Stephen Rogers asks a question many chefs do: "How do we make everyone happy?"
The short answer is, it's tough. But the hospitable duo Rogers and Allison Yoder are sure going to try with their new restaurant at the Shops of Highland Park. The husband-wife co-owners also operate Gemma, a Cali-inspired restaurant on Henderson Avenue in Dallas. They're debuting a second Dallas restaurant, Sachet, on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Sachet is inspired by the Mediterranean coast; on its menu will be falafel, red beet hummus, Moroccan lamb chops and house-made pasta. All dishes are meant to be shared, so expect diners to (politely) reach across the table during dinner.
A wood-fired oven, which comes from both Tuscany, Italy, and Sonoma, Calif. — are you listening, wine lovers? — will be an important tool for executive chef Michael Lawson. He and Rogers plan to simmer stock overnight on the coals in the oven, then fire it up to bake bread in the morning.
The menu is "a little exotic," Rogers says in a statement from the restaurant, "but still approachable."
Yoder and Rogers are a power couple in Dallas dining. They came from the restaurant Press in Napa Valley, then found success in Dallas with Gemma, which is well-liked both for its thoughtful wine program and for its reliable menu.
Sachet's wine list will be exclusively Mediterranean, with 18 of those available on tap. Try a glass at the bar, perhaps; it will offer the full menu to anyone perched there, no reservations required. (Gemma fans will feel some déjà vu, as its bar also serves the full menu, no resos required. It works.)
Sachet is dressed in bursts of bright white, blue-jean blue and burlap. It's in a corner space at the Shops of Highland Park, on Oak Lawn Avenue. You know it: It's that same shopping center that's home to Carbone's Fine Food and Wine, TJ's Seafood Market and Grill and Celebrity Bakery.
4270 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. sachetdallas.com. Open Tuesday through Sunday, for dinner only, for now. Closed Monday.
Look inside Sachet, now open:
