News You Can Eat

Downtown Dallas gets another eatery and more bites of restaurant news

Houlihan's embarks on an upward spiral.

Photo courtesy of Houlihan's

Downtown Dallas gets more eats, Deep Ellum gets a theme park, and Garland gets a Hooters. And that's not even the half of it.

Here's what's going on in Dallas restaurants right now:

Grill & Vine is open at the new Westin Dallas Downtown. Its casual yet upscale menu offers American cuisine and traditional favorites, be it snacks, sandwiches, salads, signature items, small plates, or pita with roasted red pepper hummus. There are cocktails and a strong wine program with high-end, hard-to-find wines by the glass.

The hotel also will see the opening of NOLA Brassiere, a New Orleans-inspired restaurant, and Cafe Strada, a European-inspired coffee cafe serving Lavazza coffee, handmade pastries, sandwiches, and gelato. Located at 1201 Main St., the Westin Dallas Downtown has 326 guest rooms, including 98 junior suites, 27 suites, and a two-story penthouse.

Goat Ranch is a new adult theme park with a built-in bar, now open on the edge of Fair Park. It's more than half patio, with picnic benches, recycled tires used as decor, and strings of lights, birthed by Bowlounge owners Craig Spivey and Dillon McDermott. The bar is open, and a golf driving range will be finished this summer.

Hooters opens a new location on February 29 in Garland, which features more comfortable seating options, top-of-the-line AV packages, and a patio with lakefront-view seating of Lake Ray Hubbard.

Grain, the restaurant at the Hilton Dallas/Park Cities, has a new chef: Jimmy Sanabria. He'll also oversee banquet and restaurant operations. Sanabria has a culinary arts degree from Universidad Del Este International School of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico.

Proof + Pantry has a new dinner menu with a larger selection and more variety. New dishes include eggy cheddar polenta, brown beech mushroom, beef tongue ravioli, short rib bourguignon, and chicken with polenta.

TNT Tacos & Tequila has a weekend buffet brunch with omelets, Belgian waffles, huevos rancheros, tacos, brisket, salads, fish, a dessert bar, and a live DJ. The brunch runs on Saturdays and Sundays, 10 am-3 pm, and costs $22, which includes champagne and mimosas. Children under 12 are $7; kids under 5 are free.

Pinstack has new dishes which they say "complement the season," although it's hard to find anything seasonal about chicken and waffle stacks, strawberry BBQ chicken pizza, a burger with a Lakewood Brewing cheese sauce, or short rib with a Revolver Blood & Honey barbecue sauce and goat cheese mashed potatoes.

Houlihan's is embracing a hot new-old trend: the spiralizer. This is the inexpensive kitchen tool that creates faux noodles out of vegetables such as zucchini, and it's "the must-have gadget of the moment in healthy kitchens," says the NY Post.

Houlihan's has three spiralized veggie dishes on the menu until June: Thai noodle salad with spiralized zucchini "noodles," mango, red peppers, and snow peas in a Sriracha Thai peanut sauce; Mexicali flatbread with spiralized sweet potatoes and zucchini, sweet corn, bacon, Greek yogurt white sauce, pickled jalapeños, cheese, and avocado salsa; and lasagna with spiralized butternut squash "noodles," ricotta, Italian sausage, a sautéed kale-spinach-chard blend, marinara, and mozzarella cheese.

Modern Market, the healthy fast-casual chain that used to go by Modmarket, has a new spring menu with an eggplant sandwich; sausage-kale scramble; pesto pizza; lemon-garlic asparagus; roasted zucchini with Moroccan spices; and a fancy BLT with basil aioli, avocado, and arugula.

Filament is launching a happy hour on weekdays from 4:30-6 pm. Dishes such as catfish and barbecue shrimp will be half off, and cocktails normally priced at $10 and under will be $5 during happy hour.

Division Brewing is now open on Saturdays from 11 am-4 pm, with a $15 package that gets you a glass and four pours, and on Thursdays from 4-10 pm, for individual pint and growler sales. They're also bringing back the Prodigal, a rustic Saison that's light, fruity, and slightly tart due to a dose of brettanomyces.

Yard House is probably better known for its selection of draft beer, but it's releasing new cocktails, among them two new sangrias, that use kitchen ingredients such as fresh pomegranate seeds, juicy blood orange, cayenne pepper, seared jalapeños, clover honey syrup, and fresh watermelon juice.

7-Select is a new line of premium sodas crafted by Jones Soda Co. that's available exclusively at 7-Eleven stores. They come in five flavors — Twisted Citrus, Fruit Loose, Cocolocolilinut, Tropical Slam Rambutan, and Bluesberry Smash — made with natural flavors and cane sugar. They range from 180 to 195 calories per 20-ounce bottle.

Starbucks is offering two experimental drinks for a limited time. Smoked butterscotch latte combines espresso, steamed milk, and smoked butterscotch sauce. Citrus green tea latte is made with green tea, steamed milk, citrus mint syrup, and lemon essence topping. Both new beverages are available hot, iced, and as Frappuccinos.

These drinks are inspired by Starbucks' roastery and tasting room in Seattle, an experimental place where customers can try new teas and small-lot Starbucks Reserve coffees.

Starbucks also has two new sandwiches: a breakfast sandwich with chorizo, Monterey Jack, and egg; and an ancho-chipotle chicken panino with red poblano peppers, cilantro, red onion, Gouda cheese, and spicy cilantro pesto on a ciabatta roll.

Canary By Gorji chef Gorji won an award at the ZestFest Fiery Food Challenge for one of his pasta sauces. His line also includes a pomegranate vinaigrette and a dipping oil/marinade, for sale at Canary By Gorji, Whole Foods, Jimmy's Food Store, Royal Blue Grocery, and online at Amazon and GorjiGourmet.com

news-you-can-eat

There Goes the Biscuits

Mom-and-pop restaurant chain Biscuit Bar closes all Dallas locations

Photo courtesy of Biscuit Bar

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A Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant chain dedicated to biscuits is shutting down: The Biscuit Bar, a chain with six locations including five in the Dallas area, is closing them all. According to the owners, the closures are effective immediately.

Owners Jake and Janie Burkett say they were poised to sell off the chain to keep it afloat, but the sale fell through at the last minute.

The chain has five locations in the DFW area and one in Abilene. All locations are closed including these five in DFW:

Deep Ellum, at The Epic, the mixed-use project at 2550 Pacific Ave.
Plano, at The Boardwalk in Granite Park, at 5880 TX-121 #102B
Arlington, at Champions Park, at 1707 N. Collins St.
Fort Worth Stockyards, at Mule Alley, at 122 E. Exchange Ave.
Coppell, at 104 S Denton Tap Rd. #102

The couple blamed a variety of factors, including "rising costs, supply chain instability, and a commercial environment increasingly shaped by large institutional interests" which "created pressures no small business was prepared to endure."

The concept made its debut in April 2018 at The Boardwalk in Granite Park in Plano, before expanding in 2019 with a bang, targeting five locations all at once — a bold move for a new concept, especially one dedicated entirely to one food group. (They also opened a short-lived location on Hillcrest near SMU which is now home to D.L. Mack's.)

They were open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, offering biscuits, tots, and beer on tap — very ambitious — with a menu featuring both savory and sweet biscuit sandwiches made in house; tots, which could be customized; plus a bar with cocktails, local beer, cold brew coffee, and kombucha, all offered on tap.

Its most popular menu item, The Hoss, featured Southern fried chicken, bacon, Jack cheese, sausage gravy, and honey butter.

Their post says that by early 2025, they entered Chapter 11 — "not to walk away but to rebuild and secure a future for our employees," they say. "And for a time, it looked like that future was within reach. A respect restaurant group stepped forward, committed to acquiring and growing Biscuit Bar. The sale was structured, terms were agreed upon, and the closing was set for December."

Unfortunately, not everyone was on board.

"While many partners supported a workable plan, several key financial stakeholders did not," their post says. "This included a few landlords whose participation was essential. Their refusal to compromise or support a path forward ultimately made the sale impossible, leaving us with no legal or financil ability continue operating. And so just days before Christmas, we were forced into the most painful decision of our lives."

They've launched a GoFundMe for their employees and are encouraging their fans to contribute.

"If The Biscuit Bar ever served you a meal, became part of your routine, or gave you a place to gather with family and friends, we humbly ask you to consider donating or sharing this campaign," they say.

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