12 January 15 - 21, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents on this particular ride. “[One day] I pro- ceeded to use the rest of my stuff. And then I overdosed. I blacked out and crashed through a set of bookshelves. My girlfriend came home and found me lying face-down in a huge pool of blood.” The girlfriend called 9-1-1, and McCallis- ter snapped back from the brink of death at the approaching sound of jangling hand- cuffs on an officer’s belt. He was rushed to the hospital, then sent straight back to rehab (at least it wasn’t prison). Then, as McCallis- ter’s family prayed that this time would at last be the charm, he worked through a year- long program for chronic relapsing patients in Kaufman, Texas. About a month into his stay, he learned that his Arizona bestie had overdosed and died. At the age of 24, he’d already experi- enced more death and destruction in his first quarter-century than most people do in a lifetime. So, after com- pleting the program, McCallister headed to Dallas for a fresh start. Initially, he didn’t think that going back to cooking, his trusted refuge, would be the best idea. “I had a counselor in rehab who pretty much told me flat out that I could probably never cook in a high- stress professional kitchen, just because of my past,” McCallis- ter says. Fate stepped in, however, and a chance meeting with a fellow chef led to the invitation to apply at Stephan Pyles. He had no formal training, unlike his would-be colleagues who had attended some of the most prestigious culinary programs in the country. And then there was the question mark McCallister put on the part about prior felonies. (But he really wasn’t sure what was going on with a certain charge at the time anyway.) Signing his name, he crossed his fin- gers, and he got the job. “He is someone that I adore,” says Kath- erine Clapner of her former coworker. Now a celebrated chef and founder of Dude, Sweet Chocolate in the Bishop Arts District, back then, she was the pastry chef at Stephan Pyles. When Clapner met McCal- lister, whom she immediately recognized as both “brilliant” and “incredibly socially awkward,” the two hit it off right away. Clapner had already been immersed for over a decade inside what she refers to as the “excess” of the restaurant industry: ex- cessive hours, excessive hard work, exces- sive critics, excessive quests for recognition and excessive fatigue. When her own alco- hol use plummeted to a new low during her time at Stephan Pyles, McCallister played a pivotal role in her turning point. “The last day that I drank, I didn’t show up to make dessert at the restaurant,” she says. “Matt was the one that came to find me, trying to get into my building. I was at a meeting the next day.” Now sober for 13 years, what Clapner didn’t know — couldn’t have known — at the time was that her friend was soon to fall down the same pit. In 2009, McCallister was promoted to executive chef at Stephan Pyles. The deci- sion was a natural for Pyles, who knew of McCallister’s struggles with addiction but approached the subject with compassion and a sense of duty. Sober himself for many years at that point, Pyles is adamant that “part of the process of recovery is that you are there to help. That’s your mission, and you would be remiss if someone were in re- covery and you didn’t reach out and say, ‘I’m there for you.’” And then there’s Pyles’ legendary eye for emerging talent. Having mentored some of the most well-known names in the business, including Clapner, Marc Cassel, Graham Dodds, Bobby Flay and Jose Garces, Pyles recognized great po- tential in McCallister from the start. “Matt had an im- pact on me that no other chef has had,” he says. “He changed the way I looked at food. I thought he was the most talented chef I’d worked with up to that time.” The Observer cov- ered McCallister’s rise to the top spot at one of the most well-re- spected restaurants in one of the most com- petitive culinary cities in the country. Concurrently, the young ex- ecutive chef became part of a “heady time,” as Pyles puts it. The concentration of local talent during the first decade of this century turned dining out into performance art, and Pyles recalls “history being made” on the Dallas restaurant scene. No pressure, right? McCallister started drinking again, but it was only “a little bit,” and that particular substance had never been his major prob- lem. The subsequent story of his 2016 re- lapse, this time, into alcohol, has been shared in the local media before. “I was doing a dinner with Tony Maws from Bos- ton. He is a chef I look up to in a lot of ways,” he says. “It was also my birthday, and I had gotten so shitfaced that day. It was a shit show. [It was] not a good show- ing at all.” Having recognized the signs leading up to that disastrous birthday, his wife, Dedre, along with the help of his mother, was al- ready planning an intervention. McCallister was more than ready. “I was so tired. I was miserable inside, you know, I didn’t like what I was doing, but I just didn’t know any other way,” he says of his state of mind as fellow chefs and family members con- fronted him that day. Today, minus a “couple of issues,” Mc- Callister has been sober for eight years. Though he’s been in and out of 12-step programs since the age of 13, McCallister has found that following his own regimen is the best way to maintain his sobriety. He sticks to a routine, including a daily trip to the gym, often in addition to a long run, and even when it comes to coffee, he is keenly aware of the fact that he’s “not wired for moderation.” Thriving as he guides menu development for concepts including El Fenix, Snuffer’s and Taqueria La Ventana, among many other popular brands, he has also main- tained a tight ship at all of his restaurants since getting sober. “I never let people drink,” he says of the complimentary shift drinks that are fre- quent perks for servers, chefs and hosts. He also frowns on post-shift partying. “Noth- ing good has ever happened in my life when I’ve allowed that. I mean, anytime weird stuff happens in a restaurant, alcohol’s usu- ally involved.” Additionally, he keeps an eye out for those who may need a check-in. Whether it’s taking a colleague to a meeting or just sending them a text or inviting them to join him at the gym, he’s there as “someone to talk to.” Murray-Bravo agrees with setting clear boundaries and offering support as a win- ning combination. “A responsible bar or restaurant can support employees in recovery by creating a culture that includes clear policies around alcohol access, and leadership trained to understand stress and addic- tion,” Murray-Bravo says. “Employees should never be forced to disclose their re- covery status, but workplaces can make it clear that support exists. Ultimately, struc- ture, respect and realistic expectations help create safer environments for everyone, not just those in recovery.” As our conversation draws to a close, Mc- Callister recites his personal motto. Tapping a finger on the table, he emphasizes each syllable: “Good, better, best. Never rest until good is better and better is best.” “It’s kind of a fucked-up saying,” he says. “It essentially never ends, right? You’re just always chasing perfection, essentially, which can grind you down. That being said, life can be so beautiful if you can just choose to live it.” ▼ SUSHI AFFORDABLE FISH. NO, REALLY DOMODOMO KO IS DALLAS’ BEST- KEPT SUSHI SECRET. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS D allas offers a wide range of sushi op- tions. Restaurants in general, actu- ally. Even just new restaurants can be overwhelming. Scouting through what’s what is a job, for even the most seasoned foodie (or food journalist). If an effort to run zone coverage, we vis- ited Domodomo Ko recently and had a sur- prisingly delightful meal, which was — this is going to be hard to believe at first – not only damn good, but affordable. About Domodomo Ko When Domodomo Ko opened in Dallas in March 2025, it was a homecoming of sorts for brothers Brian and Chris Kim. The Ko- rean-born brothers immigrated to North Texas as teenagers and settled in Denton, where their father owned and operated a su- shi bar, Osaka. Brian then trained at the Culinary Insti- tute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and opened his first Domodomo in New York City in 2016. The restaurant, known for blending Japanese and Korean influences, landed in the Michelin Guide with a Bib Gourmand distinction from 2018 through 2023. Chris says that from the start in New York City, their philosophy was to offer a great- value dining experience without compromis- ing on quality or service (which is in line with a Bib Gourmand). They priced a three-course tasting menu at $35 when they first opened in NYC, then adjusted it to $49 in 2020, and have maintained that price point since, in- cluding at the new restaurant in Dallas. “Even as costs have continued to rise and margins have gotten tighter, we’ve chosen to keep the menu at the same price point,” Chris says. The New Quad Domodomo Ko is part of The Qaud 2.0, the Lauren Drewes Daniels The hwe dupbap is a build your own hand roll experience, priced to move. City of Ate from p11 “Matt had an impact on me that no other chef has had. He changed the way i looked at food.” –Stephan pyles
