Renowned jazz pasta operator and White Rock Lake booster Jeanie Terilli is expanding her noodle forte to Frisco. She's squatting in the former Soprano's spot, which she hopes to have open by September 1 as Terilli's Sauce, sort of a cross between a Trattoria and Burger King. Not that she'll be giving away Spongebob Squarepants toys with every order of fettuccine and fries, but she will have a "have it your way" kind of menu, albeit one that's nearly identical to the 15-plus-year-old Terilli's jazz restaurant on Greenville Avenue. (There'll be no jazz in Frisco, though, so you might want to bring your Spongebob Squarepants toys.) "There's a whole section of the menu that's kind of create your own stuff," says Terilli, who explains diners can choose from 35 sauces and toppings with which to customize their pasta and pizza. She adds that Terilli's Sauce will serve as a prototype for a restaurant she plans to sparingly expand over the landscape, beginning with Southlake.
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, yet another suave temple of steer worship in Dallas (we won't stop until there are as many steakhouses as churches), will open at the Tollway and Frankford. This Dallas version will be the 11th Fleming's, according to Dallas joint venture partner Skip Fox, a former vice president of operations for La Madeleine French Bakery and Café who spoke from the new Fleming's (the 10th) in Austin. In fact, Fleming's French roots go even deeper, or maybe higher: It was founded a couple of years ago in Newport Beach, California, by former La Madeleine CEO Bill Allen and Paul Fleming, the P.F. in P.F. Changs. Just to keep things confusing, Fleming's is a partnership between Outback Steakhouse Inc., and Carrabba's Italian Grills. Fox says at least two more Fleming's will sprout in the area over the next couple of years, just in case there are any more vegetarian heretics to torture...Restaurant vet Logan Crossland has been reincarnated as catering sales manager and fine dining manager for American Airlines Center's Platinum Club and The Club. Formerly of III Forks, Abacus and the ill-fated Antonovich's, Crossland is running the supping operations for suite-level fans, whose meals will include Continental Southwestern fare nudged into place with the help of Dean Fearing. "It's not going to be a typical arena menu whatsoever," says Crossland. And because the Platinum Club and The Club are exclusively for those who purchased a suite, most of us will be stuck ordering from "the many faces of Velveeta" menu.
