This Week's Hot Headlines

Chefs' exit from Plano food hall tops 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. Chef John Tesar's Knife Burger and others bail on Plano Legacy food hall. Everything is not coming up roses at Legacy Hall, the food hall in Plano, which is seeing an exodus of chefs including high profile Top Chef contestant John Tesar.

2. Dallas-area sanctuary rescues tiger found by stoner in abandoned home. A stoner in Houston looking for a place to smoke weed found a surprise when he entered an abandoned house: a tiger, left behind by its negligent owner. The tiger was tranquilized and then transported to Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, the world-renowned 1,400-acre animal sanctuary 79 miles southeast of Dallas.

3. Innovative tiny-home village breaks ground in town north of Dallas. Going, going … almost gone. Twelve of the 13 lots available for lease at a new tiny-home community in Lake Dallas already have been snapped up, and the project just broke ground on February 9.

4. Award-winning father-son team open barbecue restaurant in Garland. A father-and-son team who've won awards at barbecue cookoffs have opened their own restaurant. Called Blacksmoke BBQ & Grill, it's in Garland at 2121 Northwest Hwy., off I-635.

5. Extra-loud tour with Coheed and Cambria and Mastodon hits Irving venue. Two of the most popular loud music bands will join forces in summer 2019 on an epic cross-country tour, with a stop in the Dallas area: Coheed and Cambria, the modern progressive rock band, and heavy rock titans Mastodon will embark on The Unheavenly Skye Tour, making a stop on July 3 at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Ribs 'n' sides.

Photo courtesy of Blacksmoke

Ribs 'n' sides.

hot-headlines

This week's hot headlines

Authentic Argentinian empanada shop tops week's hottest Dallas stories

Belén de la Cruz

empanadas

Editor's note: This week's headlines were dominated by the opening of restaurants specializing in diverse cuisines: empanadas, fajitas, Indian-Tex Mex fusion, and more. Read up on the top five most popular stories of the week, then check out our weekend event planner for ideas on how to spend your free time before Monday.

1. Authentic Argentinian empanada shop opens near Dallas' Park Cities. An empanada concept from Georgia has come to Texas: Called Belén de la Cruz, it's a small chain from Atlanta that has opened its first Texas location across from Dallas' Inwood Village, at 5601 Lovers Ln. #120, in a former massage spot.

2. New private club with sports & dining opens in old T-Bar Dallas space. Dallas tennis and racquet sports facility T Bar M Racquet Club has been transformed into Banner House at T Bar M, a new private club combining sports facilities with hospitality options.

3. Fancy fajitas will sizzle at new El Molino in Dallas' Snider Plaza. A Dallas restaurant group is unveiling a sizzling new concept: Called El Molino, it's a Mexican restaurant opening in Snider Plaza, and it's from Vandelay Hospitality, the group founded in 2012 by restaurateur Hunter Pond.

Party of Five is new in Bishop Arts.Photo courtesy of Party of Five

4. Party of Five brings brunch and wings to Dallas' Bishop Arts. A brunch-and-lunch restaurant has opened in Dallas' Bishop Arts: Called Party of 5, it’s in the former Tacos y Chelas space at 244 W. Davis St., where it opened in early January.

5. BarraCruda serves rare Tex-Mex Indian fusion menu in Little Elm. A restaurant in Little Elm called BarraCruda Tex-Mex is serving an amazing only-in-Texas fusion combining Tex-Mex and Indian cuisines under one roof. The restaurant is at 498 W. Eldorado Pkwy. where it opened in 2021. However, it got a second life after it was taken over by owner Pavan Paladugu and his family in 2023.