A New Patio Pop-Up Takes Over Greenville Avenue Hotspot Desert Racer Starting Today

Prolific Dallas restaurateur Nick Badovinus has announced that his Greenville Avenue bar Desert Racer will transform into a new pop-up called Vantina.

Badovinus announced that Vantina will take over the patio at the space at 1520 Greenville Avenue in an Instagram post on Wednesday. The restaurant will serve a menu of dishes inspired by the cuisine of Baja California, with dishes like crispy tacos and ahi tuna poke on the menu.

The restaurant will also serve Badovinus’s beloved cheeseburgers, made famous at casual burger spot Off-Site Kitchen. On Wednesday night, Dallas Morning News reporter Evan Grant tweeted that Off-Site Kitchen’s Trinity Groves location would close permanently, which is pretty terrible news even if the cheeseburger will find a new home at Vantina.

In typically mysterious Badovinus fashion, Town Hearth, the opulent steakhouse, opened quietly last night, along with the two Neighborhood Services locations in Addison and on Lovers Lane. Pacific Northwest seafood restaurant Montlake Cut will be the last to open up, on Tuesday, June 2.

As for Badovinus’s Perfect Union Pizza Company, a tipster tells Eater that the space is completely boarded up, and rumors indicate that it will be “reconcepted” rather than reopened. If the footer on the Vantina website holds any clue, it lists Town Hearth, Montlake Cut, both Neighborhood Services locations and Desert Racer only.

Opening today, Vantina will offer its full menu for curbside pickup and on-premises patio dining. All employees will be required to wear masks, and valet parking is unavailable. Vantina will be open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Check out the full menu for Vantina below: