News You Can Eat

Many new eateries brighten this batch of Dallas restaurant news

Time for tacos.

Jalisco Norte

The Dallas restaurant front is enjoying a surprising number of openings, this being the heat of summer, not ordinarily a big time for openings. There's also a closing or two, and lots of news about beverages and drinks and sips.

Here's what's happening in Dallas dining this week:

I Fratelli, the long-time local pizza chain, has opened a location in the West End in downtown Dallas at 1001 Ross Ave., between Griffin Street and Lamar Boulevard. It's delivery and pickup only.

Zenna Thai & Japanese has reopened its downtown Dallas location at the Mosaic Building at 300 N. Akard St. The restaurant had been closed for three months following a massive fire in their kitchen. Now the late-night sushi is back.

Dog Haus Biergarten, which does hot dogs, has opened a location in Arlington, at 4000 Bagpiper Way, in the Arlington Highlands center near I-20. This is the second DFW location, following one that opened in Richardson in 2017. They specialize in hot dogs, sausages, burgers, and beer on tap. A third will open at Lake Highlands Town Center in Dallas in late 2019.

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, the longtime beer-centric chain, has a new location at The Sound at Cypress Waters, at 3111 Olympus St. in Dallas. This newest location follows a fast-casual service model and an entirely new food menu with hummus, smoked salmon, salads, and bowls such as the Speedy Gonzales with black beans, brown rice, corn, pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro and jalapeño. The signature Twisted Sister Pretzel is served with beer mustard, bourbon mustard, and honey butter.

12 Cuts Brazilian Steakhouse is a new churrascaria style restaurant with a focus on Brazilian and South American flavors set to open at 18010 Dallas Pkwy. in north Dallas in August. It'll be a twist on the usual churrascaria in that it will focus on blending a traditional Brazilian steakhouse with elements of Argentinian cuisine. Juarez DeConto and Alda Boiani, the husband-and-wife owners, are originally from Brazil and moved to the U.S. in 1997 to help debut Fogo de Chão's first American location in Addison. At 12 Cuts, they'll be doing 12 cuts of meats such as filet mignon, strip loin, bottom sirloin, and rack lamb.

Port of Peri Peri (formerly Porto's Peri Peri), the Chicago-area chain that debuted in the Dallas area in 2018, has expanded its portfolio and now has three locations in the DFW area including the debut in Plano at 2301 N. Central Expy.; Frisco, at 3311 Preston Rd.; and Arlington, at 5005 S. Cooper St. There's one more coming soon to Irving, at 1800 Marketplace Blvd. near LBJ and Belt Line Road. Peri peri for everyone.

The Inventors Lounge is the name of a new bar opening at 9913 Garland Rd., next door to the Royal Pour, with whom it will share ownership. According to an employee, the new bar will have a different personality than its rather gruff sibling.

Don't Tell Supper Club, the unconventional Deep Ellum concept, has new owners and a new chef: Geovanny Arredondo, who will be doing Asian-influenced dishes such as tuna tartare, ceviche, and whole branzino. A drunken noodles-inspired dish will have Thai basil, tomato, and chiles atop Romaine lettuce with choice of beef tenderloin or veggie meatballs. Hmm, what is drunken noodles about that? They'll be open for dinner on select weeknights and every weekend. What a fascinating business they are.

Rocko's Lounge Pizza & Wings, at 1802 Greenville Ave. - aka, the space that used to be Dallas Beer Kitchen - has closed. They moved here from small-town Terrell and, shockingly, were open seven months, even if they seemed temporary from Day 1, with a temporary sign plastic sign on their exterior for months. Who is left now to blast the annoying DJ music down the street? No one.

Jalisco Norte has a new traditional Mexican business lunch from chef Jose Meza called Comida Corrida. As the release says, in Mexico, this is a quick meal served mid-day with several courses. Jalisco Norte's includes soup or salad, entrée, and side. Options include enchiladas with shredded chicken, verde poblana, mole, steak, or shrimp; enchiladas with cheese, chorizo, huitlacoche, shrimp, and flat iron steak; or flautas stuffed with shredded chicken.

Ocean Prime Dallas, the seafood restaurant in Uptown Dallas, has a new menu in the lounge with sushi, small plates, raw bar options, and cocktails, available daily. Items include smoked Gouda tater tots, crab legs, sushi rolls, ceviche, and a raw bar.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar has new burgers, salads, vegetarian options, and cold drinks including ahi Cali club with a sushi-grade tuna patty, bacon, avocado, and basil pesto; and the Impossible cheesesteak, with an Impossible patty topped with Provolone & Swiss, peppers & onions, mushrooms, thousand island, and mustard. New salads include Thai beef kale and poblano ranch turkey Cobb.

Mimi's Bistro & Bakery has a new seasonal menu at each of its 77 locations featuring coastal flavors and ingredients inspired by a summer spent on the Riviera. Sounds dishy. It includes Mediterranean cod en papillote, lemon layer cake, and benedict Provence with poached eggs and artichoke hearts.

Eureka in the West Village has new dishes including bonfire stout brownie with vanilla ice cream, roasted walnuts, bourbon caramel, paprika, and charcoal powder; rib eye steak with coffee-spiced dry rub, black garlic butter, and fries; 28-day dry-Aged Angus burger with mozzarella, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and garlic aioli; salmon with mashed potatoes, kale, and broccolini; and watermelon salad with kale, arugula, cucumber, beets, watermelon, dried cranberries, grilled chicken, feta, roasted walnuts, and pickled onions.

Pinstack has chef specials for August including chicken pozole verde with avocado, watermelon BBQ chicken wings, buffalo ranch chicken pizza, and boneless pork chop with vegetables. It's at all three North Texas locations.

Yard House, which does food and good beer, has added the plant-based Beyond burger to its menu at all 79 locations.

Torchy's Tacos has launched its sixth annual Some Like It Hot promotion for the month of August, with four spicy-hot tacos: habanero battered fried shrimp, grilled beef, habanero battered fried chicken, and pork stewed in pasilla and ghost pepper.

Bartaco has a new crispy oyster taco with crispy Gulf oysters; Fuji apple + kale salad in a jalapeno champagne vinaigrette, with goat cheese and candied pepitas; and the margarita carafe for two.

Which Wich, the Dallas sandwich chain, has added French fries to the menu. Like Shake Shack, they're crinkle cut. Refraining from comment here. You can get them with Wich Sauce or buttermilk ranch. In the spring, Which Wich introduced a line of shakes in Carrot Cake, Birthday Cake, and Chocolate Cake flavors as well as a new Courtney’s Cookie shake.

Press Waffle has a new peachy waffle with glazed peaches, caramel, and whipped cream on top of a signature Liege waffle.

Nestlé Toll House Café by Chip has a new summer-themed sundae that's also under 500 calories. The Strawberry granola sundae has choice of sorbet or vanilla ice cream, Nesquik Strawberry Syrup, strawberries, and granola. Available through September 16.

Starbucks now has a nitro cold brew, with their signature cold brew, steeped for 20 hours, infused with nitrogen as it pours from the tap. You can get it plain or with Cascara-flavored cold foam, which they say lends notes of dark brown sugar.

Scooter's Coffee has a new decadent blended drink called the Peanut Butter Caramelicious, with espresso, caramel sauce, peanut butter, and ice cream, drizzled with chocolate and caramel.

Lakewood Brewing Company has released Melon Baller, a 6.9 percent ABV Hazy IPA brewed with Loral, Citra, Bravo and Huell Melon hops as well as fresh cantaloupe. Melon Baller will be available in limited distribution for a limited time in 4-pack cans as well as draft starting in early August.

Nosh Bistro, chef Avner Samuel's new restaurant opening soon in Preston Hollow, has a chef de cuisine: Lori Finkelman, who brings more than 40 years of experience, previously serving as executive chef for ExxonMobil World Headquarters, The Riviera, and more. "Lori’s culinary expertise will be instrumental to the success of Nosh Bistro," says Mehrdad Moayedi, president and CEO of Centurion Development Group and Samuel's new partner.

Flora/Fauna, the restaurant in Dallas' Arts District, is turning out to be a bit of a cluster. Six weeks after former Alinea chef Diego Fernandez was hired for Fauna, he left. And Tim Byres, who was working with founder Stephan Pyles, is also out.

Fearing's/The Ritz-Carlton pastry team Zach Manasan and Corey Thomson won $10,000 on a Netflix show called Sugar Rush.

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A Roundup of Restaurant News

Fill up on the festive fare in this roundup of Dallas restaurant news

Maison Chinoise

Spread at Maison Chinoise

This roundup of restaurant news around Dallas is all about new menus, with lots of festive-themed dishes and menu additions. There's a new brunch at a surprising destination, new cocktails, and lots of hot chocolate, fitting for the season.

Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:

Taziki’s Mediterranean Café is opening a location in Las Colinas, at 5910 N. MacArthur Blvd. Taziki's is known for its hummus, whipped feta, kebabs, Greek salad, and Mediterranean lamb burger. This is the chain's fourth Dallas location and 100th location nationwide.

Catch Dallas, the seafood restaurant at Maple Terrace, ha some splashy new items including truffle sashimi, rainbow sashimi pizza, and a Wagyu hot rock dish with options of A5 Kobe beef, olive beef, and snow beef cooked tableside.

Dive Coastal Cuisine in Snider Plaza has new seasonal specials, including beet & blood orange salad, butternut squash soup, fingerling potatoes, coconut rice, and portobello mushrooms, available through the end of November.

TK's Addison, the comedy club, has a new brunch every Sunday from 10 am-3 pm. Shareable options include cast-iron cinnamon rolls with Grand Marnier cream cheese icing, deviled eggs, and Belgian waffle bites. Meals include filet mignon Benedict, crab cakes Benedict, Nashville chicken biscuit, and the hangover burger, with a short rib/chuck/brisket blend patty with bourbon bacon, four-cheese bechamel, a fried egg and crispy onions.

Fish City Grill, Half Shells restaurants are launching a name brand oyster on November 19 called the Mystic Mermaid, which have a heavy brine and shell ranging from 3-3 1/2 inches, served with cucumber-citrus mignonette. Available for for $21 per half-dozen and $42 per dozen at all Dallas, Flower Mound, Richardson, and Plano locations.

Dog Haus is celebrating Thanksgiving all month with a twist on the Turducken: a turkey, duck, and chicken sausage topped with garlic aioli, turkey gravy, onions, and scallions, served on King’s Hawaiian rolls; and the Turducken burrito, a turkey, duck, and chicken sausage, three sunny side up eggs, white American cheese, sweet potato fries, caramelized onions, and spicy mayo in a toasted flour tortilla.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar has a new lunch menu with a two-course prix fixe starting at $28. New options include steakhouse filet chopped salad, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse burger, steak frites, and a barbecue salmon fillet. All lunch dishes are $30 or less. There are new cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages, like Tropical Tee and Blackberry Lavenderade.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill has new menu items including Arancini, a risotto bite with fennel sausage, mozzarella, parmesan, & Romano cheese; rigatoni al forno, with tomato cream sauce, Italian sausage, Romano, parmesan, mozzarella and goat cheese; and short rib marsala, bone-in short rib over garlic mashed potatoes with Lombardo Marsala wine sauce. Dessert includes a triple chocolate bread pudding. New festive cocktails feature the merry berry martini and wood-fired old fashioned. Available through January 13.

Taziki’s has brought back its tomato basil soup. Prices start at $5.49, and the soup is also available as part of a soup-and-salad combo with pricing varying by market. This soup is available through January 26.

Beyond Sun Sausage is now available at Whole Foods Markets across Dallas. It’s made from plant-based ingredients, including yellow pea, brown rice, and red lentil proteins. There are 12 grams of plant-based protein per link with no cholesterol, soy, gluten, added antibiotics, or hormones. Flavors include Cajun and pesto, and a four-count package is $11.

Al Biernat’s has new cocktails with a festive twist. At the Oak Lawn location, find Golden Hour with Basil Hayden, Dolin Blanc, Campari, Giffard Piment d’espelette, and grapefruit bitters; Frosted Poinsettia with Titos, spiced cranberry syrup, lemon juice, and Zerbina with red glitter sugar; and Bloody Sidecar, with The Macallan 12, Fruitful Blood Orange, Cointreau, and lemon juice. The Al Biernat’s North menu has Spicy Pineapple Margarita with Flecha infused tequila, Grand Marnier, pineapple juice, and lime juice; Camp Fire Mule with whiskey, lemon juice, maple syrup, and Ladybird ginger beer; and Gin Apple Pie with Roku Gin, cinnamon syrup, and apple cider.

Maison Chinoise in Uptown has launched a new Dim Sum Happy Hour, available Monday-Thursday, with a selection of dim sum for $10. A new Sunday offering features all bottles of wine under $100 available at half-price all day for dine-in.

P.F. Chang’s has added Asian fried chicken to the menu for the first time. It comes in two options, Korean fried chicken and Taiwanese popcorn chicken, with a choice of sauces, including sweet soy glaze, dynamite, hot honey, and chili crisp. Available as bone-in three-piece or six-piece and boneless four-piece or five-piece, eight-piece or 10-piece for shareables.

Laredo Taco Company, 7-Eleven's in-house restaurant, has two holiday specials: Quesabirria, featuring shredded beef and melted cheese, available as a taco or bowl, paired with consommé dipping sauce; and tamales in choice of pork or chicken, in packs of three, six, or 12 or a family size with two dozen tamales and two sides.

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt is collaborating with candy brand Hi-Chew for a limited-edition Key lime pie flavor, inspired by Hi-Chew Dessert Mix’s Key Lime Pie. The flavor is available through November 30.

Main Event has new frozen hot chocolate shakes in three flavors: Classic, a frozen hot chocolate with chocolate candy frosted rim, and a Little Debby Christmas tree cake; s’mores with marshmallow rim and graham crackers; and peppermint with peppermint frosted rim and a candy cane. Bailey’s Irish Cream or Caffè Borghetti can be added to any flavor for $3. Prices start at $11. Available through January 7.

Rita’s Frozen Custard has two limited-time frozen treats: Frozen Hot Cocoa Gelati, which layers Rita’s Frozen Hot Cocoa Cream Ice with Vanilla Custard, blending the taste of hot cocoa with cool Italian Ice; and Frozen Hot Cocoa Gelati Blender with a crushed peppermint topping.

Dunkin' is bringing back holiday favorites and new menu items. Drinks include the cookie butter cold brew, peppermint mocha latte, toasted white chocolate latte, and white hazelnut bark coffee. New items include the cookie butter donut, holiday cookie latte, almond croissant, and hash brown brisket scramble bowl.

Barrilitos, the Mexican soda, has returned to Texas shelves. Originally produced nearly 100 years ago, the drink is available in four flavors: Mandarina, Manzana, Piña, and Ponche de Frutas in both 12-ounce and 1.5-liter bottles. The aguas frescas were sold until 2020-2021, and the sodas were sold until 2017. Now they're available at El Rancho, La Michoacana, and Fiesta stores across Dallas.

Wendy's has a new salted caramel Frosty. It can also be paired with the limited-time mushroom bacon cheeseburger, which features roasted mushrooms, bacon, Muenster cheese, and garlic spread. The Frosty is $3 and the burger is $6.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has shut down two oyster harvest areas in the Gulf: the 14-acre Desperation Reef and the 529-acre Dollar Reef, both in Galveston Bay, to allow the oyster population to recover the reef is healthy enough that they can start harvesting oysters again. They'll reopen in November 2026.

Chipotle has launched a wacky new merchandise collection that includes a $10 cilantro soap, a nod to the small percentage of the population who are genetically wired to experience a soapy flavor when eating cilantro; the $28 “Water” Cup candle, a lemonade-scented candle; and $20 car napkin holder. The collection will be available for individual purchase, or as a bundle for $50.

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