We have pizza on the brain. The suburbs of Dallas are in for a lot of pies, and so is the West End. But you'll have to put Cedar Springs in the loss column, because a pizzeria there has closed. Sad. Catch up on all the pizza you can eat and more restaurant news, starting here:
Southlake gets pizza in late 2015 when Taverna Rossa opens a second branch at 1151 Southlake Blvd. in the Park Village center. The first Taverna Rossa opened in Plano in 2013. It specializes in rustic thin-crust pies baked in a "stone-fired" oven.
For the Southlake branch, Taverna Rossa founder Preston Lancaster has partnered with Tony Smith, with design by PlanB Group. Lancaster's {33} Restaurant Group also owns Palio’s Pizza Café in Little Elm and Frisco, and Cadillac Pizza Pub in McKinney.
A fourth Dallas-area branch of Modmarket has opened in Southlake at 1161 E. Southlake Blvd., across from REI in the above-mentioned Park Village center; wow, Park Village is the place to be. Previous Modmarkets have opened at Dallas' Preston Hollow Village, as well as Flower Mound and Plano. What lucky town will get Modmarket next? Richardson, in early 2016. There are 13 Modmarkets total, with four in Texas and nine in Colorado.
Yolk, the breakfast chain that opened a branch in One Arts Plaza in June 2014, is expanding its Texas presence. It'll open a second location in Sundance Square at 305 Main St., in the old Cowtown Diner space, which just closed. Yolk has locations in Chicago and Indianapolis and is known for such delicate options as the five-egg omelet. The restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch and the most important meal, brunch, and is scheduled to open in late 2015.
Planet Sub will open a branch in Deep Ellum, at 2813 Commerce St. The chain was founded in Lawrence, Kansas in 1998 and has nearly 40 locations in the Midwest. There is currently a branch in Fort Worth, with another coming soon in Irving.
Urban Acres has now partnered with Fort Worth's Melt Ice Cream and will host a pop-up ice cream shop through October. The pop-up will feature four flavors: vanilla, chocolate, nectarine-vanilla and coconut curry, a vegan option made with coconut milk, served in waffle cones or cups. The ice cream will be available Friday-Sunday from 11 am to 9 pm.
Urban Acres has also simplified its menu, with a focus on pizza and pasta, and altered its hours. It'll be open for lunch and dinner on Friday, and open all day, 8 am to 9 pm, on Saturdays and Sundays. The other days will be devoted to classes, dinners and private events.
Wine Poste's relocation to Oak Cliff is complete, including its wine bar, which it is calling Bar Anatomie. It has wines by the glass and a friendly alliance with neighboring Italian restaurant Bocce. It'll host a grand opening celebration on July 23 with wine tastings and Bocce-made snacks such as fried ravioli.
The Cedar Springs branch of pizza joint Zini's is closed. A lockout notice from the landlord was posted on the restaurant's front door, stating that the tenant was in default. It's amazing, since that branch has been there since August 2005. The original branch on Deep Ellum is still open; a satellite on Greenville Avenue has been closed for a while.
Tutta's Pizza, a food truck specializing in smoked meat pizza, plans to open a permanent location in the West End, in the old Dick’s Last Resort location. It'll be a full-service restaurant with pizzas and smoked meat plates (chicken, pulled pork, etc.) and is slated to open in early 2016.
The Dog Stop in Far North Dallas will close at the end of September. The stand has been at 6857 Arapaho Rd., at the corner of Hillcrest, for 13 years. But the lease is up and the landlords want to tear down the building.
Del Taco has introduced a new dish that is a "mash-up" of its signature Mexican and American flavors: bacon chipotle cheddar fries. Crinkle-cut fries are smothered in nacho cheese, dusted with grated cheddar cheese, drizzled with chipotle sauce, then topped with diced tomatoes and bacon pieces.
BRAVO Cucina Italiana has a new selection of low-calorie meals, all under 600 calories. There is grilled mahi mahi spicy scallops with angel hair, broiled tilapia with spicy tomato sauce, Mediterranean vegetable salad and chicken caprese.
Yard House touts its selection of draft beer, but now it wants to be a destination for "hand-crafted" cocktails. Anything hand-crafted is good. Its new adult concoctions include a blood orange and ancho chili-spiced margarita; a bourbon berry sour with raspberries; a gin martini; and a cucumber citrus tonic, which is described as a "spa-like drink" with gin, agave and freshly-sliced cucumber. Better hold them to that; if you don't see them slicing the cucumber, call foul.
Dodie's at Rockwall Harbor has a new brunch and a "to-go" service that includes dockside delivery to your boat on Lake Ray Hubbard. The brunch menu combines Cajun comfort food with traditional breakfast dishes and includes chicken and waffles, crab cake Benedict, Cajun scramble, chocolate-and-cinnamon French toast, and beignets.
The official list of DFW Restaurant Week 2015 participants has been unveiled at DFWRestaurantWeek.com. It includes more than 125 steakhouses — I mean restaurants — serving three-course prix fixe dinners for $35 or $45 and and two-course lunches for $20.
Modmarket has come to Southlake, and will open a branch in Richardson in 2016.
Bon bons by Kate Weiser Chocolate. Photo courtesy of Kate Weiser Chocolate