There is much excitement, including many openings, in the world of Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants. But there are closures too. Boo. Here's the biggest restaurant news for the first day of June.
It was a devastating weekend for closures. In addition to the closure of Oso Food & Wine and the passing of Snookie's, another restaurant, Endive, in North Dallas, bid farewell. Located in the shopping center behind the Galleria on Alpha Road, Endive got positive ratings online for its custom salads and sandwiches. But this makes clear that Yelp cannot to keep a restaurant afloat.
Owner Paul Kim made the announcement on Facebook, stating that he was closing with sadness "but more relief. It's too simple to blame the location and location is a very complex thing," he says. "This location had many positive attributes. I fully admit there was something else, with my food or with the name Endive, I don't know."
That's a generous assessment, because that location is doomed. But he says he won't give up on this passion "until I hit that taco joint home run."
A second branch of Carnival Barker Ice Cream has opened in Oak Cliff. It's in the same Jefferson Tower building as Small Brewpub, and shares space with an art gallery.
Snap Kitchen has opened its sixth takeout outlet at the intersection of Mockingbird and Skillman.
Another branch of Mash'd will open in June in Fort Worth, in the West Seventh district at 2948 Crockett St.; this is the old Hacienda San Miguel space. The Cajun cousin of Trufire Kitchen, Mash'd specialties include "moonshine," a line of in-house flavored whiskies.
Cafe Salsera, the Latin-Caribbrean restaurant opening at 2610 Elm St. in Deep Ellum, is readying its opening. Cafe Salsera will be a dynamic salsa lounge with coffeehouse components and a "Spanish colonial style" atmosphere, with live music and outdoor dining. Is there anything it doesn't have?
High Fives, the new So & So's spinoff off Henderson Avenue, is also about ready to pop. Previously doing business as Whippersnapper, the restaurant-bar will open at 1804 McMillan Ave. in the old Biergarten (and Slip Inn) space. Name-wise, is High Fives an improvement over Whippersnapper?
Aw Shucks, the casual seafood chain that's been around more than 30 years, will open a location in Frisco at 4710 Preston Rd., at the southeast corner of Preston and Lebanon.
Las Vegas ramen chain Monta Ramen will open its first Texas location in Dallas in July. They're also the folks behind Mr. Max, the Japanese izakaya-style restaurant on Belt Line Road in Irving.
Lakewood Brewing Co. releases its sixth limited-edition beer, called Saint Dymphna, a Belgian-style tripel brewed with linden flowers. It's on tap at the brewery and at bars and restaurants; eventually, it'll be sold in 22-ounce bottles at selected liquor stores.
World of Beer has snagged an exclusive limited-release summer beer from Anchor Brewing: California Uncommon Kölsch-Style Ale with Meyer lemons. It'll be available on June 5.
In one of the most unexpected appointments ever, Cook Hall in the W Dallas – Victory has hired Vijay Sadhu as its new chef. Sadhu has had a busy career in the past few years, from Clay Pit to Samar by Stephan Pyles, to places of his own including Sutra in 2010, Pepper Smash in 2012 and Samudraa in late 2014 (which closed in March 2015).
Society Bakery has a new chef, Erron Star Depew, who owned and operated her own food truck in Kauai, Hawaii, and was also at TopGolf USA. Her new savory menu has pastries, "toasts," plates, sandwiches, soups and salads. She gives fresh twists such as ranch slaw or Sriracha mayo to classics like tuna salad, cranberry almond chicken salad and grilled cheese sandwiches, which can be served hot pressed or cold. Toasts come with toppings like cinnamon sugar or bacon.
Samson’s Gourmet Hot Dogs now has burgers made from Halal beef, in regular and stuffed versions. Offerings include a "monster burger" topped with smoked chipotle beef chili, mac ‘n’ cheese, guacamole, grilled onions, a smoked brat, sharp cheddar and sriracha mayonnaise; and one stuffed with gorgonzola and cream cheese and topped with tarragon aioli.
Villa-O expanded its lunch menu with a "Presto Piatti" daily lunch special, comprised of four courses served all at once: soup of the day, Caesar or chopped salad, entrée and dessert -- for $13. Other new summer menu items include seared tuna salad with mixed greens, pickled onions and avocado; beet kale salad with beets, kale, arugula, pickled red onion, spicy cashew and Gorgonzola dolce; turkey meatball sliders on brioche with Asiago cheese.
Bite City Grill, the Fort Worth restaurant from Chef Eddy Thretipthuangsin, is launching a new Sunday brunch, from 11 am-3 pm, with eight stations including a variety of hot and cold dishes, including custom omelet and griddle stations.
Max’s Wine Dive in West Village has new seasonal menu items including a new twist of the wedge salad with asparagus, lardons and baby fennel; 9-cheese mac and cheese with Waco-based Pachi Pachi cheeses; and a 2-lb rack of pork spare ribs cooked St. Louis-style.
Del Frisco’s Grille has some new menu goodies including pretzels, a veggie burger, kale and quinoa salad, baby back ribs and a "daily dish" blue-plate special offered during a specific day of the week, every week.
Modmarket, the healthy restaurant chain, has a summer menu with some new dishes and some encores. The BLT+A is a BLT avocado, arugula and basil aioli on multigrain bread. a steakhouse salad has black Angus steak, pickled red onion, gorgonzola, walnuts, cucumbers, roasted tomatoes and buttermilk horseradish dressing. There's a new sausage pizza, and new sides including bulgur wheat, goji berries, apples and walnuts tossed in a lemon maple dressing; and rainbow carrots, replacing the former Balsamic carrots, with multi-colored French baby carrots, aren't they cute?
Toasts are a new item on the menu at Society Bakery.
Photo courtesy of Seegars Deli.