Stephan Pyles Chooses Mike Matis To Lead The Kitchen At Stampede 66

It’s a crazy busy time for Chef Stephan Pyles. At the end of the month, Pyles will close his eponymous restaurant that has been open on Ross Ave for more than a decade, but only to make way for Flora Street Cafe. In light of all this change, Pyles has brought in some help at his modern Texas restaurant Stampede 66.

Announced today, Chef Mike Matis was recently named Executive Chef at Stampede 66. Matis comes to Dallas from Washington, D.C., having previously worked at Miami's Khong River House, a 2013 James Beard Award nominee. A Virginia native, Matis is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and says that has "worked in practically every position in the kitchen from pastry chef to salad station" before being promoted to executive chef. The gig will be the young chef’s first time leading a kitchen in Texas.

At least Southern-inspired cuisine is already a fit for Matis, who counts fried green tomatoes among his signature dishes. "I will try to keep everything simple and straightforward.  With that said, I like to mix it up a little and give people a surprise element, " Matis said in the release.

Matis is already cooking in the Stampede 66 kitchen. If his predecessors (like Sugarbacon’s Jon Thompson) are any indication, Dallas can expect exciting things from this young up-and-comer.