News You Can Eat
Brunch is the word in this edition of Dallas restaurant news
This being the end of March, you can count on lots of tidbits about spring menus in this roundup of Dallas restaurant news. There's also news of new brunches and sandwiches with "warm, runny eggs." It's a thing.
Here's what's happening in Dallas dining news:
Original ChopShop, the Arizona-born healthy restaurant chain, will open its first DFW location in Las Colinas at 7300 N. MacArthur Blvd. on April 10. The concept debuted in Old Town Scottsdale in 2013 but has been headquartered in Plano since 2016. The Las Colinas opening is the seventh location overall and the first outside the Phoenix area. The company plans to open three more locations in the Dallas area in 2018, including two locations in Plano - at the Shops of Legacy and at Park and Preston- as well as The Hill, at Walnut Hill Lane and US 75. Protein bowls are a core component of the menu; the most popular is the teriyaki chicken bowl, which can be served with superfood forbidden rice, brown rice, or sweet potato hash.
Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian churascurria chain, has opened its newest location at Legacy West in Plano with a range of menu selections and prices to fit guests’ needs. There is the full Churrasco Experience with all the meats, plus salad, charcuterie, cheeses, vegetables, black bean stew, and family-style sides. The Dry Aged Experience, available only on Friday and Saturday nights in Legacy West, features premium cuts of dry-aged meat, all aged in-house for a minimum of 45 days. Brazilian Cuts features the most popular beef, chicken, lamb and pork cuts. Select Cut gets you one meat with the salad bar and sides. The new Churrasco Bar offers front-row access to the open kitchen and the churrasqueira grill. A weekday lunch starting at $15 includes the salad bar plus family-style sides. A weekend Brazilian brunch includes the full churrasco experience combined with the salad bar and special Brazilian-inspired breakfast items like pão de queijo egg bake and beef rib hash. Fogo de Chão relocated its headquarters to Legacy West, which includes a state-of-the-art test kitchen and bar to continue to focus on global food and beverage innovation.
Bulla Gastrobar in Plano has a new spring menu with five new items including roasted oysters, pork chop, grilled peach salad, and St. Louis pork ribs. The restaurant has also changed up its brunch with five new items including churros s’mores and a sausage and egg sandwich. A new $27 three-course brunch menu features tapas, eggs, main dishes and a dessert.
Thirsty Lion Gastropub & Grill at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving has rolled out a spring menu featuring dishes such as pork belly bao buns, grilled artichoke, pork carnitas tacos, Korean fried chicken, skit steak salad, shrimp and vegetable pad hai, and white chocolate-strawberry rhubarb cheesecake. They'll also be serving the rare, hard-to-get Impossible burger the plant-based protein burger that has the same taste, smell, sizzle and bleed as a burger made of 100% beef. The menu runs from April 5-June 3.
Henry’s Majestic has a new spring menu featuring charred onion hummus with vegan chorizo oil, seared Diver scallops, sea bass with smoked corn puree, mushroom pasta, and carnitas dumplings with tomatillo salsa. A new cocktail menu includes two new charged options on tap, including the watermelon swizzle with rum, aperol, watermelon, basil, citrus and soda and a homemade white sangria.
Da Mario, the Italian restaurant at The Star, has added two key time zones to its lineup: They're now serving lunch from 11 am-2 pm on weekdays and Sunday brunch from 11:30 am-3 pm. The lunch menu includes Neapolitan pizzas, ribollita soup with sourdough bread, Caesar, shaved artichokes, butter lettuce salad, bruschetta with spicy Calabrese pepper spread, pastas, sea bass, black Angus tenderloin medallions, and more. Brunch features many of the same lunch offerings along with an open-faced omelet with prosciutto and spinach; an Italian benedict; Italian brioche "not French toast"; and charcoal baked eggs with pancetta-potato hash.
Al Biernat's North is now offering a brunch menu on Sundays from 11 am-3 pm with more than 30 dishes including lobster scramble, prime rib hash, crab cake benedict, carne asada beef tenderloin, brioche French toast with caramelized bananas, Chilean sea bass with sautéed spinach, pot roast with whipped potatoes, and prime rib French dip. Al Biernat’s North is also offering half-price wine Sunday-Monday from 5 pm to close featuring wines selected by wine director and sommelier Todd Lincicome.
Commissary in downtown Dallas has a new all-day weekend brunch with dishes such as butcher's hash, cheese grits with soft egg, meatballs, chilaquiles, egg sandwich, smoked salmon bagel, croque madame, smoothie bowl, coconut oatmeal, turkey club, French dip, cheeseburger, chicken salad sandwich, baked ziti, Texas chili, rotisserie chicken, quinoa salad, and kale Caesar.
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar has a new menu with 11 items and five new beverages that include street corn wheels, burrata and beet salad, veggie burger bowl, salmon sandwich, BBQ veggie burger, and rosemary chicken breast and thigh with smoked paprika potatoes. Brunch menu offerings include doughnut holes with Nutella dip, steak and eggs benedict, bacon n egg mac n cheese, peach raspberry hand pie, and triple layer lemon cake. It's available in the three DFW locations in Addison, Euless and Plano.
Black Walnut Cafe has a new spring menu with 15 sweet and savory dishes that include a bacon jam burger, roasted tomato benedict, and an ancient grain bowl.
Street's Fine Chicken has added wings to its menu at its Forest Lane location, in flavors such as buffalo, peri peri, sriracha Thai chili, sweet & smokey rub, and garlic lemon pepper rub. Sizes range from a six-piece for $8.95; 10-piece for $11.95; and 25-piece for $24.95. The six-piece and ten-piece wings come with a side of fries.
Which Wich rolled out a new category of EggWiches which feature a warm, runny egg. The new line features three Eggwiches — The Brunchwich, Cheeseburgerwich, and Bahn Mi wich — and is available all day.
Mirador at the Forty Five Ten boutique has a new happy hour Thursday-Friday from 4-7 pm. that includes wine by the glass, margaritas, and pineapple caipirinhas for $10. Beer is $4, and there's a menu of $5 and $10 items that includes deviled eggs, ricotta toast, and a burger with fries.
The Oceanaire at Galleria Dalla has a new executive chef: Louisiana native Christian Stewart. He'll do seafood with a modern twist on local and seasonal ingredients, bringing deep Southern flavors and farm-to-table cuisine to the daily menu.
Messina Hof Winery, the award-winning winery in Texas, has launched its first line of canned wines. They're available in two varietials: Beau, Messina Hof’s iconic sweet red, and a dry Rosé. The cans provide a sustainable solution for easily enjoying wine on-the-go, and are also more mobile-friendly. They're available in four-packs and can be purchased on Messina Hof’s website or at its three locations - the estate vineyard in Bryan, TX, the Messina Hof Hill Country Winery in Fredericksburg and the Messina Hof Grapevine Winery just outside Dallas. They'll soon be available at retailers throughout Texas.
Joule Hotel executive chef Junior Borges is leaving to open a restaurant in partnership with Stephan Courseau (Le Bilboquet, Up On Knox). They won't say what it is or where it is, other than it will be in the same Knox area neighborhood as Le Bilboquet and Up On Knox. Borges will also oversee the menus at Le Bilboquet and Up On Knox. An inquiry into the status of Up on Knox chefs Melody Bishop and Dennis Kelley was not returned.
