hell yeah it’s a grind when you live in dallas and can’t see driving all the way to frisco for a cup of joe. but if you live in frisco (and more & more people do), you’ll welcome this new outlet of a small chain based in Long Beach CA, called It’s a Grind. owner Marchand Froschheuser lived in cali and craved a change from the IT world in which she previously resided. the website claims that IaG’s “upholstered wingback chairs, cozy fireplace, blues and jazz motif, and music” make it “an atmosphere unlike any other coffee house” which uh ok whatever. their main asset is that they are willing to bring the usual espresso-based drinks to the wilds of frisco, even as the paving of the nearby tollway continues apace

6959 Lebanon Rd. #100, Frisco 75034. (972) 782-2527. open 6 a.m. every day!

in the thick of the asian-fest that is Walnut Street in Garland, Coco Fresh Vietnamese stands out: a streamlined spot whose unique mix of goodies embodies a multi-culti fusion: turkey sandwiches + banh mi, espresso + Vietnamese coffee, tapioca-pearl bevs + fruit smoothies (incl. durian & soursop flavors), and super-creamy homemade ice cream in flavors from coffee to avocado. Coco Fresh was opened by Duyet Truong, who lists his studies at the French Culinary School in NY and the San Francisco Bacon Institute (which has no website; you suppose he studied bacon?).

4425 w walnut st #301 (@ plano rd), garland, 866-417-6493

*website seems to be down

While most of the blah-blah re: the Glorious Makeover of NorthPark Center has centered on Barney’sBarney’sBarney’s, there’s news that may interest those w/ a culinary bent. Namely, that HERE NOW* is the la-dee-da first-in-TX branch of The Original Soupman, the now-franchiseable chain launched by Seinfeld cameo-ite Al Yeganeh (w/ corporate partner types), paired w/ a FL concept called Crepe Maker (”home of the handheld crepe”). Crepes, OKfinewhatever, but thumbs up to good soups, rare in Dallas. Hope they’ll execute their menu - soups, salads, cold sandwiches, toasted paninis - in a quality manner; nobody seems able to do that in dallas. Their website’s good, the best thing being a pull-down “rules” menu that includes rules for press (e.g., “only some of the questions emailed may be answered”) and rules for customers offered in 11 languages. (Dutch for “Pick the soup you want!”: Kies de soep die u wil!)

8687 N. Central Expwy. 214-363-1950

*thanks to mr & mrs bk!

The topic of Smoothies offers endless fascination at NYCE HQ. but hey, it ain’t just self-indulgence: acc to Mintel, which does surveys of such things, smoothie sales rose 38% from 2003-2005 to reach $1.5 bil and will hit $2.5 bil by 2010. so this is important news, see. Thus stop the presses cuz a new chain hit dallas in aug: Juice It Up!, from cali (aren’t they all) (‘cept smoothie king = louisiana), w/ approx 120 branches in 7 states, and plans for 10-15 more in DFW over the next few yrs. a story in something called franchise wire says JUI’s smoothies have been picked as best in blind taste tests conducted by 3rd-party organizations, which surely sounds convincing; at the very least, it’s one of the good chains that uses unsweetened fruit (unlike evil you-know-who). of note: the store opened in lake highlands ctr next to the old shut-down WF, which has become an LA/Fitness

7215 Skillman St. (at walnut hill), 214-341-3661

Rush Patisserie is named after chef-owner Samantha Rush (vs. the ’91 drug film vs the snicker canadian power trio), who moved back to D from Vegas, where she made pastry for hotels such as the Green Valley Ranch Resort. At Rush, she’ll do cakes, pastries, and hello, croissants. She’s taken over the space in Deep Ellum that used to be sweet endings, on the corner of elm & Malcolm X. oh but “taken over” doesn’t even hint at the transformation. IE, goodbye pepto-bismol pink exterior, we won’t miss you. and “hi” to the new exterior painted café au lait. She’s changed the whole vibe, man, from quaint pastry shop to boutique. To go w/ the pastries there’ll be hot coffee .. none of that cappuccino silliness

2901 Elm St. 214-749-4040, opening any day now

Since when does every town get its own damn style of pizza? 5th Street Pizza claims to do it St. Louis-style: 1. thin crackery crust, 2. slices cut into rectangles rather than wedges (rectangles? whoo-hoo), and 3. a reliance on Provel cheese, which ain’t even real cheez but is instead what you call a cheese product. (this should tell you sumfin: you don’t gotta refrigerate it.) Here, from Wiki: “Fans consider Provel a delicious, mildly smoked flavor that is softer than mozzarella but that still maintains a cohesive consistency that doesn’t form messy strings when it is cut.” IE, they like this cheese becuz it’s easy to eat. Dude, Styrofoam peanuts are easy to eat. Anyway, 5th street comes from a guy who previously owned upper crust, a mediocre pizza joint in plano which has since closed.

1223 W McDermott Dr. #85, Allen. 972-396-5557

People always say they want to eat healthy. then the minute the waitress comes over, it’s, I’ll have the 22-oz ribeye w/ fries plz, and xtra dressing for my salad. The upshot: places that ID themselves as healthy haven’t historically done well. that won’t stop plucky Zoe’s Kitchen, founded in Birmingham AL in 1995 by an actual person named zoe. “Plucky”=clever cuz zoe does lotsa chicken. its logo used 2B a chicken. & the owner, who is son of zoe, sez his mentor is the guy who runs chick fil-A. also on menu: soups, salads, samwiches, wraps. It has about 2 doz branches, most in AL & TN, w/ big plans for expansion. Its first tx branch is on lovers @ the tollway. if such a place could survive anywhere in dallas, it would be the park cities

5710 West Lovers Lane, Suite 108. 214-357-0100 (opening this friday or next monday - how hot izzat)

Damn, here’s an unfortunate attempt at a clever name: C Rolls Sushi/Café, a small family-run Japanese-sushi place at Preston & Frankford in No. Dallas. It appears to be an unassuming neighborhood place w/ a big menu of rolls (many of which they say are “on sale” — a term you might use for clothes & other merch the day after thxgiving, but an odd one for food). But oh the name. the rest’s website sez it has 3 meanings – it stands for 1. calif rolls, 2. rolls from the sea, and 3. rolls you want to see. Oh dear. Cuz, C, the first assoc I get is C-section

18101 preston rd #300. 972-447-4900

look out for Avocado California Roll & Sushi, sweeping the remote suburbs like a … let’s see, what’s a non-trite metaphor? Hmph. Anyway, the point being, there’s branches galore opening in plano, denton, irving, southlake, & frisco, w/ richardson, allen, & houston on the horizon. owners are Natalie & Alex Lim, a Korean couple w/ an admiration for the franchising concept. Their chain being TX-based, they’ve worked to quell the locals’ fears w/ non-raw items including a “fried chicken roll“. they have some trippy stuff on their website, including this puzzling entry: “12.2005: California roll and sushi research center established.” Vot ees zees research center?

1501 Preston Rd Plano , 972-733-3388
8600 North Macarthur Blvd #132 irving, 817-633-3009
2600 E. Southlake Blvd. # 100 Southlake, 817-749-0900

Say what you will about the northern territories, but they are brimming w/ new restaurants, many of which seem to be asian. Like, for ex, sushi sakana, which took over what used 2b a place called café miso. sushi sakana is co-owned by sue cook, which is how she said to spell her name, possibly cuz she thinks the transcribers at NYCE are incapable of typing out a more complicated asian name and if that’s her concern, well, she may be right. Anyhoo, sue cook previously worked at benihana & shogun, but there are no cleaver-wielding show chefs, just plain old teriyaki, tempura, & sushi. The sakana roll has tuna, yellowtail, salmon, lettuce, and mango. no rice! go figure. (Sakana, btw, means fish. maybe the transcribers at NYCE aren’t so stupid after all, boo hoo)

3000 Custer Rd (at parker) 972-398-1790