“Nothing-NOT a conversation, NOT a handshake or even a hug establishes friendship so forcefully as eating together!”

Jonathan Safran Foer

The BEST Fried Chicken in Dallas and Fort Worth, North Texas.

Trey Chapman Chow
A plate of food with fried chicken and rice.


Howdy Fried Chicken Lovers!

A man holding a plate of food in his hands.
Rapscallion Dallas “Long Walk To Nashville” Fried Bird. ABC Studios.

I’ve been excited and wanting to create my list of top fried chicken joints for over two years, but like fried chicken itself, you just can’t rush perfection. We’ve been enjoying fried chicken all over North Texas from casual, fast casual and fast-food joints and I’ve finally decided it was time to let the feathers fly and expose what I consider to be the BEST fried chicken in the North Texas area.

We have many places selling various forms of chicken nowadays, so I want to be clear about what I mean when discussing fried chicken. I’m talking about fresh, bone-in chicken fried to GBP – Golden Brown Perfection. Wikipedia defines fried chicken as: “Southern fried chicken,” also known simply as fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior of the chicken while retaining juices in the meat.

Growing up, we served fried chicken at some of our Chapman Family Restaurants and it was very good. Under our restaurant umbrella we also owned a Churches Fried Chicken franchise, and this is where I truly learned the preparation techniques and the time it took to cook and deliver fresh fried chicken. There really are no shortcuts in the process – if you try and eliminate a step, you’re asking for subpar chicken. Preparing fried chicken isn’t very technical, but I strongly believe that simple cooking processes are sometimes the hardest to pull off. The simpler the dish, the less places there are to hide from subpar preparation.

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The 50 Best Burgers in North Texas 2021

Trey Chapman Burgers, Chow
A hamburger with bacon, cheese and mustard on it.


Howdy Burger Lovers!

I’m honored to present this year’s BEST burger winners. Any burger on my list is here because they are fresh and delicious. Please support local and try all of these burgers. Below at the end of the blog we created a full color poster of this years winners. You may screen shot from your phone or print it off and plan your BURGER adventures of 2021. By saving our list you will have instance reference for your barbecue cravings. 

WOW! What a year 2020 was for the restaurant, food, and culinary world. In my five decades in the restaurant business, I’ve seen disasters of all types and nothing comes close to the devastating effect Covid-19 had on our economy. Restaurants, chefs, pitmasters, and restauranteurs had to make big changes if they wanted to survive the pandemic. Nationwide, we lost over 251,000 restaurants forever and 2.5 million restaurant jobs at the latest estimate. The good thing is that NOW we are on the mend and the Texas economy is in full giddy-up mode! This is why it’s so important to support local restaurants to keep us in giddy-up mode.

Even though things were crazy due to Covid-19 we still worked hard reporting on food and hunting down the best burgers we could locate in North Texas. The pandemic allowed us plenty of extra time to chow down on some tasty burgers; it also allowed burger creators time to come up with some new delicious and creative burgers for all of us to enjoy. If you follow me, you know how much I enjoy a great and tasty burger.  This is our seventh year for the BEST BURGER contest in Texas and I’m excited to tell everyone about my delicious burger discoveries.

Did you know that burgers are one of the most sought-after sandwiches in the world? The burger business is crazy in the U.S.A. I don’t have the newly updated numbers of burgers sold in 2020 during the pandemic (and it would be an oddly skewed amount), so we are using the last updated numbers. A national research company states that we sell 6.48 million burgers a day, and around 75 burgers a second! What? Yes, 75 burgers a second! This roughly breaks down as 4,500 burgers every minute, 270,000 every hour, 6.48 million a day, and 2.36 billion burgers a year. A worldwide research study states we sell 50 billion a year worldwide. 50 Billion a year that to me is shocking, but I know how many folks just love a succulent, savory, and delicious burger.

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Best Barbecue Joints North Texas & Beyond 2020

Trey Chapman Chow
A grill with some meat on it


Barbecue Deliciousness 2020

Hello, and THANK YOU so much for reading our Best Barbecue article for 2020. This year we’re very proud to release our Best Barbecue for 2020 on the Fox Network GOOD DAY Fox 4 show. Last year our 2019 BEST Barbecue in North Texas on ABC was extremely successful! In just over fifteen months we reached 1.2 million barbecue and food lovers. I hope you will visit some, if not all, of this year’s winners and reshare our article with your friends and family to help support local barbecue, pitmasters and deliciousness.

 

Below at the end of the blog we created a full list of this years winners. You may screen shot from your phone or print it off and plan your BBQ adventures of 2021. By saving our list you will have instance reference for your barbecue cravings. 

WOW! What a year 2020 was for the restaurant, barbecue, and culinary world. In my five decades in the restaurant business, I’ve seen disasters of all types and nothing comes close to the devastating effect COVID-19 has had on our economy. Restaurants, pitmasters, chefs, and restauranteurs had to make big changes if they wanted to survive the pandemic. Nationwide we lost over 251,000 restaurants forever and 2.5 million restaurant jobs at the latest estimate. The good thing is that NOW we are on the mend and the Texas economy is in full giddy-up mode!

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Unique Texas-Size Shareable Dishes

Trey Chapman Chow
A bunch of different food items on plates


Wow, what a year 2020 was for the restaurant and service industry, and not in a good way. Thank goodness it’s over and we can move on down the road.

If you follow me then you know I’m extremely passionate about food, drink, creative chefs, awesome service folks, and the restaurants and grub pubs that host us. Last July I started pondering on what I could do to help support local restaurants, chefs, and the service industry. Something that was different, exciting and fun!  I wanted to create something special that hadn’t been tried before. After tossing a few ideas around, the big light in the oven came on, and there it was, swirling around in my brain like berries in a blender. A fantastic and outrageous idea!

I created an outrageous, Texas-sized over-the-top menu full of unique, creative, colorful, delicious, and some massive dishes. These dishes would have to be Chef-driven, very large, creative, and delicious. A few are just simply unique but also delicious. True foodies and couples will love these dishes. They can be shared, used as food challenges, or just eaten because you love food. Whatever the reason, this menu sparks your foodie senses and will make you want to take a trip straight to Delicious-Ville. #Deliciousville

I got together with ten North Texas chefs to discuss my ideas, and some of those chefs even created new and special dishes just for the new Trey’s Chow Down Menu. I also located dishes that had already been created but would fit with the new menu. We have everything from breakfast to dinner;  Burgers, BBQ, Seafood, Steaks, and more!

I made trips all over North Texas and tried every single dish myself. I watched the dishes being created and then I chowed down like a pig at the trough. What I ended up with was some unbelievably amazing dishes that are not only delicious and creative, but they are memorable as well. Dishes you can’t and won’t forget!

When you see these dishes, they are visually R.I.D.I.C.U.L.O.U.S! Every single person will say something like, “OMG, WTH Is That!” Believe me – I know because that’s all I’ve heard for the last eight months while working on this new menu.

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Best Brunch Spots Fort Worth and Dallas

Trey Chapman Brunch, Chow
A plate of food with some type of french toast.


Hello Brunch Lovers,

Two men are laughing together while one of them is wearing a cowboy hat.
Chef Hicks and Trey Brunch Event. I love creative fun loving chefs!

WOW! What a year it has been! I would have never believed that thousands of restaurants would close, changing the industry forever. That is exactly what happened in 2020, and things are still changing by the day.

I spent all year twelve months visiting brunch spots, chowing down and visiting with chefs. I felt it important to wait until the end of the year to release my Best and Unique Brunches in DFW on GOOD DAY FOX 4 because I wanted to be sure that all of the restaurants were open and slinging deliciousness for everyone to enjoy. Some of my favorites have closed permanently, and some temporarily due to COVID-19. It was sad that I had to delete restaurants off this years list. We must support our local restaurants, chefs, and service folks by visiting their restaurants, ordering TOGO, or for delivery. They need us now more than ever, especially since it’s the holiday season.

I love any meal that’s loaded with a delicious culinary JINGLE! But, truth be told, I’m in love with brunch because it has a certain vibrancy to it. You can brunch early or late and enjoy some chef-driven tastiness because there is no set time for brunch. I’ve seen people bunch at nine am, and I’ve seen them brunch a three pm. it just doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the brunch is made with a creative spin and is prepared HFD #HotFreshandDelicious.

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OAK’D A Delicious Destination!

Trey Chapman Chow
A wooden cutting board with various meats and sauces.


Howdy, Y’all!

A person wearing black gloves and holding a piece of meat.
OAK’D Beef Rib!

If you ask the team at OAK’D BBQ who they are and what they serve, they’ll tell you:

We’re located in Dallas’ Old Town Shopping Center, where we proudly serve hand-crafted Texas BBQ. Our brisket is an art form of its own, infused with the vanilla-tinged flavor of Texas Post OAK smoke and cradled in a peppery bark. 

Our brisket isn’t the only thing that’s unbelievable here – we take pride in each item on our chef-driven menu. Everything from our scratch kitchen is locally and regionally sourced; flavored just right, no matter what’s in season. From the wide variety of perfectly smoked meats to our gourmet sides and OAK’D Bake Shop, with homemade ice cream, biscuits, and other sweet treats, there’s something for everyone here at OAK’D. 

We take pride in our partnerships with local Texas ranchers and farmers to ensure you enjoy the highest quality BBQ available in The Lone Star State. Our Wagyu Brisket comes directly from Rosewood Ranch and our Prime Beef is 100% Texas Black Angus.  

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Let’s get fancy; The Quintessential TEXAS Dish!

Trey Chapman Chow
A wooden cutting board topped with meat and vegetables.


Texas Official Day!

If you live in Texas, or have spent any time roaming around here, then you know what the most quintessential dish that Texans love to eat.

It’s big, tasty, light brown color, has a little crunch with each bite. In most cases it is smothered in creamy gravy. Yep! The delicious chicken fried steak! Born in Texas, and it is truly the quintessential state dish.

Texans love it so much we even declared an official day to celebrate it!

A man standing in front of an old fashioned kitchen.
Chef Terry Chandler Quintessential Texas Cooking!

October 26th is the official Texas Chicken Fried Steak day! Let me walk you through on why, and where, to enjoy oneself on this awesome day.

There has to be hundreds, if not thousands, of places in Texas where you can eat chicken fried steak. Big cities, little Texas towns, back roads, breakfast cafes, deli spots, hamburger joints, expensive eateries, steak houses, and the list goes on. Really, you can go anywhere! Texans are proud of their chicken fried steak. Everyone who knows me can agree that I know where the best dishes are.

Chefs have their own idea on how to prepare their delicious dishes. They have perfected their own recipes for chicken fried steak. In the last decade, Texas chefs have gotten extra creative. Some use round steak/cubed steak, flat iron steak, rib eye, and if they’re going further in creativity they’re using dry aged rib eye. Each different cut achieves a different flavor profile. Whatever you prefer, you’ll surely savor it.

I’ve been eating chicken fried steak my entire life. The family restaurant and beef business is my pride but I know how to judge a chicken fried steak like no other!

I’ve compiled a list restaurants that are slinging the BEST chicken fried steaks in North Texas! Each place has uniqueness in flavor, service, and southern charm. Have fun CHOWING DOWN on the best chicken fried steak! Our last article was read over 100,000 times! I’m sure this one will trump that. Be sure to share this with your friends to help support local restaurants and chefs!

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Korean Meets American For Burger Perfection!

Trey Chapman Burgers, Chow
A large hamburger with many different toppings on it.


Good Day, Burger Lovers!

A hamburger sitting on top of some corn.
The Phat 2AM Burger

I discovered a NEW Korean/American fusion burger concept that is slinging insane burgers!  K-POP Premium Burgers created by the passionate Chef Kevin Lee and his wife Jenice Lee located in The Colony, Texas.

As most of you know, my entire life revolves around food, chefs, restaurants, creative, and delicious dishes! The last decade I’ve been consumed with locating the best burgers, steaks, barbecue and seafood for Trey’s Chow Down and Trey’s Chow Down LIVE. I LIVE for locating the BEST, and telling the world about the deliciousness I discover through social media, my LIVE T.V. and Radio Podcast.

I received an email last week from a friend Chase Foxworth who was elated and extremely enthusiastic about a new burger joint in The Colony, Texas. He knew the results of our BEST BURGER CONTEST in 2019 reached over 1.5 million BURGER LOVING North Texans. He understood how excited I would be to see this new concept of burger deliciousness for the 2020 Burger Race. He couldn’t wait to show me! I receive numerous requests to visit new burger concepts, or to test a certain burger. I try to visit each and every request as time allows, but his email was so powerful and full of conviction that I made plans to meet him P.D.Q. and try some of these burgers he was raving and screaming about.

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BEST Fajitas in DFW for National Fajita Day! HOLY GUACAMOLE!

Trey Chapman Chow
A close up of some food in a pan


August 18, 2020 is National Fajita Day in the USA! A poster with some food on it

They say the first culinary evidence of fajitas was in the 1930s, along with the Spanish naming.  The cooking style used at that time was by a campfire or directly on a fire pit or in a skillet. Originally, it was made from throwaway cuts of beef by Mexican vaqueros in Southwest Texas. The fajita was developed as an everyday meal in the early 1930s. Since then everyone has fallen in love with the fajita!

Who doesn’t just love some succulent delicious fajitas? I think everyone loves fajitas! Well, at least every one I’ve ever spoken with loves them.

The main issue I’ve learned about fajitas and the folks enjoying them is everyone seems to always want more meat. Some of the other issues I hear from folks when I inquire about how they like there fajitas is pretty basic. They say fajitas can be dry and have little or no flavor, or they didn’t receive enough fixings. Everyone might desire more meat or fixings and eat them differently, use a different choice of corn or flour tortillas, but when it’s all said and done everyone loves fajitas.

Every chef, restaurant, or family business that offers fajitas has a different flavor profile. You won’t find any particular fajita meat with the same flavor profile! Everyone uses a different preparation process. They use an array of different spices, marinades, marinating processes, and cooking techniques. Some restaurants offer you fixings with your fajitas, and some charge you extra for it.

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Baptism By Fire: 5 Veggies That Taste Better On The Grill

Trey Chapman Chow
A close up of some corn on the cob


Howdy Food Lovers!

It goes without saying that grilling takes flavors to another level. Most people are aware of this phenomenon when it comes to meat, poultry, and fish. But did you know that certain vegetables taste vastly better when they’re cooked on the grill? Here are five of the most potent examples.

 Corn

A close up of some corn on the cob
Delicious Roasted Corn Darren Style

When cooked over an open flame, corn on the cob quickly becomes the most sought-after dish on the picnic table. The kernels take on a sweet, mellow flavor that balances well with the smoky char of the exterior. If you don’t want the kernels exposed to the fire, you can soak the ears—husks and all—in cold water for several hours prior to cooking. Place the corn on the grill over medium-high heat for 20 to 30 minutes, turning frequently. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing the husks and silks. They should peel right off, allowing you to dress the corn simply with butter and salt.

 Alternatively, you can peel the corn and place the ears directly over medium heat, with no other preparation required. This is our preferred method because it’s so carefree, and because we like the taste of the slightly caramelized kernels. This method also has more visual appeal, adding color and texture to the plate.

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Forsure “Sum Dang Good Chinese” In Dallas!

Trey Chapman Chow
A plate of food on top of a table.


Delicious Eats at Trinity Groves in Dallas.

If you follow me on social media, or you’re one of the millions of foodies we reach each year then you’re aware I’m always on the hunt for the next new and creative concept. In the last three months of the pandemic crisis, it’s made it impossible for new restaurants to open.A restaurant with red lighting and chinese characters on the wall. We’ve had a large number of them close, and sadly, more will follow.

When I got an email about a new restaurant opening its doors during the COVID-19 crisis my immediate thought response was, NO WAY... This has to be wrong? A new restaurant with an opening date?

Nope, I stand corrected!

When I found out it was a Phil Romano concept I was truly excited that a restaurant wanted to open and share a new concept with North Texans during a crisis.

Phil Romano is passionate about the restaurant business. If he decides to open a new concept, then you better believe it’s going to be fun and exciting.

It was opening in one of my favorite destination spots in North Texas for dining, drinking, socializing, and sweet treats. Yep, Trinity Groves in Dallas, Texas!

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SUM DANG GOOD CHINESE TO OPEN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1 Dallas Trinity Groves

Trey Chapman Chow
A plate of food with shrimp and bacon on it.


Great NEWS for the Culinary and Restaurant scene in Dallas!

I know this probably may come as a surprise to everyone but at Trinity Groves’ the NEW “Sum Dang Good Chinese Restaurant” is opening this week for curbside pickup and delivery!!!!! A cake that is made to look like a basketball.

If you ask me I think this is a positive move for the Dallas restaurant scene and of course the Trinity Groves area.

Phil Romano, co-owner of Trinity Groves said: “Many people wouldn’t dream of opening a restaurant in this climate, but we are adapting and think Dallas needs a little culinary excitement right now. Now more than ever people need great takeout and delivery options, so we’re here to answer the call. We’re thrilled with Chef Cai’s menu, and we can’t wait to share it with the community, even during this unprecedented time.â€

In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, restaurants all over DFW—and the country—have been forced to quickly pivot their business models or close down completely. So now is an unusual time to open a new restaurant. And yet… Trinity Groves is ready to unveil Sum Dang Good Chinese, the new restaurant that has taken over the old Chino space. It will debut on Wednesday, April 1 with its full menu of food and drinks available for curbside pickup (call 469-638-8930) and delivery via Uber Eats, Grubhub, Favor, Caviar, DoorDash and Postmates.

The kitchen is led by Chef Weigou Cai, a 40-year veteran of Chinese cuisine who is the former Head Chef at the lauded Royal China. The menu includes handmade dumplings and hand-pulled noodles, soups, Bao buns, and appetizers like scallion pancakes, crab and cheese rangoon, and two varieties of egg rolls. Entrees feature favorites like Sesame Chicken, Sichuan Beef, Mu Shu Pork, Kung Pao Shrimp, Ma Po Tofu and a huge heap of House Fried Rice. There is even a modern spin on some dishes like Beer Can Chinese Chicken, a whole rack of Sweet and Sour Baby Back Ribs, Chicken Pot Pie Dumplings, a giant flaming sesame ball, and a soup dumpling (The Humpty Dumpling) so big it has to be devoured using a straw and fork! See the attached menu for more.

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