Trick Rider in Frisco reboots as luxe steakhouse

John Shaw was that diner. You know the one: sliding up to the bar at 9:45 p.m., ready to order with 15 minutes left before the kitchen closes. Yet like clockwork, the culinary consultant would land beneath the sparkling crystal horse chandelier at Frisco’s Trick Rider three nights a week, a half dozen oysters and gin-and-soda waiting in front of him. 

“I would get off of work later at night, and I was obsessed with oysters, just a taste of the ocean,” the Los Angeles native says before laughing. “I grew up surfing. I grew up on the beach, and I missed it so much … and then it got to the point of, ‘Hey, you gotta come in earlier.’”

How early? Early enough to run the entire kitchen.

In September 2025, Shaw became executive chef of Trick Rider at Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa. Alongside new general manager Madison Young, he’s transforming the restaurant into a culinary destination that blends West Coast polish with a Texas palate and is ambitious enough to go toe-to-toe with Dallas’ lavish steakhouse circuit. 

Cowgirls and Caviar

At its core, Trick Rider is a love letter to women in rodeo culture. The restaurant pays homage to Syda Yokley Woodyard, the legendary female trick rider, founder of the American Quarter Horse Association and 1977 National Cowgirl Museum Hall of Fame inductee. Floating above the bar is Cinnamon, Woodyard’s favorite horse, recreated in 4,075 dazzling crystals shimmering with the spirit of the rodeo.

The restaurant first opened under Joshua Hasho before Joe Riojas took over in 2024. The blueprint was there: prime cuts, fresh seafood and sophistication. But Shaw and Young, who joined the team in October, saw potential to push the restaurant further. 

“I do want to stay true to the Texas ingredients, clean profiles, flavors, spices and seasonings and char with our meats and our fish, which I really appreciate, but then pairing it with really delicate flavors and ingredients as well,” Shaw says. 

So-Cal swagger

Shaw started washing dishes in Los Angeles at 15 before working in Michelin-starred restaurants in Santa Monica and LA. His resume stretches from The Crowbar and Kitchen and Steak & Whiskey in Los Angeles to the Tavern on the Green in New York City before landing in North Texas, where he previously led the kitchen at Plano’s North Italia. But Southern California still shapes the way he cooks. 

“It’s an eclectic community,” Shaw says. “You have so many farmers from all over, all over the state, really sourcing some really unique ingredients as well as such a big influence from South America, and then from overseas in Indonesia, all coming into LA, and I definitely hang on to that.” 

Trick Rider’s culinary reconfiguration pushes the needle and “gives the guests the experience that they’re not going to get anywhere else.”

Revamped culinary spirits

Shaw’s philosophy begins at sourcing. Beef comes from Linz Heritage Angus, an Oklahoma-based heritage rancher. Seafood arrives fresh from Japan’s Hokkaido region. Produce comes from Damascus Farm in Floyd, Texas, where roughly 20 acres are dedicated to Trick Rider. 

Trick Rider’s revamp is delightfully deceitful. Take the Wagyu Beef Tartare. Tartare is one of those foods that’s often more performative than pleasurable. Do you really like it? Debatable. Shaw’s version ups the ante for a tartare to remember. The minced raw eye of the ribeye is contrasted with cracklin’: ground tomahawk that’s rendered, aged 45 days, and then rendered once again. It’s layered with violet mustard, capers, shallots, orange oil, garlic pickled mustard seeds, and a dash of Thai chili for heat that takes the dish to the next level. 

The scallops are subtly grand. Wild-caught scallops are brined for an hour before being pan-seared, then served with a bright Peruvian leche de tigre made with coconut milk, lemongrass, and blended fresh scallops. A drizzle of vibrant green basil oil makes the plate camera-ready. 

Even the salmon gets five-star treatment. The fish is dry-aged for three days, cured with whiskey barrel char, and cooked over an open flame. 

The Wagyu Spinalis is the resort restaurant’s top-selling cut, sliced in-house directly from the ribeye and paired with Jeow Sum, a Laotian chimichurri-style sauce made of cilantro, parsley, coriander, and fish sauce that cuts through the meat’s richness with umami. 

The wine program

For Young, bridging the kitchen with the bar and wine program was a priority. Most recently at Hall Arts Hotel, the general manager approached the beverage program with intentionality.  

Under her direction, the wine program now has a French influence with New World wines. She introduced a by-the-ounce program that allows guests to sample rare, high-end bottles. 

“A lot of people in Texas try to stick to their own roots of Napa or New Zealand, but I’m kind of weird. I’m kind of funky. I want to bring something different and unique,” Young says. 

The cocktail program follows suit. The Cattleman’s Crystal is a smooth, spirit-forward drink centered on Patrón Cristalino, while El Nopalero offers a spicy, herbal margarita spin served with a Loteria card, a nod to Mexican culture in Texas. 

Then there’s Umami After Dark, the restaurant’s black-truffle white Russian, a true kitchen-bar collaboration. It’s made with black truffle and mushroom stock, repurposed from the kitchen’s agnolotti dish, and paired with Caffé Borghetti. It’s earthy and sweet and keeps things pleasantly weird.

Not your average Dallas rainbow cake

Executive pastry chef Leen Kim Nunn, a “Chopped Sweets” champion, rounds the menu out with a tight but lavish dessert lineup that’s heavy on showmanship. 

The 24 CT. Carrot Cake is a sculptural, gold flake-garnished dessert that starts with a fluffy, not-too-sweet carrot cake topped with carrot cream icing, cajeta silk and Thai ice cream. 

The TR Sundae is a true showhorse that will give those sparkler-clad, million-layer Dallas rainbow cakes a run for their money. (You know the one.) The Texas-sized spectacle is an edible dark chocolate boot filled with local ice cream, beignet donut holes, caramel popcorn, brownies, and chocolate pop rocks. It, too, is served with the sparkler fanfare. 

The Trick Rider transformation is opportune. Development around Omni PGA is rampant with the Fields 2,545-acre mixed-use development rapidly expanding retail and restaurant projects. Omni PGA is also preparing to host the 2027 PGA Championship from  May 17-23, 2027, shining an international spotlight on the city. 

Trick Rider, 4341 PGA Pkwy, Frisco. Tuesday – Thursday 5 -10 p.m.; Friday – Saturday 5 – 11 p.m.