In the aftermath of the holidays, we've found restaurant news happening in Dallas. There are new menus to explore, new restaurants to anticipate, and news about brunch. Loads of brunch. Here are our top dining stories:

Mockingbird Diner is a new hotel restaurant featuring the surprise pairing of Maple & Motor owner Jack Perkins and Good 2 Go Taco chef Jeana Johnson. The diner will serve Texas food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This follows the January 4 closure of Good 2 Go Taco, the taqueria from Johnson and partner Colleen O'Hare. The Diner is going into the former Love Field Inn, and it won't open until at least the fall, so this is news that's really way far in advance. A million things could happen before then.

Pinstack, the bowling alley with lane-side food and drinks, will open its third location in Allen in fall 2017. Located at 635 N. Central Expy., the facility will offer 26 lanes, a "VIP" bowling area, laser tag, and rock-climbing wall. A full-service restaurant and bar will offer a chef-inspired menu as well as an enclosed patio. The flagship Pinstack is in West Plano; a second location will open in Las Colinas in summer 2017.

Blue Sushi Sake Grill has an intriguing new menu of sushi items. By "intriguing," we mean that one of them is vegan. Vegan is intriguing. New maki options include a green eggs and hama roll — that is a pun — with yellowtail, wasabi tobiko, spicy salmon, cucumber, and ponzu. The amazon roll has snapper, olive oil, smoked salmon, crab, jalapeno, and chino chimichurri. The vegan roll has eggplant tempura, avocado, and soy. A shrimp tempura roll has crab, eel, avocado, serrano, and yellow soy. There are also hand roll options, in which ingredients are wrapped in rice and seaweed and formed into a cone shape; and a kid-size bento box for the kids.

Nerdvana Food + Spirits in Frisco Square has expanded its menu with new sandwiches, salads, and snacks. Priced from $4 to $10, the sandwiches are panini-style and include ham and Swiss, beef with horseradish aioli, grilled veggie, and grilled cheese. Salads are $8 to $10 and include Mediterranean, chicken jalapeno, and chicken tortilla. Grab-n-go Snacks include hummus, crackers, fruit, and cheese. Oatmeal cups come in four different flavors and are $3.75. Known for its library of 100+ board games, the shop also serves coffee, juices, tea, hot chocolate, artisanal toasts, and pastries.

Moxie's Grill & Bar, the casual Canadian restaurant at The Crescent owned by Dallas Stars proprietor Tom Gaglardi, now offers weekend brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 11 am-3 pm. Menu highlights include a benedict with pancetta, and Sicilian sausage hash with poached eggs. Drinks include pomegranate beet soda with pomegranate, beets, cucumber, cranberry juice, and sparkling water; and a "Caesar" with vodka and clamato.

Pie Tap Pizza Workshop now has a weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am-3 pm with special creations such as smoked salmon pie and an eggs Florentine pizza with mozzarella, spinach, and egg; and a smoked salmon pizza with ricotta, red onion, dill, capers, and egg yolk, inspired by brunch favorite lox and bagels. There are also classics such as French toast and biscuits and gravy. Cocktails include $3 mimosas and $4 frozen bellinis. A release says that the restaurant also has nitro cold brew coffee on tap, although on a recent visit, it was unavailable, so maybe don't go there counting on it.

Mudhen Meat and Greens, the Shannon Wynne restaurant at the Dallas Farmer's Market has new winter hours, which boil down to, they're opening later every day and closing earlier on weekdays. New hours are Monday-Thursday 11 am-4 pm, Friday 11 am-10 pm, Saturday 9 am-10 pm, with brunch until 3 pm, and Sunday from 9 am-4 pm with all-day brunch.