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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Tex-Mex News

Dallas Tex-Mex chain Uncle Julio's closes short-lived Frisco location

Uncle Julio's

Tex-Mex spread at Uncle Julio's

An ill-fated restaurant in Frisco has pulled the plug: Uncle Julio's, the Dallas-based Tex-Mex chain, closed its location by Stonebriar Center at 2401 Preston Rd. in mid-May, after only two years.

According to a release, the location closed due to lease issues.

"While the company explored every opportunity to continue operating at the location, the closure ultimately follows unresolved lease-related matters with the property," their statement said. "The decision was not made lightly, and the brand remains deeply appreciative of the loyal guest base that made the restaurant part of their traditions for so many years."

Their PR representative did not respond to a query for further comment.

The closure marked the final chapter in a prolonged journey that began in 2022 when plans for the location were first revealed. The opening date was originally targeted to be the second half of 2022 but construction dragged, and the restaurant did not open until April 2024.

Their menu features prototypical Tex-Mex favorites including fajitas, tacos, carne asada, enchiladas, quesadillas, tamales, nachos, and queso, plus specialties such as their bacon-wrapped shrimp. There are margaritas in varieties that include frozen, swirl, and special-edition fruity flavors such as strawberry.

In more recent years, they became known for their chocolate pinata, an interactive dish they introduced in 2016 featuring a hanging chocolate globe filled with churros and fruit that diners crack open with a hammer.

Uncle Julio's was founded in 1986 by a trio that included Rusty Fenton, who went on to open the Rusty Taco chain before passing away in 2013. Uncle Julio's experienced another tragedy when its president, Harper Caron, died in 2021 at age 45; he'd worked for the company for 25 years, moving up the ranks to become president in September 2019. The company called his passing "a profound loss."

The chain was acquired in 2017 by private equity firm L. Catterton, who subsequently sold it in December 2024 in a foreclosure auction to Sun Holdings, a Dallas-based company that owns Taco Bueno and Freebirds, and who more recently acquired the Bar Louie chain in October 2025, also in bankruptcy proceedings.

There are currently 33 Uncle Julio's locations, with six in the DFW area including the original location on Lemmon Avenue, plus Keller Springs, Allen, Arlington, Grapevine, and Fort Worth.

In a statement, Uncle Julio's VP John Herrera said that the company was grateful to the Frisco community for their loyalty and support.

"This location has meant so much to our team, and we are proud of the relationships built here," Herrera said. "While this chapter is coming to a close, our commitment to serving the DFW community remains as strong as ever.”

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