Coronavirus News

New Greenville Ave outdoor cantina plus more Dallas restaurant openings

Foodstuffs from chef Nick Badovinus' new outdoor pop-up on Greenville Avenue.

Photo courtesy of Vantina

In this chapter of coronavirus-themed Dallas restaurant updates, the news is all good. It's all about openings, and absolutely no closings. Praise be.

Here are the latest restaurant opening tidbits:

Vantina is a new outdoor pop-up from chef Nick Badovinus that will be set up in the parking lot of Desert Racer, his Baja-style cantina on Greenville Avenue. Desert Racer is still closed, so this will serve as a tide-you-over that's outdoor only. The menu includes ceviche, poke, burgers, tacos with seafood and smoked meats, soft-serve ice cream in three yummy flavors: cold brew cajeta, Mexican chocolate syrup, and hibiscus-strawberry.

Badovinus has quietly reopened his entire restaurant empire:

Town Hearth, his glitzy steakhouse, reopened on May 27.
Neighborhood Services, his flagship chain, reopened on May 27.
Montlake Cut, his seafood restaurant, will reopen on June 2.

Bistro 31, the Highland Park favorite from Alberto Lombardi, has re-opened for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. They're observing the 50 percent capacity rule and managing their reservation and walk-ins accordingly.

Crossroads Diner, the award-winning breakfast and lunch North Dallas diner from chef Tom Fleming, is re-opening on June 2, bright and early at 7 am. They'll be open with signature cinnamon rolls and the whole breakfast shebang Tuesdays-Sundays from 7 am-2 pm.

Dugg Burger in Preston Hollow Village has reopened. This is the burger chain where they dig out some of the bun to make more room for toppings. At Preston Hollow, they're doing takeout and delivery, and also allowing customers to eat on the patio. Their other location at Casa Linda Plaza never closed; they've been open the entire time doing takout - what owner Greg Watson dubs "carside."

The Henry, the hip Fox Restaurants concept in Uptown Dallas, has reopened its dine-in program but with limited hours: Monday-Thursday 4-9 pm, and Friday-Sunday 4-10 pm. You can also order online and on Sundays-Thursdays, they'll give a 35 percent off deal on all to-go orders when you create an account and use code FRC35 at checkout.

Hutchins BBQ, with locations in Frisco and McKinney, will reopen their dining rooms on Monday, June 1. Regular hours will continue for dining in; Hutchins will also extend curbside pickup with no order minimum for those who prefer to take their meals to-go. They're working on online ordering coming soon as well.

Thirsty Lion Gastropub & Grill has reopened its location at the Toyota Music Factory in Las Colinas and is using enhanced sanitation with the help of Enviro-Master, a cleaning company that uses a tool called “virus vaporizer” equipped with a EPA-registered, hospital grade disinfectant and kills a total of 47 bacteria and viruses. Sounds disinfecting! Both Thirsty Lion locations — in Las Colinas and its other location at Glade Park in Euless, which reopened May 21 — are allowing outdoor dining on the patio. They're also offering curbside pickup and third-party delivery.

openings

Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

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