News You Can Eat

Coffee, Cane Rosso and Restaurant Week perk up Dallas food news

Weekend Coffee at the Joule downtown is open — gasp — every day.
Photo courtesy of Weekend Coffee
Norman Grimm will be the first chef at Trinity Groves pop-up Kitchen LTO.
Photo courtesy of Kitchen LTO
The oven is a key ingredient for Cane Rosso White Rock to achieve its VPNstatus.
Photo courtesy of Cane Rosso
Pecan Lodge is now open Wednesdays too.
Photo courtesy of Pecan Lodge
Downtown Plano will get the coffee shop it deserves with Fourteen Eighteen.
Fourteen Eighteen Coffeehouse/Facebook

Coffee, there is never enough. Brunch, there's a bunch. And now that summer is practically here, we can already start thinking about the annual Restaurant Week, which this year will be August 12-18. Bud Kennedy's Twitter hints that the list and reservations will be announced July 15.

Downtown doings
Brewing as of June 19 is Weekend Coffee, the coffee shop at the Joule hotel in downtown Dallas, from neighboring boutique TenOverSix. The TenOverSix folks come from Los Angeles, which is promising, because California knows its coffee. Weekend is open every day — gasp! — from 6:30 am to 6 pm. That's already a cut above the local coffee places in downtown Dallas, which are open weekdays only. Then again, if downtown residents supported their local businesses, maybe the businesses would stay open.

Speaking of downtown coffee, Old Downtown Plano gets a coffee shop in July called Fourteen Eighteen Coffeehouse. It's named for its address at 1418 Avenue K, two doors down from stalwart Kelly's Cafe. Owners Melissa and Gerry Owen are so into coffee, they honeymooned in Seattle. They'll have a La Marzocco espresso machine plus beans from Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters. Downtown Plano always seemed like prime turf for a coffee shop. Yet many have tried and failed, including Coffee Haus (waaay back in the day), Fusion Cafe and Posh Nosh Market. Maybe this will be the one?

Another Capriotti's has opened downtown, at 1800 Main St., in the Mercantile Place apartment building. The release announcing the opening reads that hours run until 7 pm on Sundays. But on its first Sunday, the store was already cutting back to 6 pm. "We're still working on the hours," said a staffer. This makes the second Capriotti's in downtown Dallas; the other is in the West End.

The Google search-challenged Work Bar & Grill is now serving barbecue in Deep Ellum. It's in the former Sambuca spot, a prime space that was vacant forever. The furniture is hip and modern, but the waitresses in low-cut tops and schoolgirl getups are not. Come on, this is Deep Ellum, not Hooter's in the West End.

Pizza news
A second branch of Goodfellas Wood-Fired Pizza will open on Park Boulevard at the Dallas North Tollway in the old Tin Star spot. You may remember that the landlord priced Tin Star out of the space; Goodfellas seems to have been willing to pony up. The Goodfellas empire is fascinatingly inscrutable. There are various branches of Goodfellas pizza located not only around Dallas, but also in far-flung places like New Jersey and Florida. This Goodfellas is not related to those; it's a spin-off of the Goodfellas on Preston Road at SH 121, whose website calls it Santino's Goodfellas. But wait: A staffer there said that owner Sunny Samuels was previously affiliated with the other Goodfellas, but he isn't anymore. Oy!

Speaking of second branches, Cane Rosso White Rock has earned its stripes as an authentic Neapolitan-style pizzeria. Peppe Miele, president of L'Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, will come like the Pope to make a presentation on June 18. VPN rules specify that each location must be inspected and approved. Owner Jay Jerrier and pizzaiolo Dino Santonicola can't just photocopy the certification from their original Deep Ellum restaurant, oh no. They celebrate their dual-VPN status with a party at White Rock at 7 pm.

Menus and chefs
Kitchen LTO, the pop-up restaurant at Trinity Groves with rotating concepts, announced its first chef: Norman Grimm, formerly of Acme F&B. His menu will be "modern French/American" with oxtail, rabbit confit salad and sake-glazed pork belly. The restaurant is scheduled to open September 3.

The Second Floor has a new menu reflecting the output of new-ish chef Daniel Tarasevich. The lineup includes steak and eggs, goat cheese gnocchi, pork chop with yam gratin, and sweet beignets for dessert.

El Corazon de Tejas, the Mexi-Tex-Mex in North Oak Cliff in the old Tejano space, has launched brunch from 11 am to 3 pm on both Saturdays and Sundays. In addition to classics such as migas and huevos rancheros, the menu has a few original creations, including Corazon tacos with eggs and choice of ham, sausage or bacon in flour tortillas; omelets and breakfast burritos; huevos la Mexicana with tomatoes and peppers; "breakfast" chile relleno stuffed with eggs, beans and Jack cheese; guacamole, of course; and last but not least, menudo.

Pecan Lodge has extended its hours. Previously open four days, Thursday through Sunday, the hottest little barbecue joint in Dallas is now open on Wednesday too. Good idea, because the line to eat there has only gotten crazier and longer than ever since it made Texas Monthly's top 50 barbecue list in May.

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A Toast

Dallas distiller launches zero-proof liquor line and hosting accessories

Photo courtesy of Teaspoon

It's the brand's first line of non-alcoholic beverages.

The zero-proof liquor movement keeps gaining momentum, and the latest to take a seat at the bar is Teaspoon, from the Dallas-based Dynasty Spirits.

The brand's first line of non-alcoholic whiskey, tequila, gin, and "Italian Spritz" (comparable to the main ingredient in a certain bright-orange cocktail) are already available for shipping nationwide, and the company promises they will be carried by more than 400 Texas retailers by year's end. Each 700ml bottle is priced at $32.99.

“Teaspoon was born from a simple belief: that the drink in your hand should match the moment you’re in,” says founder Devin Odell. “Teaspoon isn’t just zero-proof spirit alternatives, it’s a statement. It offers a fresh option for those who expect more from what’s in their glass: more flavor, more intention, more celebration.”

For the mocktail connoisseurs out there, here's a quick overview of each bottle's tasting notes:

The zero-proof whiskey has cherry, vanilla, caramel, and citrus zest on the nose. The palate opens with a bourbon-style sweetness and finishes dry and peppery.
The zero-proof tequila has the aroma of cracked black pepper with hints of pineapple and guava, and tastes of fresh bell pepper up front. Citrus mid-notes add brightness and it's rounded off with a lightly sweet oak finish.
The zero-proof gin's nose brings lemon zest and elderflower, and its taste is dry and herbal like a true London Dry gin.
The zero-proof Italian Spritz balances sweet red licorice and bitter orange peel on the nose. The palate starts with orange-candy brightness and progresses to juicy grapefruit before finishing with a lingering herbal bitterness.

The name Teaspoon is reflective of the culinary measuring tool's history, and how the gilt silver spoons were once prized by England's upper crust due to the initial rarity of tea imported from Asia.

The Texas-born Odell founded Dynasty Spirits in 2010, and the brand's portfolio currently includes Pezuña Blanca tequila, Townes vodka, Green House vodka and gin, Lasso Motel whiskey, and Painted Donkey tequila.

Launching in tandem with Teaspoon’s non-alcoholic beverages is a collection of custom retail products in collaboration with Marcello Andres, Shelton Metal, Tom Adam, Match 1995, A Bientot, WP Standard, and more. Currently, that includes linen cocktail napkins, glassware, and a set of artful pewter teaspoons, each representing a different zero-proof liquor.

Dallasites can taste and shop at Teaspoon's launch event: November 6 at at the Shop Swoon boutique inside the Joule Hotel. Bottles will be available for purchase there through November 9.

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