Ocean Grill Executive Chef Willem De Froy, a founding chef of Sambuca, was forced out of the Plano seafood restaurant by owner Anson Chan after De Froy and his wife Amy's attempt to take it over crumbled, says Chan, who founded Yoli's Seafood Restaurants and Plano Cafe and opened Ocean Grill in June 1997. Chan says that after a new chef is in place by next week, the menu will be slightly modified. He's also going to add live jazz and expanded hours (until 2 a.m. on weekends) and change the venue's name to Ocean Grill and Jazz.
Hash seasonings
Former Fish general manager Steven Occhipinti has a new gig. He'll be sommelier at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, a 500-seat upscale spot set to open in mid-September one mile north of Texas Stadium near Stemmons Freeway and Northwest Highway. Occhipinti will have his work cut out for him. The restaurant--the second steak house for Houston-based Pappas Restaurants (the first is in Houston), which operates some 60 restaurants including Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchens and Pappasito's Cantinas--aims to compile the largest wine list in the Southwest with 1,300 selections...Green Room owners Brandt and Brady Wood and R. Whitney Meyers acquired Another Roadside Attraction, a small diner with patio seating that served sandwiches and fixin's from an Airstream trailer across the street from the acclaimed Deep Ellum restaurant. The sleek metal box is now Vortex Mex. Designed by chef Marc Cassel and executed by Green Room cook Josh Hopkins, the menu zeros in on tacos...Ketama founder Ildefonso Jimenez says I got it wrong in my review of his Deep Ellum tapas bar two weeks back. He says his relinquishment of his stake in Cafe Madrid was not due to a divorce settlement with current Madrid owner Donica Jimenez, but was a result of his desire to take on another challenge: to introduce Dallas to the passion of Spain through flamenco music and dance...The Seventh Annual Great Caesar Salad Competition is scheduled for August 23 in the Fairmont Hotel's International Ballroom. Sponsored by the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food, this year's competition will feature salad creations by chefs from Angeluna, Barclay's, Biernat's, The Fairmont, Fish, Palomino, and Reata. Chosen by attendees' votes, top competition honors last year went to Jim Severson of Sevy's Grill. Tickets are $25 for AIWF members and $35 for non-members. For info call (214) 696-AIWF.
--Mark Stuertz
Send e-mail to Mark Stuertz at [email protected].
