Chef Matt Balke Gone From Bolsa, Will Rejoin Sharon Hage at The Rustic

It’s like Batman leaving Robin for Wonder Woman. Sort of.

Jeff Harris and Matt Balke, one of the city’s best chef teams, have split up.

“Saturday was my last day at Bolsa,” Mr. Balke told the Hatch. “But I’m excited about working with my old chef again.”

Who’s Mr. Balke’s former chef? Sharon Hage, of now-defunct York Street. The dynamic duo will be designing the menu for Rustic, the restaurant tucked inside the outdoor festival music venue under construction in Uptown. Ms. Hage is consulting on the menu, while Mr. Balke will be the Rustic’s exec chef.

(We spilled the beans to you months ago about the Rustic and the adjacent burger stand/dog park called Mutts here.)

Kyle Noonan and Josh Sepkowitz (Bowl & Barrel) and singer Pat Green are partners in the Rustic.

I caught up with Mr. Noonan at the sous chef Chefs for Farmers competition on Sunday (for the record, Gmo Tristan of Boulevardier won all the cash); he expects Mutts will open in mid-June. The Rustic should open in mid-July.

Oak, another often heralded Dallas restauarant, has seen some shake-ups recently, too. Last week, exec chef Jason Maddy departed unexpectedly. Now comes word that pastry chef Sarah Green has moved on, reportedly to a swanky job in Los Angeles.