Hot news about openings and new menus in this Dallas restaurant news

This roundup of Dallas restaurant news has an abundance of new restaurant openings, some new menus, news about brunch and news about beer, and yikes, thanks to Dunkin', a pumpkin reference. Isn't it too soon for the pumpkin word to arrive?

Here's what's happening in Dallas dining news:

Gloria's Latin Cuisine has reopened their Dallas location, located at 4140 Lemmon Ave., after completing winter storm damage repairs. During the February winter storm, a burst pipe caused extensive damage to Gloria’s interior, forcing the location to temporarily close for repairs to be made. "While it was unfortunate that we had to close our Lemmon and Douglas location for repairs, it gave us an opportunity to refresh the look and feel of one of our oldest locations. We’re excited to reopen and welcome back our Oak Lawn and Uptown Dallas area neighbors!" says co-founder Gloria Fuentes. It now boasts a refreshed interior with Salvadoran-inspired décor and an updated bar area. The Salvadoran / Tex-Mex chain has 22 locations in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.

Tacodeli is launching cocktails and beer along with a new dinner menu for the first time in its 22-year-history of the brand. The new beverage menu features margaritas made with blue agave tequila, as well as local craft beer and cider. New drinks include margaritas on the rocks, frozen margaritas, and a paloma. Swirls using Tacodeli's house-made agua frescas can be added into the frozen margaritas with flavor options including watermelon, horchata, and seasonal. The margarita on the rocks and the paloma are also available to-go in 16-ounce and 64-ounce sizes. Dinner items include the Pastor Yucatan, Mole de Pollo, Escalopas Especiales, Arrachera Flank Steak and Esquites.

La Madeleine French Bakery & Café has opened its first new Express model locations in three Walmart stores: Cleburne, Garland, and Rowlett. Express locations range from 980 to 2,209 square-feet, and offer grab and go or dine-in with offerings including Chicken Caesar Salad, Tomato Basil Soup, pizzas created specifically for the Express locations and a small retail area with soups, jams and sauces.

Ace's Sport Hangar is now open at CityLine in Richardson, after three years in the works. In addition to sports, Ace's has American grill fare such as Trash Can Nachos, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Wings, Chicken & Waffles, and Fly High Rainbow Cake. They're big on events including karaoke on Tuesday from 6:30-10:30 pm, Thursday night football with $5 Crown & Down, and weekend brunch.

Trompo, the taqueria from Luis Olvera, has opened at 4201 Gaston Ave. in east Dallas. This is the second location; the first is in Bishop Arts. In addition to tacos, there are sandwiches and burgers.

Zalat Pizza is opening their first Irving location on August 23 at 4835 N. O'Connor Rd. #136, although it's not really a location so much as a takeout depot, ordered via Zalat's website or delivery via third party apps.

Twin Peaks is opening two new locations in the fall: 12750 South Fwy. in Burleson, and 3120 S. Hwy. 161 in Grand Prairie.

Ellie's Restaurant & Lounge at Hall Arts Hotel has unveiled seasonal menus with ingredients sourced directly from local farmers and ranchers, by Executive Chef Dan Landsberg, including tri-tip eggs benedict, weekly waffle, 9-grain hippie toast, fried green tomatoes, grain bowl salad, red miso BBQ pork ribeye with lobster fried rice, and scallops with corn basil pudding.

Thunderbird Station in Deep Ellum is now serving brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 12-5 pm. The menu includes burritos with bacon, egg, and cheese fried until crispy and topped with cheese sauce, tomato, green onions, jalapeños, onions and sour cream; Frito Pie, Sloppy Jolene, cinnamon French toast sticks, and a peanut butter-banana-honey grilled sandwich. Drinks include Mojitos, Campari Ferraris, and prosecco mimosas.

Bushi Bushi, the new dim sum place in Addison, has added new dishes including crab rangoon, orange chicken, stir-fried broccoli, chicken fried rice, chicken pan-fried udon, and steamed veggie dumplings. They've also added wine, and have their beer on draft set up, including cult item YeungLing draft beer. Maybe the best part, they now have a robot running in the restaurant.

Dansungsa Dallas has a new lunch menu and will now be open at 11 am every day, with specials that run until 4 pm, including $7 soups, $5 Appetizers, and $8 Rice Bowls, with Happy Hour pricing on all applicable drinks. Order at www.toasttab.com/dss.dallas or any third-party delivery platform if you're not dining in. All rice bowls come topped with an egg, kimchi, and a side dish of the day.

Salty Donut has a doughnut special: The Root Beer Float is a 24-hour brioche doughnut filled with root beer custard, melted ice cream glaze, topped with a scoop of mascarpone "ice cream," root beer-infused caramel, and bubble sugar. Available this week only through August 22.

Perry's Steakhouse & Grille has wine and cocktail specials for August that include Lavender Bee Mine with Empress 1908 Gin, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, lemon juice, and lavender-honey water for $15; Perry's Reserve Big Red Blend, a complex, high-end, small-production Napa Valley wine for $25 for a 5-ounce pour or $35 for a 7.5-ounce pour; and Mini Martini Special of The Month tasting flight of three cocktails in 2.5-ounce pours for $15: Cucumber Blueberry Martini, The Strait Paloma with George Strait's tequila, and Pineapple Ginger Mojito.

Meso Maya is celebrating its 10th anniversary from August 19-29 with pan-seared halibut topped with crab, charred avocado and rice, plus a Margarita Flight.

Torchy's Tacos is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a prizes including a year of tacos, a VIP trip to Austin, and a catered taco party for 25. To be eligible, you need to sign up online to their new loyalty program by August 31. They're also serving taco and drink specials for August that include a chicken breast taco with spinach, corn, green chiles, and cheddar cheese for $6, and the Magic Dragon cocktail with tequila, Cointreau, and sweet & sour flavored with dragon fruit.

Fireside Pies has a new dessert pizza, the Texas Peach Pie, with a cheesecake batter, peaches, brown sugar reduction, and oatmeal pecan streusel, for $12. for dine in or carry out. To place a takeout order, visit the Fireside Pies online ordering platform or call your nearby location.

TNT Tacos & Tequila has added new menu items including torta sliders and a variety of bowls, salads, new starters, and a coconut-lime tres leches cake. Torta sliders include spicy crusted chicken with poblano ranch; the Bomb Burger with ancho mayo, avocado, cheese, and pico; and Pulled Pork with crunchy slaw, pickled onion and BBQ sauce. New tacos include Blackened Salmon with mango salsa; Panko Crusted Fried Avocado with ancho crema; and Bacon Wrapped Shrimp stuffed with poblano cream cheese.

Shell Shack has four new dishes: Mahi-Mahi Wrap in a spinach herb wrap, Mahi-Mahi Plate with steamed white rice and broccoli, pasta with Alfredo sauce, and deep-fried apple pies.

7-Eleven has two seasonal summertime hot beverages: coconut coffee, brewed with 100 percent arabica beans, with toasty light-roasted notes and a sweet, creamy, and coconut flavor and decadent s'mores hot chocolate with vanilla, marshmallow, and golden graham flavors all tied up in a rich, chocolatey beverage fit for any fireside.

Dunkin' is already launching its fall menu with new Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew and Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte, as well as Pumpkin Flavored Coffees, Doughnut, Muffin, and Munchkins Donut Hole Treats. The fall menu will be available August 18.

Impossible has a new Sausage Made From Plants, in two flavors: Savory and Spicy. Impossible Sausage tastes and cooks like ground pork sausage: make it into a patty, slice it up, or crumble it into your favorite dish.

Cheesecake Factory has two new items on its famed SkinnyLicious menu: The Impossible Burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, and mayonnaise on a toasted bun; and fried chicken breast sandwich with lettuce, pickles, onions, in regular (ranch dressing) or spicy (sriracha mayo). Both are served with a green salad.

Hopdoddy is shifting to the Beyond Burger as their plant-based burger offering. It's the newest iteration of the Beyond Burger, which more closely resembles the Impossible burger, which Hopdoddy was practically the first in the country to offer; they made kind of a big deal about it. Maybe they didn't like that Cheesecake Factory has the Impossible now. They also have a new Burger of the Month for August: Beyond a Reuben, with a Beyond burger topped with "pastrami-spiced mushrooms," Gruyere cheese, Dijon mustard, sauerkraut, pickles, and Russian dressing on a caraway-seeded bun.

Omni Las Colinas Hotel in Irving has a new executive chef: Isaac Pacheco will oversee all food and beverage at the luxury hotel, including LRH Restaurant & Bar, OTC Over The Counter, The Lakehouse Waterfront Lounge, and Flossie's, as well as banquets, catering, and in-room dining. Pacheco most recently served as Executive Sous Chef at Omni Houston Hotel, and has worked at properties in Puerto Rico, Miami, and Hawaii, so after places like that, he is surely super glad to be in DFW.

Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar has a new concept chef: Thomas Dritsas, who has nearly 30 years of culinary experience in various executive chef and leadership roles, most recently chief culinary officer at Del Frisco's Restaurant Group.

Starbucks is allowing reusable cups again. They stopped during the pandemic and have a new procedure to avoid cooties that involves you putting your cup into one of their cups so that they can avoid cross contamination. As far back as a year ago, it was determined that COVID is inactivated when it comes into contact with detergent, which means reusable containers are safe if they are washed.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop received two awards from the 2021 Franchise Business Review Franchise Satisfaction Awards in the Top Food and Best Franchise Culture categories.