August has emerged as a good month for new restaurants, with half a dozen opening in the next week or so. More are on the horizon, but there are some sad closings too. Console yourself with the arrival of Hatch chile season.
Let's start with the bad news:
Local Tex-Mex icon Herrera's Cafe will shut down its Maple Avenue location on August 18. The restaurant is being bumped by cartoonishly villainous Crow Holdings, who have other plans for the site. The restaurant was supposed to move to a new-construction building up the street but had to back out because the rent was going to be so high.
Urban Orchard Market, the quasi-grocery store in downtown Dallas, has closed; a spokesperson for the InterUrban residential building where it is located said that there were no immediate plans to replace it.
And now for some better news:
A San Diego fast-food chain called Sombrero Mexican Food has opened a branch in Fort Worth. Signature dishes include rolled tacos and French fries topped with carne asada. The restaurant, which has limited seating for 17 and focuses more on takeout, also serves breakfast and a regular fast-food menu of tacos, burritos and salads. It stays open late: until 1 am, and hopefully 24 hours in the future. Owner-franchisee Alicia Anderson previously lived in San Diego, and she wants to open 10 locations around DFW.
The restaurant going into the Bonchon Chicken space is open. Called Ashwood, it features its own version of wings and craft beer, plus other fancy bar foods like burgers and generic Tex-Mex dishes.
Patrizio Osteria in Southlake has changed its name to Il Calabrese Restaurant and Bar. It is now owned entirely by Oscar Renda; no more Ed Bailey. A note was posted on the restaurant's Facebook page, inviting customers to try out the new menu options, with a reassurance that "there will only be a slight change to our menu, however, if there is a dish from our old menu that you would like to order no need to worry our wonderful chef, Luciano Salvadore will do his very best to try an accommodate your requests." Wow, that's a long sentence. Meanwhile, the original Patrizio in Highland Park Village will close in February, to be replaced by a "family-friendly grill."
It's Hatch chile time, and that means a Hatch chile menu at Omni Fort Worth Hotel's Cast Iron restaurant. Dishes include onion rings dipped in Hatch chile oil, Hatch chile-crusted scallops, short ribs with Hatch chile mashed potato and a Hatch chile chocolate pie for dessert. The menu is available until September 13.
Hawaiian-ish Roy's Restaurant has introduced an "Eat Creative" menu showcasing Pacific Rim cuisine and localized menu offerings, with dedicated "local chef" pages on the menu. These "locally inspired" creations include lobster pot pie, tempura California white sea bass and Alaea salt-crusted bone-in ribeye.
Taco Cabana launches a Salsa Especial! ("special salsa") program with rotating limited-edition salsas that will be introduced every six to eight weeks. The first is roasted tomatillo, described in the release as being "influenced by Northern Mexican cuisine." In October, it'll be replaced by avocado cilantro. If the salsas get eaten up real quick, they might be added to the permanent salsa lineup.
Anthony Knight is the new chef at NYLO Plano's newly renovated LOCL Restaurant, which also has a new menu. It's broken into three price categories – $6, $9 and $12 – and includes salads, seafood, meat and cheeseboards. Highlights include shrimp summer rolls with cashew-cucumber sauce; yucca fries; a "green apple guacamole"; and a burger with white cheddar, hot horseradish, house mustard and chopped onion. Knight previously worked at Aramak, Hillstone and Rosewood Crescent Hotel.
There's a new chef at Second Floor by Scott Gottlich: Andrea Maricich, a 20-year restaurant veteran. She was most recently at Dragonfly at Hotel Zaza in Dallas; previously she worked in San Francisco, under Bradley Ogden at Lark Creek Inn, Wolfgang Puck and David Gingrass at Postrio, and Brad Levy at Firefly. She also owned and operated a handful of restaurants in Boise, Idaho.
This weekend is your last chance to eat at Herrera's on Maple.
