News You Can Eat

Uptown burger joint shuts down and more Dallas restaurant news to chew on

It's an especially edible dose of Dallas restaurant news this week, with tidbits on busted burger joints, sauces, potato chips, salads and beer. Chef groupies get their fix too.

Dee Lincoln Steak and Burger Bar in Uptown closed on March 28. Lincoln says she's out of the burger business and back into steaks. "The concept is no longer what I wish to expand," she said in a release. She's scrapped her plans to open a steak bar at the Shops of Highland Park at 4262 Oak Lawn Ave.

Former York Street chef Sharon Hage resurfaces with a month-long residence at Blue Mesa Grill on Northwest Highway in April, where she's doing a series of dinners spotlighting spring ingredients. Every Saturday, she'll prepare a limited-edition, three-course dinner for $20, which will be available in addition to the regular menu. The schedule is as follows:

April 4: Asparagus, crab and watercress salad; chicken enchiladas andndulce de leche pudding.
April 11: Grilled squash with blossoms, avocado and cotija; crawfish Veracruzano; and berry shortcake.
April 18: Oyster tostada, burger with green chile rajas, queso panela with caramelized sweet onions; and tres leches bread pudding.
April 25: Gazpacho blanco, garlic chicken with hot honey and crispy yuca frita, and cajeta panna cotta.

Trinity Groves "incubator" Kitchen LTO is seeking applications for its fifth pop-up. The frequency and duration has changed to a six-month, twice-per-year schedule (rather than four months, three times a year). Deadline is April 10. Finalists will compete at an event on May 3. The new team will be announced on May 11. Outgoing chef Blythe Beck, who got her tenure extended, will depart on May 31.

Latin chicken chain Pollo Campero has a new line of Latin dipping sauces to go along with its Camperitos boneless chicken bites: chipotle honey mustard, cilantro lime, tamarindo barbecue and hot Latin buffalo. We bring you this news fully recognizing that sauces are probably not a good enough reason to make a special trip to Pollo Campero, but news is news, even if it's just about sauce.

Whataburger has a limited-edition chicken club sandwich with chicken, bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, lettuce, tomato and tangy honey mustard. It's available through the end of June. Whataburger also has a new trio of kettle-cooked potato chips, available at HEB stores. There are three flavors: honey BBQ, jalapeno ranch, and sea salt & pepper.

Whataburger fun fact time: The chain originally offered potato chips when the first restaurant opened in 1950, and served them until French fries took over in 1952. Whataburger began doing retail sales in 2013 when it debuted its ketchup and mustard. Since then, they've added items such as pork sausage, honey butter and mayonnaise.

Rangers Ballpark has new concessions that are inspired by the state fair; boy, of all the inspirations. Fried S'mOreo consists of Oreos combined with marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate, fried. Fried pickle chips are sliced battered dill pickles served with Ranch. Bacon quesadilla has bacon, cheddar cheese and peppers in a warm flour tortilla. Bacon and corn saute is a sautéed snack made of bacon, red onions and corn. BLT on a bun is a BLT served on a hot dog bun.

Corner Bakery Cafe has some bold new menu items. There is a Cuban press panino with a vegetarian Sriracha black bean soup. And a quartet of "grilled flats" in four flavors: chicken Caesar, caprese, BBQ pork and southwest chicken. Corner Bakery has 20 locations in the Dallas area.

Juice It Up, the raw juice bar and smoothie franchise, has a new "smoothie bowl" option where you take the ingredients you might have put into a smoothie and put them in a bowl instead. So it is more like a meal, see. There are two local branches of this California chain, in Rockwall and Grand Prairie.

Max's Wine Dive has new spring menu items that highlight "lighter seasonal ingredients."These options are available at the Dallas branch:

Butter lettuce "wedgettes." Asparagus, bacon lardons and fennel atop butter lettuce wedges.
Foie gras PB&J. Hoagie roll with peanut butter, strawberry-jalapeño jam and foie gras torchon.
Short rib sliders. With garlic-white cheddar spread, pickled red onions and arugula.

At Max's Wine Dive Fort Worth, it's fried bologna sliders, PB&J wings, fried okra and pot roast.

Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse has a couple of new salads: sugar snap and purple cabbage, and watermelon with feta and cucumber. Salads are definitely worth their own item, even if it is as a chain that specializes in meat.

Yard House in Addison has some new beers on tap: Deep Ellum IPA, Firestone Easy Jack and SanTan Mr. Pineapple. We bring you this news fully recognizing that beers are probably not a good enough reason to make a special trip to Yard House, but news is news, even if it's just about beer.

CBD Provisions chef de cuisine Richard Blankenship has been promoted to executive chef. CBD Provisions is managed and operated by The Joule Hotel. Former executive chef Michael Sindoni has been bumped up to Raised Palate Restaurants, to help open new concepts in regional markets over the next several years, according to a release. Blankenship, a longtime Dallas resident, graduated from The Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park and has been with CBD Provisions since it openied in October 2013.

Hilton Dallas/Park Cities appointed Patrick McElroy as executive chef overseeing the banquet and restaurant operations. He'll also direct the menu for Grain. A native of New Jersey, McElroy previously worked at Regency International Airport.

Whataburger chicken club, through the end of June.

Photo courtesy of Whataburger

Whataburger chicken club, through the end of June.

unspecified

Bubbly News

Perry's launches rare private-label champagne at Dallas-area locations

Perry's

Perry's Steakhouse Champagne

Champagne lovers seeking a rare new sip of the real thing can hit Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille, the Houston-based restaurant chain, which is celebrating its 46th anniversary in an especially bubbly manner: with an exclusive new Perry’s Reserve Premier Cru Champagne.

According to a release, Perry’s has collaborated with the family-owned Maurice Philippart Champagne House, who've been crafting fine Champagne in France since 1827, to produce its own brand name grower’s Premier Cru from the esteemed village of Chigny-les-Roses near Reims.

The result: a Perry's label Carte d'Or Premier Cru, offering a golden hue and fine bubbles, with notes of white flowers and a citrus finish.

Perry's began offering it in July at all locations across Texas and in Birmingham, Chicago, Denver, Miami, Nashville, Raleigh, and Richmond.

Doing a special house label wine is not new for Perry's; they already have a Perry's-labeled chardonnay as well as a rose, made for them by California wineries based in Sonoma and Monterey.

But the Champagne represents a different kind of partnership, says Perry's chief strategy officer & chief marketing officer Lesa Sorrentino.

"We partnered with Maurice Philippart because they claim eight generations of tradition, and when we sat down with them, we loved the wine," she says. "They're entrenched in French culture and in the Champagne region where they're a recognized name. But they're not as well known in the U.S. We're the first importer to partner together with them, and we were excited not only about the opportunity to showcase this historic house, but also for the opportunity to create a premier cru with them."

Founded by Maurice Philippart, the house began as a small-scale operation, with Maurice focusing on cultivating his vineyards in Hautvillers, a village famous for its historical association with Dom Pérignon. The estate’s vineyards are primarily planted with the three main Champagne grape varieties—Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay—each contributing to the house’s distinctive blends.

At Perry's, the Champagne is available by the glass, in a standard 5-oz pour as well as a larger 7.5-oz pour, and is also available by the bottle, for $130, a relative steal by bubbly standards.

"We really wanted to offer premier cru quality at an approachable price point," Sorrentino says.

However you order, you'll get a complimentary Perry's Champagne Biscuit, a delicate, crisp cookie dusted in powdered sugar. It's their version of a centuries-old confection called the Biscuit of Reims, also called Biscuits Rose, also called just plain old "pink champagne biscuit."

The biscuit — which has a unique texture … airy but crunchy, a light rose color, and a delicate flavor — is a tradition that that dates back to the 1600s. You're encouraged to dunk it into the Champagne or tea, with its main appeal seeminly that it's pink.

"It's a fun adventure for us that also highlights the fact that Champagne is more versatile than many people realize,” says Perry's Beverage Director Paige Stroud. “It’s not just a toast at the start of the evening. We’re showcasing how beautifully it pairs not only with the seafood but also our signature steaks and our famous pork chop.”

If you act fast, you can sample Perry’s Reserve Premier Cru Champagne as part of a Reserve Anniversary Wine Flight for $20, which includes three 2-ounce pours of Perry’s Reserve Premier Cru Champagne, Chardonnay and Rosé for a broader tasting experience — but only available through July 31. Although the Champagne and the biscuit will be available indefinitely.

wine