Tag Archives: Oak

Oak Shuttering

Having been a Dallas staple for over a decade and one of  the restaurant pioneers of the Design District, Oak announces that it will be celebrating its last  two days this weekend. Having received a plethora of awards over the years, including four  stars and one of Dallas’s best restaurants by Dallas Morning News, CraveDFW Restaurant of  the Year, Bon Appetit top 50 New Restaurants in the nation, a chef James Beard nomination,  and many more, Oak solidified itself as a Dallas institution.

This weekend will be a celebration  of Oak’s success and the mark it made on the Dallas dining landscape as well as that of the  Design District. 

There will be plenty of specials and fun creations this weekend as we say good-bye.  As to what’s next in the Oak space, stay tuned. 

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Tesar And Tila Pair Up For One Delicious Night

East Meets West Dinner

by Steven Doyle

This should be one very exciting dinner, hosted by two talented chefs, John Tesar and Jet Tila. Make your reservations for May 21, 2015 when these chefs will go toe-to-toe in the Oak kitchen for one super amazing evening. The 5-course meal is $125, and reservations will fill quickly.

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Oak Is Still A Mighty Player In Dallas Fine Dining Scene

oak extby Steven Doyle

This past January the Apheleia Restaurant Group who owns Oak located in the Dallas Design District  announced its partnership with Chef John Tesar. Tesar, of course, owns Knife, the undisputed king of beef in Dallas.  A three-time James Beard “Best Southwest Chef” semifinalist and “Top Chef” contestant, Tesar is a restaurateur and chef known for his stylish, modern American cuisine prepared with classic European techniques. His innovative culinary perspective and no-nonsense personality have garnered much acclaim throughout his 20+ years in the restaurant industry.

Oak is renowned for delivering clean and elegant American cuisine. Opened by the Apheleia Restaurant Group in December 2011, Oak has earned rave reviews and was named one of Bon Appétit’s Top 50 Best New Restaurants in 2012. The restaurant is definitely one of the shining gems of the ever growing Dallas culinary scene.  Continue reading

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Tesar Announces Kitchen Staff At Oak, New Lunch Menu

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In January, Apheleia Restaurant Group announced its partnership with Chef John Tesar. Today, Oak is pleased to announce that Chef/Partner Tesar has introduced Oak’s new Spring lunch menu. This menu represents Chef Tesar’s influence on Oak’s tradition of clean, elegant cuisine. Highlights include spice cured filet of beef carpaccio en Bolero, squid ink spaghetti, spicy arrabbiata and blue crab and Arctic char, black mushrooms
and dashi.

“Lunch should not only be contemporary and approachable, but since Oak is a neighborhood restaurant, we needed to make sure it was also affordable so locals and business professionals can come in everyday if they choose,” stated Tesar.  Continue reading

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Tesar Joins Oak As Chef Partner

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Following recent media reports, Chef John Tesar (Knife, Spoon) and restaurateurs Richard and Tiffanee Ellman are setting the record straight and announcing that Tesar is joining Oak restaurant as a Chef Partner, overseeing the kitchen while leading and training the culinary team.

“We are confident that this partnership will bring to Oak the experience we have always wanted to offer,” says Richard Ellman. Expect to see new menu items by mid-February.   Continue reading

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Oak Serving Lunch And You Won’t Want To Miss A Bite

zenner

by Steven Doyle

We announced back in November that Oak, that fabulous Design District restaurant, was back to serving lunches under executive chef Brian Zenner. Zenner is the chef responsible for for honing the restaurant that opened in 2011, but sort of lost balance over the past year. Zenner had originally been hired at Oak, but was later sequestered to that beautiful little Uptown hot spot, Belly and Trumpet as their execu-chef. There Zenner rocked our world with innovation unlike anything that has been seen on that section of McKinney Avenue, and possibly never will see again due to the lackluster enthusiasm or superior cuisine in Uptown.

Chef Zenner has this wonderful background that lends itself to a canvass such as Oak.  He was born in Thailand, but also lived in Dubai and London, giving this chef a well rounded perspective on how we should be dining. The chef developed his skills working in Portland and in Austin before making his way to Dallas where he had a stint at the Mansion on Turtle Creek just before being recruited as Chef de Cuisine at Oak under opening chef Jason Maddy.    Continue reading

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