In 2024, Sam and Gabby Lopez drove their food trailer to Graham for the Food Truck Championship of Texas with $28 in the bank. By the next morning an automatic payment had them at negative $361. They cooked anyway. Their Shaved Prime Rib Sandwich won Grand Champion and a $10,000 check.
That sandwich now has a permanent address. Insurgent opens Saturday, Nov. 21, as a walk-up counter inside The Market building at the Dallas Farmers Market, 920 S. Harwood St., Suite 174. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
The prime rib still gets buttermilk dressing, red wine-braised cabbage and onions, and jus. The Koji Fried Chicken Sandwich pairs koji-marinated thigh with deviled egg aioli and house pickles, and the Steak Sandwich stacks grilled flank steak with tamari-pickled shallots. The bread comes from La Casita Bakeshop in Richardson, the James Beard Award-nominated bakery run by Maricsa Trejo.
Beyond sandwiches, the Lechon Bowl puts crispy pork belly over garlic fried rice with calamansi mayo, and the always-vegan Market Special changes with the local vegetables.
Gabby runs pastry. Her Turon Tart, a riff on the Filipino banana spring roll, layers jackfruit compote, roasted plantain flan and banana leaf mousse under a brûléed spring roll wrapper. A seasonal hand pie comes à la mode.
Both chefs trained at The Culinary Institute of America, Sam at The French Laundry and Gabby at Bouchon Bakery, before leaving corporate jobs in Chicago in 2022 to start the trailer in Denton. Executive sous chef Alec Sanders completes the kitchen.
“For years, the farms decided our menu and the road decided our address,” Sam Lopez said. “Dallas Farmers Market gives that way of cooking a permanent home.”
This winter brings the CounterCulture Dinner Series, eight guests at a time seated across from the chefs for at least four courses, with an optional natural wine pairing and a menu that changes monthly. Reservations will be required.
A soft opening for media and Farmers Market tenants runs Nov. 16 through 20. CraveDFW first covered the move in September.
