Where To Eat Now

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 best restaurants for breakups

So it comes to this. It's not like we haven't tried. Lord knows we've tried. And we're the first to admit it: We've made mistakes. February's cheap-date idea was a misstep. It seemed visionary at the time, but who knew "cheap" was such a bad word?

We hoped we could make up for it in March with our big splurge theme. If you can't win them over by dropping a bundle, what's left?

Nothing, that's what. It's time to move on. To bring this thing to an end. And a restaurant is where you'll do it. Here are our top 10 picks for restaurants to stage a breakup.

Fearing's
If you're going to call it quits, might as well do it in style. Fearing's is one of Dallas' best restaurants, with superb food, decor and service. The menu, rustic and upscale, has a nurturing personality, almost like a "there-there" for your broken heart. A bowl of tortilla soup, profoundly complex with its long simmered stock and bouquet of Southwestern spices, obliterates all pain. And a "How you-all doing" from charismatic chef Dean Fearing will have you convinced that breaking up was absolutely the right thing to do.

FT33
Critically acclaimed restaurant in the Design District is known for thoughtful conception and precious presentation, with each delicate nasturtium flower and dot of chile-spiked Kewpie mayonnaise applied with exacting precision. There is an artist at work here, and that's chef Matt McCallister. Nothing else matters; definitely not you, silly. In the presence of such a culinary tour de force, you and your self-absorbed relationship problems pale by comparison.

Kona Grill
Asian chain with a branch at NorthPark has likable food including shared appetizers such as the smoked Gouda fondue with pretzel bites that can give you a momentary jolt of nostalgia for the days when you could share something with your ex-loved one without every single thing you do getting picked apart to bits. But Kona Grill is really about two words: happy hour, twice a day on weeknights, from 3-7 pm and 9-11 pm. On Wednesday nights, wine by the bottle is half price. We're not promoting alcohol consumption but under these circumstances, a few glasses can't hurt any worse than the difficult speech you're about to make.

Monkey King Noodle Co.
Outdoor noodle spot in Deep Ellum features small but smart assortment of soups with hand-made noodles spun behind a glass window display while you wait. Breaking up while eating excellent food is a thoughtful farewell, and all the better here when it takes such a small toll on your wallet, since nothing on the menu is over $9. You care, but not enough to spend a lot. The noodles are thick, so the ideal time to drop the bomb is right when they take a bite; chewing will give them time to process.

Neighborhood Services
The food by chef Nick Badovinus has a big, robust personality, sufficient to soothe over any emotional trauma. And you'll probably want to do the deed here on a Saturday night, just so you can order Saturday's special, Angry Lobster & Grits. When you're breaking up with someone, it feels right to order a dish called Angry something. But the big plus at NH is the crowd. It's loaded with beautiful people. Once the ax comes down, you and your ex can survey the field and instantly see where to pounce next.

Old Chicago Pizza
First of all, you've been wanting to see how the deep dish pizza measures up at this chain. Two birds, one stone, see what I'm saying. Old Chicago hasn't gotten great reviews. But in a way, that's a plus. You wouldn't want to ruin a "good" restaurant with bad memories. Meanwhile, second of all, this place has a DART Rail stop. If the breakup goes down poorly and you can't stomach the idea of driving home together, one (preferably not you) can stomp off and take the train home instead.

On Rotation
Mom-and-pop brewpub in White Rock area has 40 beers on tap, and their lineup is top notch. But what's good (and bad) about the place, thanks to its plenitude of hard surfaces, is how very deafening it can be. Even if you're sitting directly across from your soon-to-be former lover, you can barely hear a word they're saying. Breaking up here isn't hard to do because they might not actually realize they're getting handed an emotional pink slip. "What's that?" they'll respond, and then with an uncomprehending expression resulting from the din, "yeah, I totally agree."

Truluck's Dallas
Truthfully, the best setting for a breakup is a chain restaurant in the suburbs. It gets you into a public place where you can contain the hysterics, and it has the generic atmosphere and lack of specialness appropriate for a cold-blooded coup. But going to a real chain restaurant and/or the suburbs represents a level of eeuuu too hard to suppress. The newly remodeled Truluck's in Uptown has all the suburban-style front-mounted parking lot and mega-square footage you desire, but in a central location. Plus: crab claws and a gargantuan chocolate cake for dessert, made more flavorful by drops of salty tears.

Woodshed Smokehouse
Tim Love's homage to the glorious cookery of meat preceded newcomer Smoke Plano, whose hearth in the kitchen seems tame by comparison. At Woodshed, the first thing you see at the entrance, menacing behind a window into the kitchen, is an animal rotating on a spit. We don't want to get all Silence of the Lambs here, but an arched eyebrow in that direction speaks volumes to your imminently unbetrothed. "There but for the grace of God goes you." Woodshed's menu includes snacks such as smoked Texas peanuts so it's easy in, easy out, and the festive outdoor patio is sufficiently rambunctious that a skirmish might go unnoticed.

Crushcraft Thai delivered via Favor
When you get down to it, the benefit of doing things face-to-face is often so overrated. This isn't cowardice on your part. You're thinking about their needs. Isn't it really much kinder to have one of Crushcraft's Thai tower satay salads arrive at their door, paid for and ready to eat? Grilled chicken skewers with peanut sauce over a bed of field greens, carrots, cabbage, jicama and tomatoes make parting such sweet sorrow. Plus you're not there should they decide to seek vengeance with the skewers. Hey, it's better than a text.

Fearing's tortilla soup makes the pain go away.

Fearing's, Ritz Carlton

Fearing's tortilla soup makes the pain go away.

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There Goes the Biscuits

Mom-and-pop restaurant chain Biscuit Bar closes all Dallas locations

Photo courtesy of Biscuit Bar

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A Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant chain dedicated to biscuits is shutting down: The Biscuit Bar, a chain with six locations including five in the Dallas area, is closing them all. According to the owners, the closures are effective immediately.

Owners Jake and Janie Burkett say they were poised to sell off the chain to keep it afloat, but the sale fell through at the last minute — forcing them to shutter the business entirely.

The chain has five locations in the DFW area and one in Abilene. All locations are closed including these five in DFW:

Deep Ellum, at The Epic, the mixed-use project at 2550 Pacific Ave.
Plano, at The Boardwalk in Granite Park, at 5880 TX-121 #102B
Arlington, at Champions Park, at 1707 N. Collins St.
Fort Worth Stockyards, at Mule Alley, at 122 E. Exchange Ave.
Coppell, at 104 S Denton Tap Rd. #102

The couple blamed a variety of factors, including "rising costs, supply chain instability, and a commercial environment increasingly shaped by large institutional interests" which "created pressures no small business was prepared to endure."

The concept made its debut in April 2018 at The Boardwalk in Granite Park in Plano, before expanding in 2019 with a bang, targeting five locations all at once — a bold move for a new concept, especially one dedicated entirely to one food group. (They also opened a short-lived location on Hillcrest near SMU which is now home to D.L. Mack's.)

They were open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, offering biscuits, tots, and beer on tap — very ambitious — with a menu featuring both savory and sweet biscuit sandwiches made in house; tots, which could be customized; plus a bar with cocktails, local beer, cold brew coffee, and kombucha, all offered on tap.

Its most popular menu item, The Hoss, featured Southern fried chicken, bacon, Jack cheese, sausage gravy, and honey butter.

Their post says that by early 2025, they entered Chapter 11 — "not to walk away but to rebuild and secure a future for our employees," they say. "And for a time, it looked like that future was within reach. A respect restaurant group stepped forward, committed to acquiring and growing Biscuit Bar. The sale was structured, terms were agreed upon, and the closing was set for December."

Unfortunately, not everyone was on board.

"While many partners supported a workable plan, several key financial stakeholders did not," their post says. "This included a few landlords whose participation was essential. Their refusal to compromise or support a path forward ultimately made the sale impossible, leaving us with no legal or financil ability continue operating. And so just days before Christmas, we were forced into the most painful decision of our lives."

They've launched a GoFundMe for their employees and are encouraging their fans to contribute.

"If The Biscuit Bar ever served you a meal, became part of your routine, or gave you a place to gather with family and friends, we humbly ask you to consider donating or sharing this campaign," they say.

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