D.L. Mack’s brings Chicago-Style Pizzas to University Park | Eater Dallas

"Opening today in the Park Cities, I find D.L. Mack’s—a 2,400-square-foot, Chicago-themed American tavern at 6501 Hillcrest Avenue—is all in on Chicago without serving deep-dish: instead it specializes in extra-crispy Chicago-style cracker crust pies so crunchy a slice can't be folded. The menu is rounded out with salads, sandwiches and bar snacks like garlic knots, a build-your-own crispy pizza option and specials such as the Return Of The Mack topped with meatballs, onion marmalade and pecorino Romano, Vandelay’s famous cheeseburger, chicken tenders with truffle-honey mustard, and a Steak Frites Au Poivre with chunky potato wedges. The space is done up like an old-school Windy City hangout, featuring 200-year-old reclaimed dark wood floors, an antique brick wall that predates the 1871 Chicago fire, wood-paneled walls hung with works via The Art Institute of Chicago, tiles from the Chicago Civic Center, and a garden patio with a retractable roof and wooden benches meant to evoke the Chicago Transit Authority. Cocktails include ice-cold martinis, frozen Palomas and Bellinis from Hudson House, a Bees Knees with Lilet Blanc limoncello foam, and an Anejo Old Fashioned with Amaro Montenegro, anejo tequila and sour cherry bitters. The restaurant is from Vandelay Hospitality Group, which has created other place-based outposts but has also faced allegations of racism and discriminatory hiring practices in a suit filed this summer by a former Drake’s Hollywood manager." - Adele Chapin