List News

7 Dallas restaurants make the cut on Texas Monthly's 2022 best list

Meridian gets a special shout-out.

Photo courtesy of Meridian

Once again, Texas Monthly has published its list of the state's best new restaurants. Led by food critic and executive editor Pat Sharpe, the 21st edition of the list highlights the magazine's favorite dishes from around the state.

Texas Monthly utilized the same format for its 2021 list, opting not to publish a ranked list due to the difficulties restaurants faced during the pandemic.

"This year, in the wake of the delta and omicron coronavirus variants, we made the same decision," Sharpe writes.

Open to restaurants that opened between December 1, 2020 and December 1, 2021, the list breaks down dishes into the following categories: small plates, sandwiches, large plates, sweets, and cocktails.

Separate features highlight Texas-made beers, wines, and spirits; provide an overview of popular outdoor dining options in major Texas cities; and a look ahead to 2022's most anticipated new restaurants.

Seven Dallas bars and restaurants receive recognition for their dishes or drinks:

charred eggplant dip at Sister
seared foie gras at Tango Room
Thunderburger at Thunderbird Pies
48-hour crispy wagyu tongue at Cry Wolf
Jerk Lamb Chops at Roots Southern Table
Chocolate Crémeux at Carte Blanche
The Charlemagne at Elephant Bar, which makes the best Cocktails list

The patio dining list suggests favorites like Casablanca, José's, and Mi Cocina's new location at Klyde Warren Park.

Finally, Texas Monthly is looking forward to the arrival of New York restaurants Carbone and Sadelle's as well as three new projects from veteran restaurateur Nick Badovinus: Brass Ram, Pop Top, and Royal Bastard.

Looking at the state’s other major cities, Houston takes eight spots, while Austin eateries earn seven. San Antonio and Fort Worth have five entries each.

Three restaurants receive slightly longer profiles:

March, the Houston restaurant devoted to elegant, Mediterranean-inspired tasting menus
Up Scale, a San Antonio restaurant that focuses on steaks, seafood, and sushi
Meridian, Dallas chef Junior Borges’s modern Brazilian restaurant, whose style Sharpe calls "a global melting pot, inspired not only by the country’s long-standing mix of Indigenous, Portuguese, and African cultures but also by relative newcomers from Japan and Italy (the menu includes a pasta section). Borges' most memorable dishes tap into his childhood, including the dessert of yuca-and-coconut cake topped with lime ganache and presented on a limpid pool of condensed-milk anglaise."

Head to the Texas Monthly website to see the complete list of selections from across the state.

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Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

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