Food & bev

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 hot restaurants for December

You have one month left to eat out in 2012, and you have 10 restaurants before you. That's one restaurant every three days. Better get eating.

Spoon
Spoon is chef John Tesar's version of famed New York seafooderie Le Bernardin and would easily be the hottest restaurant for this month regardless. But with Tesar emerging as the rising star of Top Chef Seattle, Spoon is about to become impossible to get in.

Bowl & Barrel
The thirtysomethings are already enchanted with B&B, merely for the novelty of being able to bowl within the loop. But Sharon Hage brings in foodie cred with her design of a menu that includes cheese and ham boards, oysters, hot dogs, and a bologna sandwich made on Empire sourdough bread with caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese.

Cafe des Artistes
This space at One Arts Plaza didn't swing as Screen Door, not even after they swapped out chefs and owners. Like the cavalry comes Alberto Lombardi to the rescue! Can he draw diners to this lonesome location? If you judge by the brisk opening party, the answer is yes.

Babb Bros BBQ & Blues
Barbecue is a tough category to crack, but the Babb brothers are giving it a go. This is the first restaurant to open in the Trinity Groves complex, which is, for the moment, a curiosity-seeker's destination.

JoJo Eating House & Bar
JoJo is where you can go to have a French chef, Laurent Poupart, make you pizza. Okay, also mussels and French onion soup. Really, the thing to do at JoJo is marvel at the amazing makeover of the old Tin Star space.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Hopdoddy is an Austin import so we're supposed to wrinkle our provincial noses, but the burgers are getting rave reviews, and they have Texas beer on tap. Hey, we like Torchy's too.

The Greek
At the other end of One Arts Plaza sits The Greek, from the owners of Ziziki's, who've taken over the old Commissary space. Can anything replace a burger hand-patted by Tesar? Hummus can.

People's Last Stand
Mockingbird Station bar-restaurant has a big cocktail program, big ambitions and a big heart. Cocktail classes begin this month, and the place has plans for live jazz. Bonus points for the cloth hand towels in the restrooms — classy.

T/X at Luxe Stoneleigh Hotel
New restaurant at the newly redesigned Stoneleigh has an upscale Texas theme. Chef is Marcelo Vasquez, who worked at the Omni in Fort Worth, and his menu includes shrimp and cheese grits, beer-braised short ribs, and lobster pancakes.

Love Shack
Keeping up with chef Tim Love's burger chain keeps us busy. The original stands in the Stockyards, but he closed the So7 branch and will transform the Denton outlet to a steakhouse. This Shack is all-TCU, with big-screen TVs, beer and sloppy nachos on the menu. Go Horned Frogs.

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Chef's room at John Tesar's Spoon boasts plates on the wall and a spoon-inspired chandelier.

Spoon restaurant in Preston Center in Dallas

Photo by Kevin Marple

Chef's room at John Tesar's Spoon boasts plates on the wall and a spoon-inspired chandelier.

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Grocery News

Urban grocery market will join scene in historic downtown Carrollton

Street Corner Urban Market

A new grocery store brand is making its Texas debut in Carrollton: Called Street Corner Urban Market, it's a small chain from Kansas that will go into a former vintage store at 1105 South Broadway St., across from the historic downtown square, with an opening slated for spring 2026.

The Street Corner brand is headquartered in Topeka, and comprises several concepts, from express kiosks to gas station companions. The urban market concept has 47 locations across the United States as of early 2025, in cities such as Fresno, California and Rochester, New York.

Carrollton will be a 2,500 square-foot store — bigger than a convenience store but smaller than a large-scale grocery store.

Bringing the concept to Carrollton is franchisee Leon Smith, a longtime downtown Carrollton resident looking to fill a gap in the neighborhood's retail lineup.

“I've lived in the downtown Carrollton area probably for about seven, eight years,” Smith says. “I've always noticed the need for some type of grocery chain down here. There's just nothing down here for the residents — nowhere for them to go grab something quick.”

The historic downtown area nearly has it all: family housing, four luxury apartment complexes, a townhome development in the works, a DART station, dining, parks, entertainment, and locally-owned retail and beauty services.

The missing link: a place to grab groceries, beer & wine, flowers, produce, and ready-to-eat meals without hopping on a train or driving.

Smith, an HR professional at Baylor Scott & White venturing into franchising, says the Street Corner Market shopping experience is reminiscent of Trader Joe’s, including stocking many of the same vendors, but on a smaller scale.

Catering to the community is a priority, and they'll be open to product recommendations so that the store’s offerings reflect residents’ needs.

“It's not cookie cutter ‘this is the only way that it’s going to go,’” Smith says. “I'm here to try to make it welcoming for everybody that's around here. I'm a part of this community, so this is important to me, because I know the need for it.”

supermarkets openings