.

Grapevine is not the only location in Texas to follow this new design: A similar location measuring 6,200 square feet is opening in Stafford, near Houston, as well.

Portillo's exteriorPortillo's

The driver with this smaller size is a greater emphasis on take-out and (probably) an effort not to pay so much rent.

Grapevine officials are enthusiastic about having the chain within city limits and what it says about the great city of Grapevine.

“The addition of Portillo’s to the more than 200 curated dining options in Grapevine is a testament to our city’s commitment to offering diverse and exceptional culinary experiences,” says Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate in a statement.

Portillo's made their first debut in DFW with a location at Grandscape in The Colony in January 2023.

The Illinois-based chain has six other locations in Dallas-Fort Worth, including Fort Worth, Arlington, Allen, Denton, and Mansfield. Grapevine will be the seventh to open. There are also plans to open a location in Grand Prairie.

Founder Dick Portillo opened the first Portillo’s hot dog stand in Illinois in 1963. There are now more than 90 locations across 10 states.

openings