Hank Vaughn
Audio By Carbonatix
It’s a funny time for dining in Dallas. Recently Michelin announced its selections for its inaugural guide to Texas. The only local restaurant to receive a star was an omakase spot in Deep Ellum, helmed by a chef who is originally from Japan and, most recently, New York City.
Two years ago – heck maybe even one year ago – an explanation of omakase was needed on the rare occasion the style of dining was mentioned. Now we’ve got a whole herd of omakases, many of them great. And we only mention it because, like Michelin, Esquire has anointed another omakase-leaning (keep reading) restaurant, MÄ€BO, as one of the best new restaurants in the U.S.
Dallas has made appearances on the list previously. In 2013, Stampede 66 from Stephan Pyles and Spoon from John Tesar (two bastions of Dallas dining) were anointed best restaurants. In more recent times, Misti Norris’ Petra and the Beast (2018) and Roots Southern Table (2021). And while no Dallas restaurants made the 2023 list, their selections clearly are spot on.
MÄ€BO opened earlier this year in Preston Center as a yakitori omakase: Skewered meats, particularly chicken, are grilled over binchotan coals, which are favored for their precise temperature control. The chef is Tokyo-born Masayuki “Masa” Otaka who ran Teppo for 27 years, prior to it closing in 2022.
The menu is as the chef pleases and includes some seasonal dishes to start, then moves on to about 10 yakitori skewers using all parts of the chicken, including organs. A Japanese rice dish and dessert round out the meal.
Omar Mamoon of Esquire, who wrote the MÄ€BO blurb, considers chicken the superlative and essential protein and writes: “And when you consider the Japanese art of yakitori, in which skewered chicken parts grill over binchotan coals until they achieve maximum smokiness and juiciness-well, this is where the bird gets transcendent.”
Fun fact: At MÄ€BO, they actually call this style of dining kappo instead of the o-word, as it favors a broader range of dishes other than sushi.
There are just eight seats at the chef’s counter inside the dark, sleek restaurant. Reservations are a must for one of the two seatings (5:30 and 8:30 p.m.) offered five nights a week.
Dinner for one starts at $200 for 12-14 courses, but that doesn’t include tax, tip, or drinks. Plan for at least a little over $300 for the experience, which lasts about three hours. If you prefer to BYOB, there’s a corkage fee of $150.
The only other Texas restaurant recognized on Esquire’s list is Late August in Houston, which is a concept from a former culinary ambassador for the U.S. Department of State, Chris Williams.
Esquire’s new restaurant of the year went to Four Kings, a Cantonese restaurant in an alley in San Francisco. The specialty here are the 15 chickens hanging from twine in the kitchen, which take 10 days to prepare. “The small birds are marinated, dry-aged, smoked, and deep-fried to order, resulting in skin that is ethereally thin,” writes Mamoon.
