Eat 'em up

Top 10 restaurant and bar stories that Dallas savored in 2018

Editor's note: As the year comes to a close, we look back at the 10 most popular restaurant and bar stories of 2018. These are the openings, closings, and newsy bits that Dallas readers gobbled up, all from CultureMap dining editor Teresa Gubbins.

1. Magical new dessert shop in Deep Ellum fulfills all your unicorn dreams. Do you love unicorns? Is that even a real question? Get ready for a ride to the Magical Dessert Bar, a new shop that opened in December in Deep Ellum, where everything is pastel iridescence and oh-so sweet. Think hot chocolate that's pink, topped with pastel sprinkles and fluffy whipped cream.

2. Kimbal Musk and Wyly heiress celebrate wedding at Dallas restaurant. Diners trying to grab a bite at Dallas restaurant Cedars Social on April 7 were out of luck, as the newly reimagined Mexican restaurant in the Southside neighborhood was shut down all day for a reception celebrating a high-profile wedding. The bride: Christiana Wyly, daughter of Texas billionaire Sam Wyly. The groom was Kimbal Musk, brother of Tesla founder Elon Musk.

3. Favorite Dallas fried chicken restaurant finally opens second location. In September, Frisco was set to get some fried chicken, oh yeah, with the arrival of a Dallas institution: Park Cities staple Bubba's Cooks Country said it would open a location in Frisco at 4585 Preston Rd. When it opens, will be only the second location for Bubba's, which has been doing fried chicken in Snider Plaza in a converted 1929 Texaco gas station since 1981.

4. The 10 best bars in Dallas for 2018 mix up old and new. The 2018 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, our annual event honoring the best in local food and drink, included awards to top chefs and restaurants and a party in April. But before we partied, we took a closer look at the nominees for Best Bar of the Year in Dallas.

5. Intriguing East Dallas restaurant unveils bike-friendly theme and top chef. A cool new restaurant that had piqued the interest of its East Dallas neighborhood was ready to throw open the doors in June. Called Local Traveler, it's an upscale-casual restaurant serving dinner seven nights a week, that is both bicycle-friendly and chef-driven. The restaurant is located at the high-profile intersection of Gaston and Grand, next door to The Lot — with whom it shares ownership.

6. Central Market unlocks new Dallas store in million-dollar neighborhood. At last, the newest Dallas location of Central Market, opening at the intersection of Midway Road and Northwest Highway, had a start date: Doors opened to the public at 8 am on Wednesday, September 5. This was the third Central Market in Dallas, following the original at Lovers Lane and Greenville Avenue, and a second at Preston Road and Royal Lane that opened in 2012.

7. 6 Dallas restaurants get a shot on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. In January, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives confirmed that three three Dallas restaurants definitely had made the cut for the latest season of the popular Food Network TV show: Tacos Mariachi, One90 Smoked Meats, and Whistle Britches. But wait! Then there were three more — Tutta Pizza, Nora's, and CrushCraft Thai — bringing the total to six DFW eateries.

8. Here's our master list of every Dallas restaurant opening in fall 2018. One of the best things about Dallas is its brisk restaurant scene. Keeping track of the comings and goings is practically a full-time job. (Actually, it IS a full-time job.) In our efforts to keep diners in the know, in October, we compiled our annual master list of all the restaurants coming soon in Dallas and beyond.

9. Mockingbird Station suffers big loss with closure of longtime Dallas restaurant. Cafe Express, the trail-blazing chain founded by Houston chef Robert del Grande and restaurateur (and CultureMap co-founder) Lonnie Schiller, shockingly and abruptly closed two flagship locations in Dallas. Mockingbird Station closed in September, followed by Uptown Dallas in November. Owners M. Terry Enterprises say they are focusing on their top-performing restaurants, and have engaged a firm to help restructure. One Dallas location on Lovers Lane remains, and there are six in Houston.

10. New shop crazy about pickles joins Jimmy's in East Dallas foodie zone. In a world that seems overrun with hamburger joints and poke places, bow down to entrepreneur Lee Theilen, who announced in May he was opening a concept that is completely original to Dallas: a pickle place. Called Pickletopia, it opened at 4812 Bryan St., at the southwest corner of Fitzhugh Avenue, where it sells pickles of all kinds.

So many pickles to pick from at Pickletopia.

Sarah Berkowitz/fromthegrapevine.com

So many pickles to pick from at Pickletopia.

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Deep Ellum News

Mexican 'vibe' restaurant from California to open in Deep Ellum Dallas

Mama Por Dios

A buzzy concept from California is coming to Dallas: Mama Por Dios, a Mexican restaurant chain known for its vibe, will open its first location in Texas in Deep Ellum in the Epic development at 2525 Elm St., taking over the former La Neta space, which shuttered in May.

According to a spokesperson, the restaurant will open in early to mid-January.

Mama Por Dios was founded in Southern California in 2020 by chef Misael Guerrero, who famously got his start selling Mexican sushi out of his garage.

Since those early days, he's gone on to form a restaurant empire called Emme Group, with concepts that include Los Amores de Julia, El Rincon de Los Dolidos, and Culichi Town, a lower-priced chain known for Sinaloa-style Mexican sushi & seafood, which has a local presence: It opened a location in Mesquite in 2022.

Mama Por Dios — which translates to "Mother of God" — describes itself as modern Mexican, offering a unique blend of steakhouse, sushi bar, and seafood. The menu includes favorites like tacos and enchiladas, alongside luxe dishes like lobster with spaghetti, lobster enchiladas, and a surf & turf featuring a lobster tail balanced atop a skirt steak. Prices range from $18 for birria tacos to $48 for a bacon-wrapped filet mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

But they also have a showy side that includes flamboyant presentations such as the bacon-wrapped shrimp which come strung on clothespins; or the trompito al pastor, served on a personal spit, as well as servers who walk around with shots while dancing with patrons.

There's a Gold Burger for $65 featuring Prime beef on a brioche bun garnished with 24k gold leaf, and a similarly gilded tomahawk steak for $400 that brings to mind the good old days of Salt Bae. Decor is swanky with low lighting, and there'll be a serious brunch offering on weekends.

Cocktails such as the Al Agua Pato — served in a mini bathtub with a rubber ducky — are made for Instagram. They offer margarita and mezcalita flights with flavors such as mango, tamarindo, and strawberry, and intriguing sips like Carajillo, a Spanish cocktail with Licor 43, espresso, and 43 different fruit, citrus, aromatic, and herbal ingredients.

There’s also a $20 per-person minimum spend, and the menu comes with a warning that everything is cooked to order — meaning some dishes may take 30 to 40 minutes. For many diners, waiting will surely be part of the experience.

deep-ellum tex-mex openings