There's new pizza in the works and a healthy dining option opening near downtown Dallas. Here's the latest round of Dallas restaurant news:
Pie Tap Pizza Workshop + Bar has opened its long-awaited second location on Henderson Avenue. As the name implies, they specialize in pizza and beer. The pizza has a crisp thin crust, there are house-made pastas, and 25 craft beers and 15 wines on tap. This follows the opening of the inaugural branch, which debuted in the Design District in August. Menu highlights include the prosciutto pizza with dates, pistachio, arugula, ricotta, and Parmigiano-Reggiano; a mushroom option with bacon, egg, caramelized onions, and fontina; and a calabrese salami pizza with fennel sausage, pepperoni, bacon, Calabrian peppers, tomato sauce, and mozzarella. Starters include chicken meatballs and prosciutto-wrapped fontina.
Grabbagreen has opened its first location in Dallas, on the ground floor of the Gaston Medical Office building, at 3417 Gaston Ave. The Arizona-based chain does a fresh and healthy version of fast food, serving mostly organic items, like antibiotic- and hormone-free beef and poultry, whole food, fresh juice, and smoothies.
I Love Juice Bar makes its North Texas entry, with three branches coming in the next few months. The first will open in Plano on December 2, to be followed by a branch in Allen in mid-December, and another branch in Dallas at the Shops at Park Lane in spring 2017. This Nashville-based chain was founded in 2013 and has branches in Florida, Indiana, Utah, and Missouri. They do catchy drinks such as "We got the Beet" with carrot, apple, lemon, ginger, and, of course, beet juice.
Kitchen LTO is now serving lunch Tuesdays through Fridays, from 11 am-3 pm. Starters include crudite, smoked salmon, and pimento cheese with chicken biscuit crackers. Salads include tuna tataki chopped salad and a buttermilk frisée. Sandwiches include fried oyster BLT, short rib with pimento cheese and apple butter on sourdough bread, Texas Akaushi burger, banh mi, and a steak sandwich.
The Second Floor has a new fall menu featuring dishes such as orecchiette pork ragu with pork jowl and guanciale; toasted farro with roasted vegetables, squash, and Parmesan; vegan chocolate mousse with Valrhona chocolate and toasted almond brittle; and a dolce Manhattan with bourbon, honey cinnamon, and cream.
Salum has a new winter menu available throughout December, featuring dishes such as coq au vin, clam ceviche, radicchio salad, seared scallops with purple cabbage and bacon, and, best of all, pumpkin ravioli with sautéed shrimp and sage brown butter.
The Cookery, the new culinary school in the Design District, will open December 8 and is now accepting reservations from novice and expert cooks. Classes include a "winter dinner party" with short ribs and chocolate pots de crème, and "bahn Thai," with pad Thai, soup, and coconut black rice pudding. Other classes focus on sushi, pasta, and weekend brunch.
Empire Baking Co. has a new set of seasonal offerings, including its own creations and some classic holiday goods. Those include stollen, the German Christmas bread filled with dried and candied fruit and soaked in Meyers rum; and Texas pecan rings, a Danish made with Plugra butter, filled with Texas fancy pecans, and braided, with powdered sugar icing on top. There is also gingerbread and chocolate-cherry bread. The "bread of the month" for December is the cranberry paisano.
Hopdoddy Burger Bar has a new chicken-fried steak burger for $12, with two Angus beef patties chicken-fried in buttermilk batter with cayenne pepper and Frank's Red Hot sauce, topped with bacon, beef cream gravy, and bread-and-butter pickles. Cookie butter shake features spiced cookies crushed into a buttery spread, swirled with spiced vanilla ice cream, and topped with cinnamon sugar. Both are available until December 18. A hot apple cider with mulled cider and Grand Marnier is on the menu through December 28.
Kenny’s Burger Joint has a limited-edition burger, available during December only. The Kobe beef burger features a half-pound patty, garnished with spinach, roasted tomatoes, and melted provolone. It's $14.99 at lunch and dinner.
Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill now has not one but two kinds of lobster rolls. There is the original Maine-inspired lobster roll, featuring a buttered bun filled with cold lobster salad. And now it's added a Connecticut-style lobster roll, served on a baguette filled with 5 ounces of warm lobster and served with melted butter. Who knew.
Kabuki Japanese Restaurant, inside the Galleria Dallas, has new happy hour specials, served Monday-Friday from 3-6 pm, with cocktails, sake, wine, and beer. Dishes such as the Tokyo steamed bun, the Baja roll, dumplings, chicken wings, sesame chicken, and mixed tempura are also offered at discount prices during this three-hour window.
Houndstooth Coffee has a set of limited-edition winter specialty drinks at both Henderson and Sylvan | Thirty cafes. There is a rum-nut cappuccino, with rum extract and hazelnut, and cinnamon spice cappuccino with cinnamon extract and anise.
Grayson Social, the new spot in downtown Dallas, has launched a weekend brunch with Southern fare and tall drinks, Saturdays and Sundays from 7 am-2 pm. Dishes include white chocolate croissant bread pudding with ancho-chili caramel; chicken-fried quail and waffles with Chantilly cream, white gravy, maple syrup, and berries; and nicoise with Bay of Fundy salmon, haricot vert, mixed greens, red potato, sunny quail egg, and warm bacon dressing. There's also a weekday happy hour from 5-7 pm, with $5 cocktails, such as an old fashioned with bacon bourbon, maple syrup, orange, and orange bitters, and a smoked Negroni with gin, cherrywood smoke, Campari, and vermouth.
Barley & Board in Denton has a new fall menu, with dishes such as burrata cheese with beets; roasted cauliflower flatbread; vegan soba noodles with acorn squash, bok choy, cashews, and coconut milk; and lamb shank with barley salad.
Pie Tap is open on Henderson Avenue.
