News You Can Eat

New eateries and dishes spice up this serving of Dallas restaurant news

This Korean-style fried chicken offered by Nemo Sushi in Plano is new.

Photo courtesy of Nemo

In the Dallas dining world, newness is everywhere. There are new restaurants, new chefs, new owners, and new dishes being served all around. So much new! Here's the latest in Dallas dining news:

Panda Tea is a coming-soon tea shop opening in August at 5521 Greenville Ave., next door to Pho Is For Lovers. Manager is Chris Thretipthuangsin, brother of "Chef Eddy," who recently opened Sai Asian Bistro in Colleyville, and who previously owned Bite. Panda Tea will have a tea bar where it serves prepared teas, and will also sell loose-leaf teas.

City Hall Bistro is the new three-meals-a-day restaurant at the Adolphus Hotel, offering breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Dishes include paella and pequillo peppers stuffed with short rib. They're framing the menu as consisting of things to be enjoyed individually by solo guests at the counter — no tables for you, solo guests! — or "layered" with other dishes to be shared by larger parties.

Lette Macarons, a new player in Dallas' macaron world from California, has opened its first branch in North Texas in Southlake, in the bustling Park Village complex at Southlake Boulevard and Carroll Avenue. Founder Paulette Koumetz was early on the macarons trend when she opened her first shop, then called "Paulette" — before she dropped the "Pau" — in Beverly Hills in 2010. Many customers compare her macarons to legendary shops in France such as the famed La Duree in Paris.

Village Burger Bar has a new owner: Firebird Restaurant Group, LLC, owner of Snuffers, El Fenix, Tortaco, and more. CEO Mike Karns called it "an excellent fit" for the Firebird Restaurant Group. Village Burger Bar founders Mike and Susan Matta were ahead of the "better burger" trend when they opened the first branch in Dallas' West Village in 2005; three other branches are in North Dallas, Allen, and the Shops at Legacy in Plano. Karns said that each restaurant would continue to be run by its existing team, and no menu changes are expected.

CiboDivino Marketplace has rolled out a series of summer seasonal pastas that sound light and refreshing, including fusilli with sautéed tuna, red onion, peas, white wine, and fresh parsley; corkscrew pasta with shrimp, tomato, asparagus, and pistachio; spinach fettuccine with mushroom, pancetta, and parsley; bowtie pasta with salmon, zucchini, leeks, tomato, and mint; and a gluten-free pasta stuffed with ricotta in pesto sauce, with walnuts and parmigiano.

Kenny's Burger Joint is offering two menu items showcasing the brisket from sibling restaurant Kenny's Smoke House. Kenny’s Smoke House BBQ burger features a half-pound patty topped with brisket, cheddar cheese, barbeque sauce, and jalapeños. Smoked brisket grilled cheese has brisket with three cheeses — cheddar, pepper jack, and white American — on Empire Baking sourdough bread.

Perry's Steakhouse & Grille, which began four decades ago as a small butcher shop in Houston, is celebrating its anniversary with a four-course for $44 special, offered throughout July. Makes choices from fried asparagus, pork chop bites, steak tartare, Caesar, kale salad, wedge, 6-ounce filet mignon, salmon, pork chop, chicken and roasted carrots, crème brûlée, dessert trio, chocolate peanut butter candy bar, or nutty d’Angelo.

Eureka, the West Village burger bar, has refreshed its brunch menu, served Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am-3 pm. Dishes include bread pudding French toast with blueberry compote and whiskey créme anglaise; chilaquiles with eggs, feta, purple onion, avocado, and pico de gallo; and fried chicken and sweet corn bread, with bacon and jalapeño-infused maple glaze.

Nemo Sushi, a handsome Asian restaurant in Plano on Park Boulevard near Midway Road, is continuing its innovative ways by offering trendy Korean-style fried chicken, with chunks of boneless chicken fried in a spicy batter and served with a red chili sauce. They also do chicken wings with fat French fries and an interesting corn salad. Since their opening in June 2016, Nemo has always had a range of sushi alternatives including shrimp with soba noodles, tofu teriyaki with mushrooms, and chicken katsu.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar has a couple of specials, one of which is a really novel flavor of milkshake. Called the Virgin Tart Shake, it's made with extra-virgin olive oil, house-made ice cream, lemon, and biscotti batter, then topped with whipped cream, candied lemon rind, and crunchy biscotti. There's also a black Angus burger with blue cheese, black pepper aioli, bacon, and fig and onion marmalade. They're available through July 25.

Sprinkles has specials for the month of July. The lemon blueberry cupcake is a lemon cake with blueberries, topped with lemon cream cheese frosting. There's an ice cream float made with vanilla bean ice cream and Owen's ginger lime mule mix. There's also crème brulee ice cream, a custard ice cream sprinkled with vanilla flecks and loaded with torched sugar shards.

Empire Baking Company has a cool summer option for its July Bread Of The Month: brioche pull apart bread, which you can use for rolls with your summer barbecue or as buns for sliders.

Blatt Beer & Table in Preston Hollow Village has a new cocktail and whiskey flight, which includes an exclusive Blatt Single Barrel Whiskey, made in collaboration with Jack Daniel Distillery. Served on an authentic barrel stave, the Blatt Tasting Flight highlights three whiskey blends including the Blatt Single Barrel Whiskey, Gentleman Jack, and Jack Single Barrel Rye Whiskey. It's a limited-edition whiskey that will be available while supplies last.

Baskin-Robbins. has partnered with DoorDash to launch ice cream delivery in 22 cities across the country, including Dallas. Ice cream consumers can get Baskin-Robbins ice cream treats delivered to their doorstep. Go to the DoorDash website at www.doordash.com/baskinrobbins or download the DoorDash app for Android or iOS.

Lark on the Park has appointed Ryan Barnett as its new executive chef. Shannon Wynne, who co-owns the restaurant across from Klyde Warren Park with partners Keith Schlabs and Larry Richardson, says in a release that Barnett "has the pedigree" for the job. Barnett has been in lots of kitchens including The Adolphus Hotel, Flora Street Cafe, Stephan Pyles, San Salvaje, and Neighborhood Services. He replaces Dennis Kelley and Melody Bishop, who are now prepping for a new restaurant, Up On Knox.

desserts brunch burgers chefs ice-cream lunch news-you-can-eat barbecue openings dinner

Eco Warrior News

Dallas restaurants doing amazing little things for the environment

Southwest Airlines

Cute bamboo cup from Southwest Airlines

One unfortunate legacy left by the pandemic has been a huge increase in the use of plastics — setting back progress that was being made pre-pandemic.

Plastics are bad. They harm everything they touch: the environment, health, food security, and economies. But they're convenient, subsidized, and in some cases necessary.

Before the pandemic, a growing awareness had started to snowball regarding the negative impact of plastics, particularly plastic straws and single-use plastic containers — and it was significant enough to make the plastics industry very nervous.

"In the two years leading up to the pandemic, the public backlash against plastic was a major concern for industry leaders," says a story about plastics and the pandemic in The Guardian. "As a corporate executive remarked during an industry event early in 2019: 'We need to get the image of plastic in oceans out of the public’s mind. Otherwise, we could lose our social license to operate.'"

But then the pandemic came along, igniting mass hysteria about contagion, and suddenly, bans on single-use plastics that had been in the works were reversed in countries around the world: North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“Overnight, plastics went from public enemy No. 1 to consumers asking for everything to have as much packaging as possible and to be single use," said one gleeful analyst for Shell Oil, who are a major plastics player.

The urgency of the plastics situation remains invisible to most people, lined up at the drive-thru for their coffee or Chick-Fil-A, piling up nearly 250 pounds of plastic waste every year. (That's what the average American amasses — more than any other country.)

But there are brave, pro-environment efforts being made by Dallas companies and organizations, big and small.

La Casita Bakeshop cup Revolutionary compostable cup at La Casita Bakeshop.Facebook

Dallas efforts
The Dallas restaurants and organizations listed below have taken steps to fight waste, even though it costs them money.

Plastic Free Lunch Day is November 22
Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services will participate in Plastic Free Lunch Day on November 22, to help reduce the amount of single-use plastic in school cafeterias.

Plastic Free Lunch Day was started by middle school students in Brooklyn. The initiative was such a success that it was adopted by all New York City public schools in 2022. The concept has since spread to public schools across the country — including Dallas ISD, which was the first in Texas to participate, when it joined up in 2022.

It creates an opportunity to educate students and the community on ways to positively impact the environment, including skipping plastic. Dallas school cafeterias will replace the plastic items they regularly use during lunch with biodegradable alternatives. (Plastic cutlery, cups, and straws will be available upon request for the crybabies.)

Southwest Airlines bamboo cup
Southwest Airlines Co., the Dallas-based airline, has introduced a new bamboo cup for inflight cold beverages, and a wood stir stick in place of a plastic stick. The airline expects the new items to reduce its inflight single-use plastics by more than 1.5 million pounds annually.

In July 2024, Southwest transitioned to a paper overwrap for its napkins made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled materials — fully eliminating plastic from this service item. The airline is making an effort to eliminate single-use plastics from inflight service by 2030.

La Casita Bakeshop compostable cups
La Casita Bakeshop, the award-winning bakery and cafe operation, recently debuted fabulous new cups that are 100 percent compostable, soil- and marine-biodegradable, breaking down naturally after 90 days, and made from natural materials.

"We are always trying to find ways to be more environmentally friendly and this is a big way we can," they said in their post announcing the new cups. "We just want to be proud of our paper trail and being a restaurant it's hard to do that."

Smoothie King biodegradable cups
Smoothie King, the Dallas-based smoothie chain, previously used styrofoam cups, but began testing a biodegradable cup in 2019. They now offer it as the default choice. They're using Vio Foam, specially made cups that biodegrade 92 percent in four years. They'll still accommodate whiny selfish customers who insist on getting a plastic cup instead, but their Vio foam cup not only helps the environment, it also keeps their smoothies cold a little longer.

Kate Weiser Recycle Box Program
Kate Weiser, the Dallas chocolatier, sells its gorgeous eye-catching bon-bons in a variety of boxes, from 4 pieces all the way up to 35 pieces. (OK, they'll sell them individually, too, but who goes to a chocolate shop and buys a single chocolate?) They have a program where you can bring your empty box to the store and get a refill and get 5 percent off. (Weiser amusingly calls it a "secret hack.")

Dude Sweet Chocolate freezer packaging
Dude Sweet Chocolate, the Oak Cliff chocolatier, has a next-level campaign in which they will accept cold-ship packaging you've received in the mail and re-use it. Say, for example, that you ordered an 8-pack of ice cream pints from Double Rainbow in San Francisco, and it arrived in a box with freezer packs and a foil liner. You can drop that packaging off at Dude Sweet's factory location at 1340 Inwood Rd., and they'll re-use it in one way or another when they're doing shipments of their chocolate. They'll take not only the freezer packs but the boxes, too.

Note: Whether you're putting it in the blue bin or the gray bin, your plastic is not being recycled. The best course when it comes to plastic, especially single-use plastic, is to not use it at all.

sustainability