Jeff Bekavac opened Goodwins in May 2024 in the old Blue Goose space on Greenville. He named it after the cross street. He’s been in Dallas kitchens for years — Neighborhood Services, Cane Rosso — and this is his first real shot at doing it his own way. The room is warm, the bar is brass, the back bar is darker and better for a martini. It fills up fast on weekends and most weeknights aren’t far behind.
The burger is listed on the menu as “black angus CBS.” That’s chuck, brisket, and short rib. You have to ask. The patty goes into a cast iron pan with beef tallow until the whole surface goes dark and hard. The cheese isn’t a slice — it’s cooked down into a sauce, an idea Bekavac borrowed from Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, where they’ve been making burgers the same way since 1898. Horseradish pickles underneath. No garnish.
The mustard sauce is the thing. Yellow, Dijon, Creole, Worcestershire, maple syrup, Duke’s mayo — all of it mixed together until it becomes one sauce that has no business being that good. They keep a tub of it going at all times. By the time you get to the last bite your fingers are into it and you don’t mind.
The rest of the menu holds up — cheese beignets, tuna tartare in little sesame cones, a pork chop, crab pasta, a steak with potato pavé. Nothing that needs a paragraph to explain. That’s the whole idea.
Goodwins is at 2905 Greenville Avenue. Tuesday through Sunday lunch and dinner, Monday dinner only. Reservations at goodwinsdallas.com.
