Awesome Al Fresco Dining

New national list gives best patio props to 3 Dallas-Fort Worth favorites

In Texas, we try our damnedest to extend patio season beyond the boundaries of comfort. Even as temperatures start to creep into the triple digits, we are committed to finding a restaurant where we can dine and drink outdoors.

Reservation site OpenTable has capitalized on this seasonal concern by publishing the 2014 edition of the awkwardly phrased 100 Best Outdoor Dining Restaurants in America. Three Dallas-Fort Worth favorites were deemed worthy: Saint Ann Restaurant & Bar in Dallas, Woodshed Smokehouse in Fort Worth and Cafe Malaga in McKinney.

To determine the winners, OpenTable analyzed more than 5 million reviews of nearly 19,000 restaurants across the country. These establishments offer a mix of incredible views, great cuisine and, above all else, a noteworthy outdoor dining experience.

This time, we have to hand it to the OpenTable users, who got it right on all three counts.

Saint Ann does boast one of the more exceptional al fresco dining experiences in Dallas; in fact, it was a pick on our 2013 list of the best patios in Dallas. It's located in the Harwood District, an almost-private pocket of verdancy with trees and rolling patches of grass you wouldn't expect to find in the inner city. Indoor-outdoor bars and strings of lights create a sense of electricity and excitement.

Tim Love's Woodshed Smokehouse easily represents one of the top patios in Fort Worth; the entire focus here is outdoors. The L-shaped restaurant encloses an expansive good-time patio with picnic tables, community tables, cow statues, games for the kids and a live-music stage. The patio overlooks the Trinity River and is adjacent to the Trinity Trails, where joggers and bicyclists whiz by. All eyes are inevitably fixed outside (unless you're gawking at the animal-on-a-spit visible via a window into the kitchen).

Cafe Malaga brings Collin County and vintage flair into the mix. The Spanish-style tapas restaurant inhabits a 130-year-old house off McKinney's downtown square, with a sprawling outdoor courtyard-patio that feels like some rich aunt's backyard. Stone walkways wend their way through clusters of trees. Strings of lights criss-cross the area, creating a festive ambience, while a fountain in the center lends Old-World charm.

Overall, California had the greatest number of winning restaurants on this year's list, followed by Florida, Hawaii and Arizona. Texas had only one other noteworthy patio: Eden East in Austin.

Cafe Malaga resides in a 130-year-old house off McKinney's downtown square.

Photo courtesy of On the Square

Cafe Malaga resides in a 130-year-old house off McKinney's downtown square.

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Where to eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 7 new restaurants to try in August

Two Hands

The August edition of Where to Eat, CultureMap's monthly column giving advice on best restaurants to try, has seven new gems worth checking out. There's an ultra-buzzy new Japanese restaurant, a trendy smash burger place, and an Australian-inspired concept from New York.

Here's where to eat in Dallas right now:

Allegory Kitchen and Bar
Independently owned restaurant now open in Grand Prairie serves Southern fare with a full bar and live music. Menu items include fried catfish, a half-pound burger, pork chop, and roasted half chicken. There are also vegan options such as roasted butternut squash tabouli. Make a meal of the small plates such as lobster mac & cheese, crab cakes, and collard green spring rolls filled with collard greens, onions and peppers, then deep-fried.

Dad Jokes Cheesyburger
Food truck-turned-restaurant in Frisco is a family-owned burger joint that offers a little humor on the side. The restaurant specializes in smash burgers and fries, accompanied by corny dad jokes printed on paper like a fortune cookie. There are also chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and Henry's Homemade Ice Cream, a customer favorite. Mom-and-pop owners Gabby and Clayton Jones say their goal is "to celebrate the dads in our lives and bring some laughter."

Hendy's on Henderson
New restaurant and bar from This and That Hospitality takes over the former Sfuzzi space, which they closed in March after three years. Hendy's is an upscale sports bar with a menu conceived by chef Peja Krstic (Mot Hai Ba) featuring salmon dip, beef tartare, lasagna, fish tacos, and steak frites. Plus cocktails such as the Coconut Matcha Martini, Orange Julius, and a Sour Patch Kid Margarita.

Norman's Western Japanese Grill
Japanese restaurant from Duro Hospitality (The Charles, Mister Charles, Cafe Duro) opened in August and like all Duro concepts is sizzling hot. Located in the former Homewood space, it boasts an Argentinian-style wood-fired grill for larger cuts of meat, and a Japanese charcoal robata for skewers to share. Fun dishes include a clever udon carbonara, Korean fried chicken, and edamame hummus, and there's a raw program with sashimi and handrolls. The bar has pina coladas and seven different sakes by the glass.

Senor Oink
New taqueria in Farmers Branch has a thing for pork carnitas, done in all kinds of ways: tacos, carnitas bowls, carnitas tortas, and carnitas flautas, as well as selling carnitas by the pound. Owner Mauricio Gallegos, who also owns the Mexican coffee shop Xaman in Oak Cliff, is recreating a true carnitas taquería you'd find in Mexico. It also has a bar with beer, cocktails, and mezcal.

Texano Cocina
Tex-Mex restaurant at 5622 Lemmon Ave. in the former El Fenix is a rebrand of Eddie’s Cocina & Cantina after owner Eddie Cervantes and his partners parted ways. They've kept some of the Tex-Mex classics including tacos, fajitas, chicken mole, and chile relleno, but have also added blackened redfish, a smashburger, and a Mexican cheesesteak. Plus lunch specials including combo plates with rice and beans priced from $12-$14.

Two Hands
All-day cafe now open at The Quad was founded in New York in 2014 and has eight locations across the U.S. They draw their inspiration from Australian café culture. They're open long hours with a crowd-pleasing menu that includes a salmon quinoa bowl, corn jalapeno fritters, steak au poivre, a burger; plus brunch and lunch with an acai bowl, a breakfast burrito, and avocado toast. There are thoughtful menus for kids, and a full bar with cocktails, mimosas, and an intriguing wine list.

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