Chef

Dean Fearing

"I can never get enough of this little hideaway Italian restaurant near my house. It has the best chicken Parmesan in town: pounded thin, evenly breaded, pan-fried to a crisp coating, and topped with sliced Provolone and the best Mama Mia red sauce. It’s good to the last bite! Thanks to Zee and Michael Bugatti, everything at the table is always perfect."

"When I’m having a hankering for a great cheeseburger, the boys and I always head down to Jack Perkins’ place. Order everything on it with all the sides. Just be prepared to stand in line!"

"Over at Abacus, Kent Rathbun serves a killer braised wagyu short rib with a Southern twist—cornbread, barbecue sauce, and slaw. Being from the South, it’s something I could eat every day."

"When I moved to Dallas in the late ’70s, Sonny Bryan’s was the first barbecue shack I ate at, and I fell in love. I love the barbecue sauce so much that I decided to use it at Fearing’s! The pork ribs are marinated overnight in their own barbecue sauce, smoked in an original pit from 1948, and heated on a charbroiled grill. Pairing a slab of those with crispy onion rings is out of this world. I take every chef and food personality that visits Dallas to have lunch with me here."

"A large pepperoni and onion pizza at Coal Vines is the closest you’ll get to New York-style in Dallas. They use true coal-burning ovens, and the high heat produces a perfectly cooked pizza with homemade tomato sauce. Add pepperoni, sliced onions, and a touch of mozzarella, and you produce a pizza I could eat on a daily basis! Jeff at the helm will get you seated and started in the right direction with a great salad and bottle of wine."

"Let me tell you: this steak—cooked medium rare and slightly charred, with sides of asparagus, Hollandaise, and creamed corn with applewood-smoked bacon—is one of the best steak dinners you can have. Oh, and be sure to start with a wedge salad!"