Adobe Stock
What we once remember as the “dining-out experience” — crowded restaurants with maskless patrons waiting beside crowded bars for a table — is, unfortunately, unlikely to return. Yet, despite the pandemic playing havoc with the restaurant industry, some creative chefs are giving us a taste of what the dining-out experience might look like post-COVID.
For example, the domino effect of bars only being able to open if they served food led to the launch of Lou Dong’s Night Market. Inspired by a global perspective on street food but taking direction primarily from Taiwanese fry and grill stands, chef Alan Huang brings a truly unique experience to a Magnolia Avenue bar.
Pre-pandemic, Huang felt listless as a corporate chef and aspired to eventually open up a space of his own. In the midst of planning his next move while working at The Modern, he was furloughed during the pandemic shutdown and eventually laid off. After a series of gigs that included work at Martha’s Vineyard, he received a request from one of the owners of the Boiled Owl to do weekend pop-ups. Adding food service to the menu allowed the bar to reopen under new TABC rules.
Huang created Lou Dong’s Night Market to fill what he saw as a void of authentic Taiwanese and other globally inspired street food at an approachable price point. Without the benefit of a commercial kitchen to work out of, he rents kitchen space by the hour from Locavore to prep food. The menu changes every weekend and spans familiar-ish dishes such as Taiwanese street-stand chicken to more exotic fare that includes Taiwanese braised oxtail stew.
Huang always includes several vegan options that will exhilarate anyone accustomed to plant-based restaurant options often treated as afterthoughts. With updated social media posts every time he sells out and a long and socially distanced line to order, it’s clear the Fort Worth dining audience appreciates this type of food and this model. If you’re used to driving to Plano and other distant places for authentic global street fare, you can now save a few bucks on gas money.
Similar to Huang’s story, chef Rodney Dabon became an unexpected entrepreneur due to the fallout of the coronavirus. After a storied culinary career as executive chef at a number of hotels and Fort Worth favorite, Brewed, Dabon’s culinary career path unexpectedly diverted due to the pandemic shutdown. With the help and encouragement of Ernest Morales and Chris Magallanes of Panther City BBQ, who lent him the use of their kitchen, Dabon began his pop-up and catering business under the name of Yeschf.
Dabon prepares food straight from his heart and that of his native New Orleans. He specializes in Creole and Cajun dinners that can be preordered and picked up twice a week at Panther City BBQ. He also prepares dinners throughout the week through his catering service that can be picked up or delivered by him. Dabon says his business is “not like climbing a hill, it’s like climbing Gibraltar” but credits his many customers whom he calls friends for giving him the strength and encouragement to continue.
Dabon has cultivated many happy friends and customers since starting this endeavor. Fort Worth diners can now pick up Creole and Cajun meals from an accomplished chef with over 30 years of experience. It’s clear the years have not dulled the shine on what he loves to do, which is to cook and connect with and for others.
Despite the adversity our local food industry currently faces, it’s encouraging to see that players in the local food scene creatively adapt to their current circumstances. These entrepreneurial chefs have a receptive audience in Fort Worth. It’s an audience that continually steps up and shows up for unique and interesting dining opportunities like these.
