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One of Dallas' top restaurants is closing, after chef says 'I never planned on FT33 being around forever'

"Most people who know me knew this day would eventually come," writes chef Matt McCallister on Facebook. He's the brains behind FT33, the Design District restaurant that featured some of the most beautiful plates in Dallas.

FT33 was McCallister's big reveal in 2012 -- his moment to prove he was one of Texas' top chefs. And he did: In 2013, our then-critic Leslie Brenner awarded FT33 a rare five stars. In 2017, McCallister attempted to reinvent the restaurant, we wrote; later that year, Brenner gave it a four-star review.

After years of McCallister's painstakingly intentional and interesting food, he's closing the restaurant on June 23, 2018.

He notes in the Facebook post that June 23 marks his two-years-sober anniversary, a date that will now be "bittersweet and full of emotion."

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An example of Matt McCallister's food at FT33: stracciatella with pickled vegetables
An example of Matt McCallister's food at FT33: stracciatella with pickled vegetables(DMN file photo)
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While we have not heard back from the chef yet, his Facebook post shows that the business part of running a restaurant was a challenge for McCallister. The cooking part of the restaurant -- which he has been continually lauded for over the years -- was confused as well, he writes.

"It was selfish and self-fulfilling to start," he writes. "Maybe self-fulfilling and self-defeating is a better read on that, in hindsight."

Going back in time: Here's chef Matt McCallister at FT33 in 2013.
Going back in time: Here's chef Matt McCallister at FT33 in 2013. (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

Over the years, McCallister opened and shuttered a more casual restaurant called Filament in Deep Ellum. It was less expensive than FT33 (but not inexpensive) and contained some, but perhaps not enough, of McCallister's special touch.

In 2017, he partnered with Dallas restaurateur Jon Alexis to help create the menu at Malibu Poke. At the time, I wrote that it was a surprise to see one of Dallas' "fanciest" chefs join the team at an order-at-the-counter place. But as McCallister's note proves, he realized FT33 wouldn't be his only venture.

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"I never planned on FT33 being around forever," he writes.

The chef also hints that "I have something fun in the works." Surely, there are tons of Dallas diners eager to hear what that means.

For more restaurant news, check out guidelive.com/food-and-drink or follow @sblaskovich on Twitter.