Is John Tesar Opening a Steakhouse in Dallas?

Having conquered the realm of seafood, Spoon Bar & Kitchen chef John Tesar is apparently now setting his sights on red meat. An article in today's Wall Street Journal reveals that Tesar has a steakhouse in the works. Here's the juicy passage from the piece, in which writer/Meatopia founder Josh Ozersky discusses the evolution of the modern day steakhouse:

"We have a saturation of steakhouses that are owned by chains and totally focused on the bottom line," [Tesar] said. "Now young chefs are driving the food scene, creating independent restaurants with creativity and entrepreneurship."

Mr. Tesar is currently at work on a steakhouse concept for a major restaurant group and plans to stress game, untethered veal (meaning the calves roamed free with their mothers) and other underappreciated meats. The range of prices will be just as important, Mr. Tesar added: "I want it to be approachable, affordable and casual—not some cavernous man-cave where you have to spend $1,000 for four."

Of course, with no concrete details it's really just a cruel teaser — who is the "major restaurant group"? Will Tesar be directly involved with the steakhouse, or just a consultant? Will it even be here in Dallas? The chef is keeping quiet for now, but regardless of the project's details, it's clear that he's keeping plenty busy these days — besides running his own smashingly successful Preston Center restaurant, there's also that recently announced fast-casual seafood spinoff he's working on. (Of course, this wouldn't be Tesar's first stab at a steakhouse — he opened Tesar's Modern Steak & Seafood in The Woodlands back in 2009, but left after just a few months to return to Dallas and take a job at DRG Concepts, the group behind Dallas Chop House, Dallas Fish Market, et al.)

· Say Goodbye to the Same Old Steakhouse [WSJ]
· More John Tesar coverage [-EDFW-]

[Photo: Margo Sivin/EDFW]