/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52876965/Screen_Shot_2017_01_23_at_8.55.54_AM.0.png)
Will eating at the mall become the thing to do this year? The food options at Westfield UTC are getting a major upgrade this fall, with a high-profile batch of new restaurants signing on to be a part of the shopping center’s grand $585 million expansion plan.
Joining previously announced newcomers, including big-time national burger outfit Shake Shack and Javier’s and The Winery from Orange County, is world-renowned dumpling house Din Tai Fung. Founded in Taiwan, with locations now spanning the globe, the crowd-drawing eatery is known for its delicate, soup-filled steamed dumplings.
Two locally-founded brands will be making their way to the mall — upscale Hillcrest diner Great Maple will have a second San Diego outpost here, and the team behind Little Italy’s Queenstown Public House and Dunedin in North Park are planning to launch a similar restaurant called Arbor. And Fashion Valley fixture True Food Kitchen, the full service relation of the recently-opened Flower Child in Flower Hill Promenade, will slot in another spot in UTC. The Union-Tribune says that Smokeyard BBQ and Chop House, a meat-centric spot hailing from the Mammoth Lakes area and offering everything from American barbecue to South African dishes, will also be part of the mix.