News You Can Eat

Taco Cabana goes Beyond Meat and more Dallas restaurant news

There's also a limited-edition mango margarita.

Photo courtesy of Taco Cabana

There's a buffet of dining news here, with tidbits about tacos, steaks, hot dogs, corn dogs, pizza, and cupcakes. Something for everyone's taste.

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

Shayna's Place, the sandwich and coffee shop at Sylvan Thirty in West Dallas, has opened a new neighborhood outpost: Shayna’s Annex, located at 1605 N. Beckley Ave., at Greenbriar Lane, in the space formerly occupied by Local Press & Brew — perfect for workers in the Methodist Hospital district, as well as neighbors commuting on Beckley Avenue, to grab coffee, a smoothie, and a quick bite. The Annex menu has an abbreviated menu with Noble Coyote Coffee, hot and cold brew coffee drinks, breakfast, smoothies, Tacodeli tacos, soft-serve ice cream, Holy Kombucha on tap, and grab & go salads and sandwiches. That doesn't sound abbreviated. It's open daily 7 am to 3 pm.

12 Cuts Brazilian Steakhouse is a churrascaria-style restaurant in Dallas that just opened its doors for business August 27. The restaurant features Brazilian and Argentinian prime cuts of meat — 12 cuts, maybe, whaddya think — with an organic salad bar. The restaurant is at 18010 Dallas Pkwy. in North Dallas, in what used to be the very similar Rafain Brazilian Steakhouse.

Taco Cabana has nimbly jumped on the faux-meat bandwagon with new menu items featuring Beyond Meat, the innovative plant-based protein made without GMOs, soy, or gluten, but with TC's signature flavor. There are Beyond Meat tacos for vegetarians; and the Beyond Meat bowl, which is vegan-friendly. For the meat-eating crowd, there are new tacos and bowls with carne asada. A limited-edition mango margarita is available for $4 all day, every day.

Big Al's Smokehouse BBQ is hosting "Sangria Saturdays" in September from 10:30 am to 2 pm, with a special boozy BBQ brunch. While the entire BBQ menu will still be available, they'll also feature new BBQ brunch recipes, including briskets & gravy, brisket or pork breakfast tacos, and sweet rolls from Tart Bakery. Pair it with Big Al's sangria or mimosas, by the glass or carafe.

Lawry's The Prime Rib Dallas has five menu additions if you want a change of pace from prime rib and the iconic spinning bowl salad. New entrees include CAB prime ribeye, and CAB prime New York strip. New appetizers include tuna nachos and smoked salmon deviled eggs, and there's a new tomato and onion salad.

Bonefish Grill has created a "dinner for two" consisting of a 3-course dinner with bang bang shrimp starter; choice of house or Caesar salad; choice from three side dishes; and choice from ahi tuna steak, Argentinian grilled shrimp, skewered filet mignon, and Atlantic salmon bellaire. It's $50, and it's available until September 30.

Tacodeli has launched its September taco specials. For breakfast, it's the My Morning Taco with sausage, scrambled eggs, and a cowboy-mix salad with corn, caramelized onion, roasted pepper, and queso fresco. For lunch, it's Chile en Nogada with roasted Anaheim chile stuffed with beef, akaushi picadillo, pomegranate seeds, and cilantro, topped with goat cheese sauce made with Cheesemakers chèvre and walnuts.

Local Yocal BBQ & Grill is bringing a taste of the State Fair to McKinney with gourmet corn dogs created by chef Adam West. These are bigger than the Fletcher's classic, with a half-pound of house-made sausage from Local Yocal Farm to Market dipped in a beer batter and fried. They come with choice of side for $12 and will be available for lunch and dinner through the run of the State Fair of Texas, from September 27 to October 20.

Dog Haus has teamed with chef and TV personality Eric Greenspan on a new dish, Bubu's Hot Chicken Grilled Cheese. It's a fried chicken breast coated in Bubu’s Chili Oil and sprinkled with "angry dust" – American cheese, cheese sauce, chipotle aioli, Haus slaw, and pickles - served on grilled King's Hawaiian buns. Available throughout September.

Sprinkles has a limited-edition pumpkin cupcake laced with ginger, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, available through November 30.

Pie Five is featuring a new international pizza and salad every month through 2019. The first: Greek-inspired Athenian pizza, with light garlic olive oil, mozzarella, chicken, kalamata olives, banana peppers, red onions, feta, basil, and sundried tomato puree. You can get it as a pizza or salad.

Jinya Ramen Bar has a new spicy meatball ramen, made with a tomato-based broth, beef meatballs, cherry tomatoes, corn, green onion, chili oil, and thick ramen noodles. Available in three spice levels (mild, medium, hot), it is a choose-your-own-adventure-style ramen available through November.

Neuhaus Cafe & Chocolate Boutique, a boutique coffee and chocolate shop in North Dallas with Belgium fine chocolates, has something new: a full bar. Now you can get a glass of wine or a drink with your chicken tortilla soup, egg salad, pastrami sandwich, or tuna melt. They also have a pretty elaborate vegan menu with everything clearly identified, a rare and welcome feature.

Bisous Bisous Pâtisserie has hired award-winning pastry chef Sarah Green, who won CultureMap's Tastemaker Award for Pastry Chef of the Year in 2017. A Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute graduate, she joined Bisous Bisous in September 2018 as Pastry Chef Support while working as an instructor at El Centro Community College and as a consultant through her company, Pirate Cookies."We are excited to have Sarah continue to be a part of the Bisous Bisous family in a new role,” said Bisous Bisous owner and executive pastry chef Andrea Meyer, herself a Tastemaker Award winner for Pastry Chef of the Year in 2019.

news-you-can-eat

Wine Bar News

Sultry Mexican wine bar-cocktail lounge to open in Dallas' Bishop Arts

Valle

Valle Bishop Arts

There's an exciting new bar spinoff coming to Dallas' Bishop Arts: Called Valle, it'll open at 509 North Bishop Ave. #C, in the former Bishop Cider Taproom, where it will serve as a sultry Mexican wine bar and cocktail lounge.

Valle is a sibling to Vinito, the Mexican wine and beer shop that opened at 939 W. Jefferson Blvd. in 2023, from partners Arturo Flores and Eduardo Mendoza.

With Vinito focused on retail sales, Flores & Mendoza decided to spread the love for Mexican wine by offering a place where patrons could sit down and enjoy a glass or bottle, plus beer, agaves, and craft cocktails as well.

"We've loved championing Mexican wines at Vinito and thought we could take our customers to the next experience," Flores says.

Vinito offers more than 100 labels of Mexican wine in every varietal: tempranillo, malbec, rose, sparkling, chardonnay, chenin blanc. Prices are reasonable, with many bottles in the $30 range, topping out at $120 for a Monte Xanic Gran Ricardo vintage 2021. They also have all the classic Mexican beers: Modelo, Bohemia, Corona, Dos Equis.

At Valle, they'll offer wines by the bottle plus a dozen wines by the glass, and flights that celebrate regions of Mexico. The menu also has a special category dedicated to "Agaves," with tequilas, mezcales, and sotol; and a handful of craft cocktails such as a margarita, paloma, and a carajillo de olla, a coffee cocktail with tequila, Spanish liqueur Licor 43, and cold brew.

"We know that not everybody drinks wine, and we want people to feel welcome and have options," Mendoza says.

They'll do snacks and finger foods, like chips & salsa and nuts, but the space has no kitchen and the focus will be on the bar. They'll be open daily from 4 pm to midnight, and until 2 am on weekends. They're hoping to launch their soft opening in the next week.

Mendoza has a strong hospitality background, and was previously general manager at Meso Maya, where they met; Flores worked there while pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. During the pandemic, they started having conversations over wine and became inspired.

"When people think about Mexico, they think about beer, mezcal, tequila, but not wine, and we wanted to change that," Mendoza says.

The bar is named for Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico, the "Napa Valley of Mexico" and the region where the majority of wine in the country is grown. They're planning to offer a wine club, with exclusive tastings, events, and new bottles available to participants.

They've also partnered with relevant businesses such as Santitos, a syrup company based in Oak Cliff that makes syrups with Mexican-inspired flavors; and Four Corner Brewery, whose Firme Azul beer they'll serve and donate the proceeds to a Hispanic scholarship fund. They're getting coffee beans from Caffetio Co., based in Austin but born in Monterrey, Mexico.

“We are big advocates for the Hispanic community, and our partnerships reflect that," Flores says.

For the location, they were aided by Amanda Moreno-Lake, President of Redevelopment and Partner at Jim Lake Companies, and a big supporter who helped them find their spot for Vinito as well.

"I saw the vision and plans and knew I wanted to help Eduardo and Arturo," she says. "Sometimes small businesses need that chance to grow and succeed."

Flores says they've completely redone the 700-square-foot space, with bar seating for 10, four high-top tables, and a lounge area with leather chairs and coffee table.

"It's intimate," Flores says. "Where Vinito is light and warm, Valle is dark and cozy, with a deep green and gold palette — like the evil sister of Vinito."

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