Dallas restaurants get lucky with spring menus and St. Patrick's deals

This is a particularly simple edition of the twice-a-month Dallas restaurant news roundup, with really just two themes: spring menus and St. Patrick's Day, which is very big in 2021. Usually, you find St. Patrick's Day stuff at pubs. But this year, everyone's getting in on the action.

There's also a restaurant opening or two, and some news about locals competing on a Netflix TV show, but spring menus and St. Patrick's Day are where it's at for now.

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

Dillas Quesadillas will open its fourth location in Denton at 1715 A Loop 288 #100 in mid-May. Husband-and-wife Kyle and Maggie Gordon opened the first Dillas in 2013 in Plano, followed by Frisco in 2017 and McKinney in 2018. Menu items include a quesadilla with brisket, red onion, cilantro, BBQ sauce, cheese, and jalapeño ranch; and one with bacon, fries, pico de gallo, cheese, and jalapeño ranch.

Scooter's Coffee, known for its drive-thru specialty coffee, added a new location at 1451 E. Buckingham Rd. in Richardson.

Cinnaholic, the gourmet cinnamon roll chain, will open its sixth Dallas-Fort Worth location this spring at 5001 S Cooper St. in Arlington, joining existing locations in California, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Maryland, Washington, Florida and Canada.

Ruby's Sno-Balls, the gourmet shaved ice stand in East Dallas, won't open in summer 2021. They lost their walk-up location at 1605 N. Haskell Ave. and were unable to find a replacement space.

Bulla Gastrobar in Plano will begin serving a new Spring Menu on March 23 with cream of asparagus, fried eggplant with manchego cheese, Basque fish stew with shrimp, fish, clams, and steamed rice, Iberian ham arepas with braised pork, caramel apple mousse, and two cocktails: blueberry breeze cocktail with Tito’s Vodka, and a lavender margarita cocktail. They're also hosting a Paella & Sangria Class March 24 from 7-10 pm. This one-on-one class includes dinner, toas a limited-edition branded apron.

Modern Market Eatery launches a new spring menu March 17 spotlighting asparagus: on a Prosciutto Asparagus Pizza, in a Market Cobb Salad, and in Asparagus Split Pea Soup. Other menu additions include cauliflower rice in the new Keto-friendly Med Bowl, plus a new Spicy Trio Pizza with red sauce, mozzarella, pulled pork, bacon, Creminelli pepperoni, jalapeño, and honey. A new Belgian pearl sugar waffle comes with strawberries and Nutella, and there's a new salted Nutella marshmallow treat.

Jinya Ramen Bar has two new items on its Chef’s Specials Menu including a new rich and balanced bowl along with a lettuce wrap option: Tonkotsu Curry Tsukemen has pork curry broth with chopped onion, thick noodles, pork chashu, egg, green onion, and bok choy. Lettuce Wrap has Soboro (sauteed ground pork) with umami miso sauce, iceberg lettuce, and cilantro.

Bonefish Grill has new seasonal fish dishes including Alaskan black cod with spinach and crab,​ and tempura-style cod and shrimp with French fries and coleslaw, available Fridays in-restaurant and online at bonefishgrill.com through April 2 for $19.

Pie Five Pizza has reinvented its Panzano pan crust option. The dough is made every morning in every store. Once out of the oven the crust is finished with a garlic buttery blend that includes Parmesan and Romano cheeses and Italian seasoning. The result, according to a release, is a thick and crispy crust with a golden brown bottom that's soft on the inside.

Cotton Patch Cafe has new menu items for spring including chicken fried steak topped with sautéed mushrooms, swiss, and mozzarella cheese; chicken Alfredo pasta; blackened tilapia fillet and grilled shrimp; and a trio of dishes with a "Santa Fe" treatment: grilled chicken, shrimp, and blackened tilapia, flavored with garlic butter and chili lime seasoning, mixed with fresh corn and pico de gallo, served over rice pilaf. Also a Southwest Salad, grilled chicken sandwich, and carrot cake. All items are available through mid-summer.

Chipotle just launched new quesadillas – a digital-only menu item and the first customizable entrée added to the menu in 17 years. It's stuffed with Monterey jack cheese, meats, sofritas, or fajita veggies. The flour tortilla is folded and pressed using a new custom oven that melts the cheese perfectly and enables restaurants to make quesadillas more quickly and conveniently. It gets cut into triangles and served in 100 percent compostable packaging, with choice of three salsas or sides, including salsa, sour cream, or guac for a little extra. Through March 21, get free delivery when ordering a quesadilla on the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com.

Greenville Avenue Pizza has a new Reuben pizza with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing. The corned beef is from neighbor Goodfriend Package Store. It's also available as a calzone.

KFC has debuted its new KFC Chicken Sandwich in Dallas. The sandwich features a quarter-pound double-breaded Extra Crispy chicken breast on a toasted buttery brioche bun, with pickles and mayo or spicy sauce. It's not everywhere yet, so we should feel lucky. Those not in Dallas can track when it hits their store by visiting KFC.com/findthesandwich.

Open Palette, inside Sheraton Dallas Hotel in downtown Dallas, is offering food and beverage specials for St. Patrick’s Day and for game time between March 18 and April 5. On March 17, they'll serve green versions of Four Corners Brewing Co.’s El Grito and Rahr & Sons Brewing Company’s Dadgum IPA for $5, plus shepherd’s pie for $15. From March 18-April 5, they'll offer $4 local beers, $8 wings, and $17 loaded fries from 4-10 pm, with a large basketball shootout game available to play with friends inside the bar.

Freebirds World Burrito is giving away free queso blanco with any entrée purchase on St. Patrick’s Day. This promotion is valid on the Freebirds app and in-store at all 55 locations across Texas.

Kona Grill will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a week of deals. Through March 20, Kona Grill will be serving green beer and Sake & Seltzer specials for $3 (in-restaurant dining only) and Corned Beef Sliders for $6, which are available for happy hour, dinner, takeout and delivery. Make a reservation or place an order on www.konagrill.com.

Terry Black's Barbecue in Deep Ellum is offering 16-ounce green beers for $4.59, plus Briskets & Buckets: Five different beers for $15 when ordered at the bar.

City Works Eatery & Pour House in Frisco and Fort Worth has limited-edition specials for St. Patrick's Day: Corned Beef Reuben with corned beef, champagne sauerkraut, Guinness caramelized onions, Gruyere cheese, and mustard on toasted marble rye; and Shepherd’s Pie with stout-braised ground beef, peas, carrots, onions, shredded cabbage, and potato puree. Irish beers and limited-edition custom Guinness Blends include Dark Side of The Moon by Blue Moon and Guinness and Voodoo by Reubaus and Guinness. Green beer will be served on March 17.

Pinstripes has St. Patrick’s Day specials through Sunday March 21 that include Guinness Floats ($8), Green Beer ($4) and Pistachio Gelato ($7).

Dairy Queen restaurants in Texas are doing a Mint Oreo Blizzard for the month of March, featuring Oreo cookies and crème de menthe. Other limited-edition items include Choco-dipped Strawberry Blizzard Treat; Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Blizzard Treat; Oreo Mocha Fudge Blizzard Treat; and Brownie Dough Blizzard Treat.

Sprouts Farmers Market continues to expand its plant-based selections with four new Like Chick'n products in the refrigerated section: Like BBQ Chick’n, Like Chick’n Pieces, Like Grilled Chick’n, and Like Chick’n Nuggets. The supermarket chain has also forged a partnership with Fry Family Food Co., which has been at the forefront of the plant-based movement for decades. Five new items are now available in the freezer aisle at all Sprouts: Chick’N Nuggets, The Big Fry Burger, Chick’N Patties, Breakfast Links, and Pea Protein Grounds. All Fry’s products are made with non-GMO, plant-based ingredients including soy, wheat, and pea protein.

Al Biernat's the Dallas steakhouse has installed an advanced technology from R-Water, a local woman-owned company, to surpass national EPA guidelines and eliminate common chemicals that can impact human and environment health. R-Water’s device is attached to the restaurant's water supply to produce all-purpose cleaner/degreaser FC+ and TK60, a hypoallergenic disinfectant that works 30 times faster against COVID than most products and poses no risk to the staff.

Twin Peaks has debuted a new beverage menu spotlighting top-shelf liquors, premium mixers, and fresh ingredients. New cocktails include the Kraken Perfect Storm with Fever-Tree Premium Ginger Beer and Kraken Black Spiced Rum. A new creation is the crystal clear ice ball to discourage cocktails getting watered down, used in nearly all whiskey options, except the Suntory Toki Highball, which comes in a Highball glass and includes Topo Chico as the mixer. The Water Buffalo features a chile salt rim and Watermelon Red Bull with either Buffalo Trace or 1792. The wine program has also been revamped with these labels available by the glass or bottle: Sparkling – LaMarca and Wycliff Brut Champagne; White – The Crossing Sauvignon Blanc, Moscato Barefoot, Chloe Pinot Grigio, Imagery Chardonnay and Cupcake Chardonnay; Rosé – Josh Cellars Rosé; Red – Meiomi Pinot Noir.

Nailed It! Double Trouble, the Netflix Show in which bakers compete for a $10,000 prize, has two local contestants on the new Season 5: best friends Veronica Scruggs, 31, a behavioral health counselor, and Justin Lockhart, 42, a remarketing coordinator, both from Arlington. The show debuts March 26.