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.

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Escargot News

New all-day French bistro in downtown Rockwall is all from scratch

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Belle View Bistro Rockwall

An all-day French bistro has made its debut in Rockwall: Called Belle Vie Bistro, it’s a new mom-and-pop in the charming historic downtown district, at 112 E. Rusk St., the former home of The Fatted Calf restaurant, where it opened its doors on November 12.

Belle Vie is from Luis and Iliana Marquez, a hard-working couple who also own Los Marquez, a popular taco--themed food-truck-turned-restaurant in Rockwall they first debuted in 2019. In May, the couple took over the former Fat Chicken space to open a brick and mortar location of Los Marquez, where they serve well-made Mexican food like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, but also burgers & fries. They open for breakfast with breakfast tacos, and run a daily lunch special, often creative, always popular, such as birria ramen with choice of beef or lamb for $11.

But the couple had a bigger vision of creating a place where chef Luis could stretch and showcase his skills.

"Luis has a lot of culinary experience, and it’s something that he’s been putting aside,” Iliana says. “We were just waiting on the perfect time to bring this to life.”

"This is something exciting and new for us, it’s something that we always wanted to make,” Luis says.

Like Los Marquez, Belle Vie is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving classics like French onion soup, moules frites, escargot, and duck confit. There are also comforting and American dishes like spinach-artichoke dip, crab cakes, and fish & chips.

Lunch features Cobb salad, a French dip, and chicken & Brie panini, while an extended breakfast -- which runs from 7 am to 4 pm — includes pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict, beignets French toast, and crepes, plus pastries and breads made from scratch.

Mural on the wall at Belle Vie Bistro RockwallFacebook

The bakery counter is a delight, with eclairs, croissants, scones, fruit tarts, and cake slices in flavors like carrot cake and white chocolate raspberry. There's also a serious coffee program with espresso drinks such as lattes.

"We pride ourselves on making everything from scratch," the duo says. "Our bread—whether for sandwiches, paninis, hamburgers or anything listed on our menu is made fresh just for us by our incredibly talented pastry chef and baker. The same care goes into our pastries and desserts ensuring every bite is special and crafted with love."

The dining room is warm and cozy with dark wood chairs and plush booths and a full-wall mural depicting a street in Paris. They also have a full bar, with cocktails and beer on tap. Prices are reasonable, ranging from $9 for a Belgian waffle during breakfast to $45 for prime ribeye at dinner.

For now, they're not taking reservations — it's first come, first serve.

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