Pad Thai at Hot Joy Dallas
Hot Joy just opened a pop-up location at 3130 Lemmon Ave. in Dallas. Featuring a wild menu with outsized flavors, tiki-inspired cocktails, late-night hours and an atmosphere that can best be described as “singular,” Hot Joy has brought an energetic vibe to the Uptown corner previously occupied by Texas Land & Cattle. Hot Joy burst onto the San Antonio dining scene in 2014 and immediately threw convention out the window. Owner Chad Carey describes the menu as “a wild mash-up of China, Texas, Vietnam, Japan, Louisiana, Thailand, Mexico, Malaysia and anything else that lights up our brain.” “It’s meant to be insanely fun, bursting with life and just a bit too loud,” Carey continues. “Hot Joy is, at its core, about being spontaneous and creative, and the joy that comes from that urgency. We wanted to create a restaurant experience that’s a little bit different, and I think that’s we’ve done. Of all the things we can be accused of … being understated, nuanced or predictable isn’t one of them.”
“I went to San Antonio a couple of years ago, and all anyone would talk about was how I had to go try Hot Joy,” said Randy DeWitt, CEO of Front Burner. “I must’ve ordered everything on the menu because I was so intrigued by what I was tasting. We are all really excited to introduce this distinctive concept to Dallas.” Chef John Philpot, who served as sous chef when Hot Joy first opened in San Antonio, runs the kitchen at the Dallas pop-up. He’s now serving up the concept’s signature dishes, including Shrimp Dumplings “Chengdu Style,” Spam Fried Rice and Twice-Fried Chicken Wings with Crab Fat Caramel, as well as its extensive cocktail, sake, beer and Riesling list. Philpot has also created several new dishes specifically for Uptown diners, and he plans to swap items on and off the menu with frenetic, ahem, joy. Bon Appétit named Hot Joy to its “Hot 10” Restaurant List of 2014, declaring: “Authenticity and rigid adherence to tradition are overrated. Deliciousness is king. That’s the only way I can explain the wide-ranging, irreverent and profoundly irresistible menu at Hot Joy.” DeWitt said the plan is for the restaurant to stay in its current Uptown space for two years before moving to a permanent location. http://www.hotjoysa.com
