Park Cities finds fancy Italian and more Dallas restaurant news

The latest collection of Dallas dining news tidbits includes the opening of another Italian restaurant, the arrival of a unique hot pot spot, a spring menu or two, and brunch. Luckily, there is always news about brunch.

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

Fachini, the Italian restaurant at Highland Park Village from Julian Barsotti, has opened. The restaurant, which sits above Nick Badovinus' Perfect Union pizzeria, is doing what Barsotti calls "a romanticized-retro version of the classic, upscale red-sauce Italian-American joint." The menu includes antipasti, salads, macaroni, seafood, veal, steaks, and dessert. Dishes include tableside Caesar and a dish called 100-layer lasagna bolognese, which is, how do you say, reminiscent of the 100-layer lasagna served at New York City mainstay Del Posto Ristorante in New York.

Chubby Cattle is a restaurant concept from Las Vegas headed for North Texas, with a location opening soon in Plano at 2001 Coit Rd. The concept combines the conveyor belt-style of service you see more often at sushi restaurants with hot pot. You pick your broth and spice level, and then wait for ingredients such as thinly sliced meat to pass your table on a conveyor belt, which you snap up and dip into the broth to cook. The original Chubby Cattle opened in Las Vegas, followed by a second location in Denver.

Cooper's Meat Market has opened at Sylvan | Thirty. Michael Johnson, along with business partner Victoria Berezina, is expanding his family’s business to Dallas from San Antonio, where it’s been an Alamo Heights favorite for more than 20 years. Chef Kenny Mills (Chop House Burger, Capital Grille, Sullivan’s Steakhouse) is chef over the 50-seat steakhouse, as well as Cooper’s wide variety of prepared foods. Selena Dodge (Bolsa, Bouchon 1314, District 30) runs the wine and beer program.

Taco Diner is closing its Belt Line Road restaurant in Addison and relocating to Lake Highlands. The new Taco Diner in Lake Highlands is on the southeast corner of Skillman Street and Walnut Hill Lane in the Lake Highlands Town Center development, and will open in May.

Hide, the Deep Ellum bar-restaurant, has a new menu for spring. It includes 18 new cocktails such as seven-mile punch with rum, absinthe, and green tea, and a martini-esque sake cocktail with Japanese gin and vermouth. Dishes include twice-fried chicken wings, Asian skewers with ground pork, Mediterranean skewers with ground lamb, and a white salad with endive and hearts of palm.

Unleavened Fresh Kitchen has new seasonal items including migas, available as a wrap or hash, charred garlic horseradish dip, and the spring braise with white beans. Three new vegan dishes include turmeric tofu scramble, falafel, and sweet potato hash with shallots and kale.

Hudson House, the East Coast-inspired neighborhood restaurant in the Park Cities, is now serving weekend brunch. Dishes include a classic eggs benedict, egg white frittata with white truffle mushrooms, a bacon-cheddar-egg sandwich, granola, steel-cut oatmeal, French toast, pancakes, and toasts such as avocado, ham, or salmon.

Pie Five Pizza has made cauliflower crust a permanent menu item. It was initially launched in January as a limited-time offering. But then the crust sold out at restaurants across the country. The new crust will be added to Pie Five's three existing crust options: crispy thin, classic pan, traditional Italian, and gluten-free.

Smoothie King has collaborated with the American Cancer Society to create the Daily Warrior, a high-calorie smoothie designed to help people who face challenges meeting their daily caloric and nutritional needs. It's blended with bananas, blueberries, dates, peanut butter, spinach, almonds, blueberry juice blend, and stevia. It has 31 grams of fat, 15 grams of fiber, and 16 grams of protein.

The Heights, the Lakewood restaurant-bar that's open practically all the time, is now open even later. It was already serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and now the kitchen is open until midnight. The Heights is owned by Cary Ray (Daddy Jack's) and Derek Welch (aka Ricki Derek) who also own the critically acclaimed Scat Jazz Lounge in Fort Worth.

CBD Provisions is bringing back half-price wine night on Sundays from 5-9 pm, in the dining room or the bar, where bottles of wine are 50 percent off. Designed to complement their new dinner menu and steak program, it incorporates several cabernets, blends, and pinots.

Velvet Taco's weekly taco feature for the first week of May is chipotle chicken on a flour tortilla, topped with chipotle crema, corn & black bean pico, queso fresco, pepper jack cheese, and cilantro.

Scout, the sprawling bar with games inside The Statler Dallas hotel, has launched a ping pong night on Wednesdays. There'll be free games and bracket-style competitions at state-of-the-art STIGA tables, plus $2 Stiga Sliders and $5 shots.

Pazzo, the Uptown restaurant bar featuring the Panwaffle creation you've seen on TV, has signed on Kent Washington as managing partner. Washington's previous ventures include Rio Room, The Travis, Kinki Lounge, and the National Sports Lounge. According to a release, he's a noted celebrity wrangler who has orchestrated high-volume deals and events for A-listers such as Lily Ghalichi (Bravo TV's Shahs of Sunset), Calvin Harris, French Montana, Nelly, 50 Cent, Post Malone, and Carnage. Sounds delicious.