Cali Burger Invasion

Eureka burger rewards Texas with first restaurants outside of California

California-based Eureka is bringing its burgers to Texas.

Photo courtesy of Eureka

California beer-and-burger chain Eureka is headed for Texas. With 12 locations on the West Coast, stretching from San Diego to Seattle, Eureka has set its sights on Dallas and Austin. Branches will open in those cities by the end of 2014, spokeswoman Alexia Penna confirms.

According to Penna, the Dallas branch will open in Uptown in November 2014, at 3700 McKinney Ave., in the West Village's new 3700M residential/retail building at McKinney and CityPlace West, across the street from the Loft.

The Austin branch will open at 200 E. Sixth St., in the old Logan's on Sixth space, in December 2014 or January 2015.

Founded in 2009, Eureka does a slight expansion on the "better burger" trend, with a menu of burgers sporting gourmet toppings, enhanced by other sandwiches, salads and the occasional kitschy starter such as the "riblet" made from pork.

Decor is upscale and woodsy. The menus vary from location to location, but are American in theme. Starters include au courant items like wings, tacos, nachos, mac and cheese, truffle fries, and a lollipop corn dog with Polish sausage.

Burgers comprise a Hopdoddy-esque list including one with an egg, one from bison, one topped with bacon and fig marmalade, and one with blue cheese. The veggie burger blends beans with beets, reminiscent of the veggie burger at Houston's. Sweet potato fries are flavored with honey and cinnamon.

Salads include kale, watermelon and arugula, and chicken and strawberries. There are also fried-chicken sliders, braised short ribs and a vegetarian dish: marinated grilled portobello mushroom.

Beverages include American craft beers and a focus on small-batch America whiskeys, mostly from smaller breweries and distilleries.

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Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its U.S. debut, right here in Texas: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's a ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.