News You Can Eat
Easter hot cross buns on the rise and more Dallas restaurant news
More and more restaurants are offering seasonal and limited-edition dishes, and you can tell by the extra-long length of this roundup of Dallas restaurant news. Even if you're not hungry when you begin, you will be by the time you finish. There are also new restaurants, new cocktails, a new cider, and for Easter, the exciting return of hot cross buns. (Our master list of where to dine on Easter is here.)
Here's what's happening in Dallas dining this week:
Hiccups Restaurant & Teahouse is an Asian fusion chain from California opening restaurants in two suburban towns to the north: Frisco and Richardson. Frisco is already open at 9144 Prestmont Pl., a new center at Preston Road and Warren Parkway. A second location will open in late 2019 at Richardson Restaurant Park, on US-75 just north of Spring Valley Road. Hiccups does Asian-fusion food such as BBQ pork with vermicelli, garlic noodles with beef, fried rice, and rice bowls with popcorn chicken, fried chicken, teriyaki chicken, BBQ pork, or tofu, as well as Asian specialty drinks such as bubble tea. They're opening in partnership with sibling Churroholic, a dessert concept serving churros and flavored coffee drinks. Churroholic is opening across Texas with locations in San Antonio, Pasadena, Houston, and New Braunfels.
Rush Bowls, the fast-casual healthy bowls chain, has opened at The Star District, on the campus of The Star in Frisco. Located between Cowboys Way and Warren Pkwy, the store is owned and operated by Ted and Elizabeth Bachmeier who also own a Rush Bowls at Mockingbird Station in Dallas.
Original ChopShop, a healthy chain featuring bowls, salads, sandwiches, and juice, is set to open in Plano at 2408 Preston Rd. in Preston Park Village in June. This will be the fourth Original ChopShop in DFW, following Las Colinas, Shops at Legacy, and University Park, and the 12th location for the company overall.
OMG Tacos is opening a location at Richardson Restaurant Park in the space vacated by TacQui, at 744 S. Central Epwy. This would be the fourth location for this small chain, following the original in Richardson, at 141 N. Plano Rd., plus locations in The Colony and Fort Worth. They serve tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tortas, nachos, loaded fries, and more, and stay open late at night.
Empire Baking Co. welcomes the annual return of its hot cross buns, made every year as a run-up to Easter. Hot cross buns are one of the seasonal breads of spring, a category that includes the King cake and Irish soda bread. Hot cross buns are sweet rolls, studded with dried fruit, sometimes raisins, sometimes candied fruit, and are easily identified by the icing piped across their tops in the shape of a cross. At Empire, they're $1.69 each, and will be available through April 20, the day before Easter.
Pinstack has new specials for April: garden veggie & quinoa soup; mahi mahi with pineapple salsa, roasted potatoes, and asparagus; a meatball parmesan skillet; and a s'mores cobbler of the month.
Carrabba's Italian Grill has doubled up on chicken in certain pasta dishes and entrée salads, but not the price. You'll see more chicken in the chicken Caesar salad, linguine positano, and fettucine Carrabba featuring wood-grilled chicken, mushrooms, and peas.
Press Waffle Co. has an April special, the cinnamon roll waffle, which the press release says is a "Leige waffle" topped with cinnamon glaze and cream cheese frosting. You suppose they mean a Liege waffle? That's the famous one. But maybe Press Waffle serves a different version of the Liege waffle that's spelled Leige. It could happen.
Parks Coffee in Carrollton has four new aromatic drinks for spring: Lavender tea latte has Earl Grey tea, steamed oat milk, and lavender syrup. That sounds good. Lavender espresso latte has espresso, milk, and lavender syrup, served hot or iced. Cucumber mint cold brew has cold brew, served black and lightly sweetened with cucumber mint syrup. Blood orange mocha is a mocha latte with a citrus twist, hot or iced.
Wheelhouse, the Design District gastropub, is bringing back its all-vinyl DJ Sunday brunch, through September 1. There are new brunch cocktails, like the giant bloody Mary, which doesn't sound so new as it does big; and dishes that include avocado toast, chorizo chilaquiles, blueberry pancakes, and fish & chips. The brunch runs 11 am-4 pm, along with the regular lunch menu.
Meso Maya has a dozen new menu items and cocktails at all six DFW locations. There's a 10-ounce New York strip with chimichurri and a black bean & cheese tamal; a chuleta budin Azteca, tortillas with melted cheese, pork, potatoes, and nopales; and baby back pork ribs with potatoes, zucchini, and white rice. Drinks include a cactus martini and hibiscus margarita.
Del Frisco's Grille has a new spring menu with six chef-driven dishes including ingredients like citrus, artichokes, snap peas, sun-dried tomatoes, and strawberries. Dishes include honey-strawberry cake, grilled artichoke, burrata & spring pea salad, tortelloni, pork chop, filet trio with blue cheese garlic butter, chili shrimp chermoula, and Oscar-style toppings. Available at all four locations in Uptown, Fort Worth, Southlake, and Plano through May.
Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse has six new dishes on the bar menu, including goat cheese fondue, a 21-day dry-aged burger, Mexican seafood cocktail, Fontina grille cheese sliders with shredded filet mignon, roasted bone marrow, Greek lamb meatballs with feta, and lentil hummus. Not all dishes are available at all locations, which include Uptown Dallas, Plano, and Fort Worth.
Snowbaby, the modern Taiwanese shaved ice concept at Lakewood Shopping Center, has added a new permanent flavor, the Purple Berry Blast, made with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Summer flavors for 2019 will include lemonade, strawberry lemonade swirl, pineapple, and mango. Snowbaby will also be offering bubble fruit teas made with jasmine green teas, in hibiscus, lychee, passion fruit, mango, and peach flavors; and bubble waffles in five flavors: original, chocolate, chocolate chip, white chocolate chip, and cinnamon sugar.
Greenville Avenue Pizza Company has a crawfish boil pizza crawfish pizza through the end of May, topped with crawfish, Cajun sausage, Creole mustard cream sauce, mozzarella, corn, potatoes, and garlic — like a crawfish boil, but on top of a pizza. Small is $19, large is $24.
Liberty Burger has an April burger called the mighty melt, served on marble rye, with Swiss cheese, mustard, and caramelized onions. They have four new seasonal cocktails including the Paloma picosa with mango & jalapeno tequila, grapefruit juice, lime, agave, and club soda. The seasonal spiked milkshake is spiked blueberry lemonade with citrus vodka and blueberry-laced vanilla custard.
Bullion is serving poutine for a limited time, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in the lounge through May 1. It has triple-cooked pommes frites covered in foie gras and confit duck gravy for $10. A press release says to ask for the secret menu, although if it's in a press release, it's not much of a secret, is it. It's part of an entire happy hour menu with deviled eggs and a charcuterie board.
Tacodeli, the taco chain, has new specials for April including a vegetarian-friendly breakfast taco with vegan nut chorizo, black beans, spinach, sweet potatoes, and queso fresco, 7-11 am weekdays and 8 am-3 pm weekends. Lunch specials include the 'shroom & lamb taco with shiitake mushrooms, mole, and goat's milk queso fresco. The lunch special is a $6.95 salad with red & green butter lettuce, strawberries, pecans, and pickled red onion. The lunch specials are available 11 am-3 pm daily.
Corner Bakery Cafe has six new seasonal specials including ham & Swiss egg bowl with scrambled eggs, ham, red peppers, green onion, and Swiss cheese; bacon avocado egg bowl with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, spinach, cheddar cheese, and avocado; a pesto, egg, & cheese panini; shrimp scampi linguine; power greens shrimp Caesar salad served on kale, spinach, and arugula; and cake truffle bites available in lemon, salted caramel pecan, and carrot cake.
Modelo Chelada Limón y Sal is a new line of lime-based ready-to-drink cheladas made with Mexican beer, lime, and salt. It's the only lime-based, ready-to-drink chelada currently available in the U.S. market.
Fajita Pete's has a new keto bowl available at all 11 locations, with a keto-friendly mix of chicken or beef fajitas, marinated in lime and pineapple, lettuce, guacamole, tomatoes, and cheese for $11. Keto.
Bisous Bisous has special seasonal flavor cruffin for April: coconut cream pie and carrot cake. They use the trim from croissant production to make their own cruffin = croissant + muffin. They also do ham & smoked gouda, and raspberry.
Orderup, a San Antonio restaurant, has launched chocolate chip cookies to-go. They'll ship nationwide, by the dozen or half dozen, individually wrapped in classic chocolate chip or gluten free. Each CH2 cookie features a crisp exterior and doughy interior; they seem to be modeled after the famed New York's Levain Bakery cookie, a food blogger sensation for years. You can order them here.
Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill, Plano's seafood market and restaurant, has launched a new series of craft cocktails marked by limited-edition spirits, house-made bitters, tinctures, tonics, juices, and custom infusions.
Austin Eastciders, the East Austin cidermaker, has released a dry Rosé Cider. Inspired by the classic Provençal rosé wine style, it's made with bittersweet apples blended with rose and hibiscus. Available in six-packs, 12-packs, and on draft, it's a permanent addition to Austin Eastciders' product line.
Flora Street Cafe has a new restaurant within a restaurant and a chef to oversee it. The restaurant is called Fauna, and will be led by chef Diego Fernandez, a native of Mexico City and a Culinary Institute of America grad who has worked at Chicago's Alinea, San Francisco restaurant Quince, and his own restaurant in San Antonio, Starfish. At Fauna, he'll do a 10- to 12-course tasting menu, with two updated price levels of notable, small vineyard wine pairings. Décor will have a "club-like" feel with lush draperies, chandelier, and colorful paintings by Dutch artist Arie Van Selm.
The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas has four new management additions: Jeremy Kinker, Xavier Echevarria, Cameron Petrelli, and Kamakana Hoaeae will collaborate to bring new energy to Fearing's Restaurant and Rattlesnake Bar's food and beverage program. Their arrival includes the launch of a newly refreshed food and cocktail menu to complement Fearing's.
Flavor Forecast, a trend report from spice-maker McCormick & Company, says that the next buzzy flavor is Mexicana Vegana, AKA Mexican Vegan.
Behold the Cristo Amann.Photo courtesy of Sugar & Sage Bakery
SusieCakes is offering Dolly Parton-themed cupcakes through September 13. Photo courtesy of SusieCakes 
Salt & Straw's Churro Ice Cream Taco and Chiller for Taco Bell. Photo courtesy of Taco Bell