This Week's Hot Headlines

Tex-Mex from San Antonio sizzles in this week's 5 hottest Dallas headlines

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines.

1. Tex-Mex chain from San Antonio expands to Dallas-Fort Worth market. There's a fun new Tex-Mex concept coming to the Dallas-Fort Worth market, specifically the city of Keller. Called Las Palapas, it's a fast-casual chain based in San Antonio. If you were looking for a comparison, maybe something along the lines of a Taco Cabana.

2. New report shows how much it pays to work in tech in Dallas-Fort Worth. It truly pays to work in the tech sector in DFW. A report published January 11 by Austin-based tech company Spanning Cloud Apps LLC shows workers in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area can more than double their pay when they hold down a tech job. In fact, DFW ranks fourth among the country's largest metro areas for the pay advantage in tech occupations versus all occupations.

3. Downtown Dallas' Klyde Warren Park picks Mi Cocina for new restaurant. Filling what is surely the most visible location in all of Dallas, downtown Dallas' Klyde Warren Park has selected a new restaurant to reside inside the park: Mi Cocina. The Dallas chain known for its Mambo Taxi frozen margarita and up$caled take on basic Tex-Mex will take over the space vacated by Savor, the restaurant that closed in August 2020 after operating there for seven years.

4. Break-in temporarily shutters treasured Thai restaurant in Richardson. A treasured Thai restaurant in Richardson had to close temporarily due to the damaging aftermath of a burglary: Thai Soon, located at 101 S. Coit Rd., suffered a break-in last weekend that included one of the doors being broken and an outright theft of the cash register. To help the restaurant get back on its feet, the owner's brother has launched a Gofundme in an attempt to "make the restaurant whole again."

5. Venue combining chicken and pickleball breaks ground in Grand Prairie. There's an unusual restaurant-entertainment concept breaking ground in Grand Prairie that combines rotisserie chicken with the "sport" of pickleball. Called Chicken N Pickle, it's a Kansas City-born chain that dubs itself the nation's leading pickleball-focused dining and entertainment venue.

Slurp-worthy soup at Thai Soon.

Photo courtesy of Thai Soon

Slurp-worthy soup at Thai Soon.

Tom Cruise News

Tom Cruise to make Dallas BBQ stop while on Mission Impossible tour

Photo courtesy of Paramount

Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning

How's this for a mission impossible? Hollywood legend Tom Cruise is coming to Dallas to eat barbecue, while on a quick Texas tour to promote the latest chapter of his smash film franchise Mission Impossible.

The Top Gun star revealed on Instagram that, as part of a trip to promote Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, he'd be visiting two Texas cities: San Antonio and Dallas.

"On May 22, I'm coming to the great state of Texas," Cruise said in the Instagram video. "I'll be visiting Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio before stopping by some theaters to see you at some of the first screenings of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning."

After the whirlwind tour through Alamo City, he'll hop on a plane to Dallas.

"We're going to fly to Dallas, where I'm going to get some delicious barbecue before going to more theaters to say hello. And I can't wait," he said.

Unfortunately, for now, he's not saying exactly where.

Which BBQ?
If it's a barbecue joint with buzz he's seeking, that would call for a trip to Fort Worth, whose BBQ scene is currently among the buzziest in Texas — so buzzy, it earned a special category in CultureMap's 2025 Tastemaker Awards, with 12 nominees for Best Barbecue of the year. (It's also what chef Tim Love suggests.)

If he's sticking to Dallas proper and looking for a celebrity-endorsed place, his pick would have to be Slow Bone, the BBQ restaurant recently featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. (Slow Bone is all over it with an offer of a Texas nail, their brisket sandwich; Hurtado chimes in and so does Ten 50 BBQ.)

Otherwise, there are older favorites like Pecan Lodge and Lockhart Smokehouse; or two places with Austin roots: Loro and Terry Black's. If he's using CultureMap Dallas' Best Restaurants of 2025 as inspiration, he'll spy Zavala's Barbecue, the family-owned barbecue spot in Grand Prairie, which made the list.

Which movie theater?
Despite its name, The Final Reckoning is not the concluding chapter of the long-running series. In June 2023, Director Christopher McQuarrie told Fandango that the writing team already has ideas for future installments of Ethan Hunt's saga.

Although Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning had its world premiere in Tokyo on May 5 and will screen at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, its official theatrical release is May 23. Sharp-eyed fans might notice several local theaters have matinee showtimes on May 22.

As for which Dallas movie theater he'll visit, if he's going for the best viewing experience, the IMAX at AMC NorthPark or Cinemark Dallas seem like two good bets.

tom cruise mission impossible premieres movies celebrity