News You Can Eat
Brunch goes next-level extravagant and more Dallas restaurant news
Brunch has gone bold in Dallas, Starbucks has two new nondairy beverages, and renovation fever has overtaken local restaurants. Here's what's happening in Dallas dining news:
Fogo de Chão has opened its location in the One Uptown high-rise apartment tower in Uptown Dallas. This location will feature some new concepts including a unique brunch, a separate bar it calls Bar Fogo, and a business lunch for under $25. Its $37 "Brazilian brunch" features the regular churrasco meat deal with salad bar plus Brazilian-inspired breakfast items like Pão de Queijo egg bake, beef-rib hash, a Sunday roast, and cocktails such as caipirinhas.
Outlaw Taproom, Four Seasons Dallas' new indoor/outdoor bar and patio, opens March 3, with Texas beers, wine, and craft cocktails on tap. Amenities include pool, shuffleboard, and bocce ball on its custom synthetic grass court.
Jeng Chi Restaurant, the renowned dumpling restaurant in Richardson, is renovating. Expect a new layout and a full bar offering liquor, beer, wine, and kombucha on tap. It'll still have its signature Taiwanese cuisine, espresso bar, and in-house bakery, and it'll be open during the renovation, so there's no interruption in service. Look for the new and improved Jeng Chi in mid- to late-March.
Wayback Burgers has opened a location at 13608 Midway Rd., the ninth in Texas. These are the guys who do the silly burger with nine patties stacked on top of each other. It also serves regular single-patty burgers, plus chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers, turkey burgers, salads, and sides including fries, onion rings, and chips.
I•CE•NY is a rolled ice cream spot opening in April in Carrollton at 2625 Old Denton Rd. It's a chain from Thailand with a New York-based franchise office. It will offer seven base ice cream flavors, plus mix-ins and toppings.
Zoli's NY Pizza Tavern will reopen in September. According to an update on their Facebook page, they had so many problems with the former Snuffer's location in Addison where they are going into that they knocked it down and are building from scratch.
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina will reopen a newly remodeled store at 1350 Northwest Hwy. in Garland on March 3. The restaurant will showcase beautiful stonework and an open-concept kitchen.
Nikkei, the new Japanese-Peruvian restaurant at 2404 Cedar Springs Rd. in Uptown, has debuted an izakaya menu, served weekdays from 6-7 pm. A Japanese tradition, izakaya is basically bar food, with smaller dishes served alongside cocktails. The menu includes sake, beer, wine, and select cocktails such as a margarita made with Pisco Acholado, lime juice, and yuzu. Small bites include sushi rolls, mochi ice cream, fried chicken with miso, and salmon ceviche.
Stirr, the New American restaurant in Deep Ellum with a second-floor patio, has some new dishes including elotes, bananas Foster shibuya toast, and hot chicken with maple piri piri sauce and blue cheese dip. New drinks include chai tea Negroni with gin, Campari, and chai tea infused with vermouth.
Savor Gastropub in Klyde Warren Park has what its are calling new "seasonal" menu items, although it's hard to see what is seasonal about pork belly steam buns with barbecue sauce and fennel apple slaw, or rabbit and pork dumplings with gyoza skins, ginger, cilantro, and shallots. Other new dishes include oysters, tuna poke "pike" (do you suppose they mean poke?), crab and avocado salad, and tenderloin with kabocha squash, trumpet mushrooms, and horseradish ricotta dumplings.
Cantina Laredo has revamped its menu, bringing back original items from when it first opened in Addison in 1984, such as combination plates with enchiladas, tacos, and tamales, served with beans and rice. There are also new dishes, including "gourmet" burritos (not the icky un-gourmet kind), portabella fajitas, and bacon-wrapped shrimp. A revamped lunch menu has daily features beginning at $7.99, from 11 am-3 pm. Six branches are located in Addison, Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Grapevine, and Lewisville.
Stonedeck Pizza Pub has given some attention to lunch with gyros, twists on classic sandwiches, and a "quick pick lunch" for $7.49. Options include grilled cheese and smoked turkey Reuben. Gyros can be ordered with meatball and peppers, barbecue chicken, and a classic gyro with olives and tzatziki sauce.
Pie Tap Pizza Workshop + Bar, the pizza and craft beer place with branches on Henderson Avenue and in the Design District, has a new lunch special at its Henderson Avenue branch. For $10, you get a half size of any of Pie Tap's seven pies with a half Caesar or simple salad. This is available for dine-in only, weekdays from 11 am-2 pm, and exclusively to the Henderson Avenue location. Sorry Design District.
Smoke and The Theodore restaurants are incorporating ice cream from Howdy Homemade into their dessert menus. This will be the first time Howdy Homemade can be ordered outside the shop itself.
Starbucks has two new macchiato beverages, both made without icky cow's milk. Coconutmilk Mocha Macchiato is a new hot beverage with espresso shots poured over steamed coconut milk combined with white chocolate mocha sauce, then finished with caramel and mocha sauces. Iced Cinnamon Almondmilk Macchiato is a cold drink inspired by horchata with espresso, almond milk, and cinnamon dolce syrup. The full macchiato lineup includes the original espresso macchiato, latte macchiato, and caramel macchiato. We just said "macchiato" eight times.
Oak Dallas and The Quill, two of the restaurants under the Aphelia Restaurant Group, have a new chef: Jeramie Robison. He was most recently at Uchi Dallas. Oak is also in the midst of a major renovation that includes the addition of a sushi bar. Oak is one of the most beautiful dining rooms in Dallas, but Aphelia honcho Tiffanee Ellman says in a release that, after five years, they wanted to refresh. Robison will also unveil a new Quill menu with "spontaneous, fun, and robust flavors" and combinations ranging from Cajun family recipes to classic American favorites. Eric Salzer has joined the group as VP of operations; his experience includes Let Us Entertain You, Nordstrom, and Free Range Concepts.
Uchi Dallas has replaced Jeramie Robison with Alex Astranti, who will rejoin the company. He was previously sous chef at Top Knot, the casual restaurant atop Uchi. A native of Italy, Astranti studied at El Centro College and has worked at Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, Grace, Stampede 66, and Salvaje.
Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse, the steakhouse in the West End, has appointed Jeff Carlson as wine director. Carlson's experience includes the Beach Cafe in Manhattan, Rat's and ONE53 in New Jersey, and the original Sambuca in Dallas. One of his goals will be to develop a "hyper-focused and thoughtful wine list," which is far better than one that's unfocused and thoughtless. Carlson also intends to implement a wine-education component with quarterly tastings, which will debut in the spring.
Killer Pecans, the nut company founded in 2006 by chefs Katie and George Brown, won Best Overall Snack at the Fiery Food Challenge Awards held recently in Irving.
Lucia has joined Resy.com, the online reservations system, making it easier to reserve a table at the hard-to-get-into Bishop Arts restaurant. The change takes place on March 1, for April and beyond. You can access it at Lucia.com.
Behold the Cristo Amann.Photo courtesy of Sugar & Sage Bakery
SusieCakes is offering Dolly Parton-themed cupcakes through September 13. Photo courtesy of SusieCakes 
Salt & Straw's Churro Ice Cream Taco and Chiller for Taco Bell. Photo courtesy of Taco Bell 