After much delay, Howard Wang’s China Grill is finally open in The Star in Frisco.
Every Howard Wang’s restaurant embodies over 30 years of family recipes, tradition, and experience. Howard Wang’s is a family-owned business that has been passed down across generations. The new Frisco location will be run by Jowin Wang, son of founder Howard Wang. Jowin has also served as the Director of Operations in Howard Wang’s Uptown and Southlake locations.
“We heard a lot of good things about The Star,” Jowin says. “[Dallas Cowboys Owner] Jerry Jones has been to our other locations and wanted us to open in The Star. We had a good opportunity and we couldn’t pass it up.”
Howard Wang’s specializes mainly in Chinese cuisine, offering traditional Chinese dishes like broccoli stir fry and orange chicken, as well as signature dishes, like Wang’s Bulgogi and Ginger Beef Tenderloin. The new Frisco location will also be offering Dim Sum.
Howard Wang’s will offer both traditional and signature Chinese dishes | Photo credit: Tammany Stern
“All of our food is fresh and made to order,” Jowin says, “We use fresh vegetables, a lot of which are sourced from various parts of Asia.”
Howard Wang’s is open for lunch and dinner in The Star. This holiday season, the will be open on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as well as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
For nearly eight years, The Common Table has been a hot brunch destination for Dallasites and Uptown dwellers. With its new location in The Star in Frisco, founder Corey Pond hopes to expand Common Table’s horizons and attract a wider demographic. As its name suggests, The Common Table is a haven for those who wish to bond over the love of beer and food.
“It’s more of a feeling than it is anything literal,” founder Corey Pond says of the eatery’s name. “A common table is a place where you would go and meet people you don’t know, and hopefully make new friends. We believe we’ve incorporated that sort of philosophy here.”
A “common table” inside The Common Table’s Frisco location (Photo credit: Alex Gonzalez)
Although The Common Table is arguably most known for its brunch and beer dinners, Pond notes that he hadn’t originally planned to serve food.
“I had a love for craft beer and wanted to open a craft beer bar,” Pond says, “but because of the location we ended up with, we also had to have a restaurant. It took us a little while to get the food right, but now I think the food in both places is very good, especially for the price.”
Founder Corey Pond (left) with Operation Partner Rodman Shields (right)
Weekend brunch is a staple in Dallas. With so many restaurants to choose from, The Common Table has set itself apart by making quality dishes and creating an amped up atmosphere.
“Brunch food really isn’t difficult to prepare,” Ponds says. “It’s just all about buying good ingredients. It’s a chill vibe here most of the time, but at brunch time, we turn up hip-hop music a little louder than usual.”
Although The Star and Uptown are two vastly different scenes, The Star’s location shares a lot of the elements that the original location has become well known for.
“We’ve just recently started the live music series here [in The Star,] Pond says. “The music events are held every Thursday and Saturday night, like in Uptown. Some of the artists are the same, but we also have some new artists.”
Apart from the live music events, The Common Table’s Frisco location also has Live Trivia Wednesdays, Brewsday Tuesdays, and Pour Man’s Beer Dinner on Mondays.
Trivia Nights and Pour Man’s Beer Dinner are just a couple of The Common Table’s notable events
“The Pour Man’s Beer Dinner is different every week,” Pond says. “Each week, the chef in each location comes up with a different four-course menu, each of the courses is paired with a different beer.”
Because of the wide variety of beer available in house, The Common Table’s customers are able to taste unique pairings of beer and food.
“Beer’s such a versatile drink, more than wine.” Ponds says. “There are over 100 different styles of beer, so for any type of food you make, there’s a perfect beer to pair it with.”
The Common Table is currently open in both Uptown Dallas and in The Star in Frisco. Be sure to pay a visit and try their unique pairings.
In the dining industry, the quality of each guest’s experience is just as important as the quality of food they’re being served. The minds behind the Crafted Bar Concepts restaurant group strive to create a guest experience as unique as possible. Sushi Marquee, the newest addition to The Star in Frisco, is a hot, fresh concept from the minds of CBC.
Various sushi rolls arranged to celebrate Sushi Marquee’s opening in The Star (Photo Credit: Alex Gonzalez)
Sushi Marquee started off as an idea of CBC’s Vice President Brad Hawkins. Hawkins partnered with Dallas Hale, CEO of Crafted Bar Concepts, to create what would become Sushi Marquee.
“At Sushi Marquee, the guest comes in anticipating a phenomenal meal,” Hale said, “In addition to that, they receive an interactive, fun experience. We’ve got sake bombs, ’80s and ’90s music, and we aim to create just an all-around good time, that way, when the guest leaves, they say ‘man, I can’t wait to go back!’”
Sushi Marquee’s large television screens, which often play classic movie clips and music videos from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s. (Photo Credit: Tammany Stern)
When approached by Hawkins to partner in the creation of Sushi Marquee, Hale, confident in its success, immediately agreed.
“I wish I could take credit for this idea,” Hale said. “This is the brainchild of Brad Hawkins. We’ve been the best of friends for about 25 years and we’ve always talked about creating a concept together.”
The minds behind Crafted Bar Concepts. Dallas Hale (left), Brad Hawkins (center) and Matt Saba (right). (Photo Credit: Alex Gonzalez)
Sushi Marquee is largely inspired by the sushi restaurants Brad Hawkins encountered while visiting Los Angeles.
“Brad has been telling me about this concept for about 20 years,” Hale said. “He had gone to L.A. and came across a place that had a fun, interactive vibe but the worst sushi he had ever tasted.”
Because of his experience in L.A., Hawkins was determined to create something better with Hale.
“He came to me and said, ‘Dallas, we need to recreate this concept, but we need to jazz it up and make it the best sushi they’ve ever had,” Hale said. “I told him, ‘let’s go.’”
A couple of the many options Sushi Marquee has to offer. (Photo credit: Alex Gonzalez)
Despite having been primarily relying on word-of-mouth promotion, Sushi Marquee has seen much success since its grand opening two weeks ago.
“It’s surprising how well the turnout has been,” Hale said. “We haven’t advertised yet because we’re still working out all of the kinks, but the food’s been amazing, we’re getting great reviews, and the crowds keep pouring in, it’s been great!”
Sushi Marquee’s signature Lamb Lollipops (Photo Credit: Alex Gonzalez)
Although Sushi Marquee is currently only open for dinner, they plan to officially open for lunch at the top of next year. Their lunch menu will feature a variety of options which they call their “Power Lunch” meals.
“Our Power Lunch menu is amazing,” Hale said. “We will offer our full menu at lunchtime, but we will also have poke bowls, sushi burritos, and bento boxes.”
The Power Lunch menu will provide guests with easily customizable options.
“We’ll have signature poke bowls, but we’ll allow the guests to select their choice of fish, along with their choice of rice, sauce, and veggies,” Hale said. “Once their bowl is ordered, the customer will be served within five to seven minutes.”
Although Sushi Marquee is fresh off of its opening, they have managed to keep the ball rolling with all sorts of events.
“We’ve already had people call to set up their bachelorette parties, birthday parties, and bridal showers,” Hale said. “We also hope to get a video DJ for New Year’s Eve.”
Sushi Marquee is a novelty for lovers of sports, music, and Asian cuisine. It is a fresh, fun, modern concept, unlike any other sushi restaurant in town. Sushi Marquee is officially open in The Star in Frisco.
Founder Corey Pond (left) with Operation Partner Rodman Shields (right)
