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Goodsurf Beach Club Recruits Well-Known Dallas Chef to Reboot Menu
When people think of Deep Ellum, several things come to mind: crime stories that are often overblown, the cluster of nightclubs that have taken over the east end of the neighborhood, and its history as a blues hub where Black families settled. What they don’t think of is surfing. Since it opened in June 2024, […]

When people think of Deep Ellum, several things come to mind: crime stories that are often overblown, the cluster of nightclubs that have taken over the east end of the neighborhood, and its history as a blues hub where Black families settled. What they don’t think of is surfing. Since it opened in June 2024, Goodsurf Beach Club — located in a space off Canton Street formerly occupied by a beach volleyball club — has tried to change that.
Now, owners Zach Shor, Andrew Limbocker, Joe Pomerenke, and Turner Eakins are bringing in reinforcements. They’re making a big splash by partnering with one of Dallas’s most lauded chefs, Nick Badovinus (Town Hearth, Brass Ram), to serve up some stellar food to go with the “quality hang” vibes.
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“The fact of the matter is, we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to with the menu last year,” Shor says, noting that Goodsurf staff handled the food at launch. Shor and his co-owners learned, after a year in business, that the pickleball courts and surf pool can only accommodate a limited number of people at a time. Therefore, the venue must also be equally well-known as a bar and restaurant, which can serve a significantly larger number of people.
That’s where Badovinus came in. Shor has been a patron at his restaurants for years. Badovinus’s fast-casual restaurant in Dallas, Desert Racer, closed, and his Surf Camp rooftop spot Downtown is open when the chef feels like it — which is very infrequently. So, Shor proposed that Badavonus and his team and his hospitality group, Flavor Hook, create a new menu for Goodsurf. Badovinus not only created a new menu, but also reorganized the kitchen space, assisted the owners in redesigning the dining room, and gave the operation a new name: Quality Hang at Goodsurf.
“One of the things I love that Nick and his team did is taking an item from our old menu and upgrading it, dragging it into a Baja or SoCal vibe,” Shor says about the New Wave Asada Fries. The dish, served on a silver tray, features a layer of waffle-cut sweet potato fries topped with skirt steak marinated in teriyaki sauce and accompanied by pico de gallo, avocados, cotija cheese, and lime ranch dressing. Also notable are the crispy rock cod tacos, featuring fish from the Kanaloa Seafood Market in Santa Barbara. “I don’t think Kanaloa would have taken our phone call if we weren’t working with Nick,” Shor says.
He predicts that the QP Cheeseburger will be the bestseller of the summer — it’s a classic burger with mayo on a Martin’s potato roll — but the sleeper hit right behind it will surely be the Ahi Poke Wonchos, a plate of nachos made of fried wonton wrappers topped with chunks of ahi tuna that’s tossed in dynamite sauce, jalapeño, radish, and sesame seeds.
For those who partake, at least until Senate Bill 3 determines the fate of THC products in Texas, there are THC-infused sparkling waters from Cali Sober, which is based in Dallas, that Shor says go well with a morning of yoga, an afternoon in the sun, or even a game on the pickleball courts, all depending on your fortitude. It also serves margaritas on tap that come out just as quickly as any beer, an array of house cocktails including a cucumber mojito and a hibiscus ranch water, low- and no-proof drinks, and a few wines.
Even better, there is plenty of parking space in the lot out front, which is a rarity in this neighborhood. You won’t forget you’re in Dallas while you’re looking at the Downtown skyline in the distance or the mural on the warehouse facing the courts, but you can sure have a quality hang.