Where to Eat

Dallas has a new Master Sommelier wine expert and more restaurant news

Corn fritters at Whistle Britches.

Whistle Britches

This roundup of Dallas dining news has lots of fodder including five new restaurant openings, six new menus, and two new pumpkin lineups. In news for snobby foodie types, Dallas just got one new Master Sommelier and one new executive chef.

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

Monarch is home to a newly crowned Master Sommelier: Pablo Braida. He's one of 10 newbies who've joined the prestigious Court of Master Sommeliers, along with Julie Dalton from the Post Oak Hotel in Houston and eight others from around the U.S. The Court of Master Sommeliers was established in 1977 to encourage excellence in beverage knowledge and service. But it has lost its luster following sexual harassment claims made by some female members that resulted in the ousting of six members in 2020.

The Brass Tap, an upscale beer bar chain, has opened at CityLine in Richardson, at 1251 State St., where it serves 150 craft beers from around the globe, plus grilled cheese, Angus burgers, and their signature Boom Boom Shrimp. Co-owner Bhatt Ridham is a Richardson native. Happy hour runs from 3-7 pm weekdays, plus all day on Thursdays. DFW has eight locations open or coming soon including North Dallas, Roanoke, Allen, Rockwall, Prosper, McKinney, and Little Elm.

Awesome Times is a new family-owned restaurant in Highland Village at 2630 Justin Rd. #107 from husband-and-wife Jerry and Tamara Lisby, serving traditional American food like burgers, wings, and sandwiches. Specialties include a Philly cheesesteak and loaded tater tots of all kinds — their slogan is "less haters, more taters" — including the Mt. Fuji tots topped with crab, wonton chips, and house-made wasabi sauce.

Sweetgreen has opened in Lakewood in the former Dixie House at 6400 Gaston Ave. The space now has a big patio with seating for 36, plus 22 inside. This is the third Dallas location, following Deep Ellum and Uptown. Summer dishes include Elote Bowl with corn, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, cilantro, goat cheese, spicy sunflower seeds, tortilla chips, quinoa, arugula, in lime cilantro jalapeno vinaigrette; Summer BBQ Salad with chicken, watermelon, corn, kale, Romaine, carrots, cabbage, cilantro, and Green Goddess Ranch; and a Corn + Peppers side dish, available through October 12.

Fajita Pete's has opened a location in Frisco at 4150 Legacy Dr. #416, with a menu of fajitas, chips, queso, guacamole and desserts. This makes eight locations in the DFW area, including Lakewood, Park Cities, Preston Forest, North Dallas, Las Colinas, Carrollton, Colleyville, and Southlake.

Rye Craft Food & Drink at 111 W. Virginia St. in McKinney closed after being damaged during a fire which broke out in an alley courtyard in downtown McKinney on August 15. The restaurant says it will be closed for some time.

Casita Tex-Mex Bar and Grill, a longtime Mexican restaurant at 5807 Blackwell St. behind the main Half Price Books, reopened August 30. They've been closed since December 2020, following a fire that ravaged the kitchen which investigators believe was caused by a tortilla chip warmer. Their menu includes brisket tacos, chimichangas, flautas, combination plates, shrimp fajitas, enchiladas, nachos, breakfasts, and a menu of "Austin-style Tex-Mex" with soft tacos and Mexican pizza.

Village Baking Co has opened at the new Weir's Plaza at 3219 Knox St. #130. The bakery was previously across the street at 4539 Travis St. in a small building next to the former 7-Eleven. That was temporary and is now closed.

The Aussie Grind is opening a location in Farmers Branch, in Alpha Plaza at 4887 Alpha Rd. They're an Aussie-style cafe with a full kitchen serving espresso drinks, juices, smoothies, and alcoholic drinks. Husband-and-wife owners Lui and Angie Monforte opened their first location in Frisco in 2019.

G.Texas Catering has taken over concessionaire and bar management at AT&T Performing Arts Center. G Texas is from entrepreneur John Gilbert and chef Michael Gooch. Their first foray into the Arts District was in 2017 with a casual-eats option called The Artisan. They're replacing Wolfgang Puck Catering, which has its hands full with operations at Dallas Union Station, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Nasher Center, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Harper's has a new menu with more sharable items, more sushi, and more moderately priced entrée options including Corn Agnolotti with summer corn and ricotta, Wagyu Beef Pastrami Shortrib with Brussels sprout sauerkraut, Diver scallops with crispy lacinato kale, and chicken piccata with lemon, capers, parsley, and spicy greens, available through September.

Whistle Britches, the fried chicken restaurant from chef Omar Flores, has new menu items including Buffalo Fried Cauliflower with ranch dressing, Corn Fritters, and Chicken Fredo with fusilli pasta, at all three locations in Dallas, Plano, and Southlake.

Catbird, the restaurant and lounge at Thompson Dallas, has new end-of-summer dishes including Aguachile Ceviche with kaffir lime crackers, Lacinato Kale & Strawberry Salad with poppy vinaigrette, and Harissa Smoked Filet with garlic olive oil smashed potatoes.

Ford's Garage, the burger and beer joint inspired by Henry Ford that recently opened in Plano, has new limited time dishes including the Sweet Heat Burger, a half-pound black Angus beef with blackened seasoning, candied pork belly, Tillamook Pepper Jack, chipotle BBQ sauce, Romaine, and jalapenos on a brioche bun; BBQ Bacon Shrimp served over mango salsa with bourbon BBQ Sauce; and ribs with choice of brisket burnt ends or Andouille sausage. They're available through October 3.

El Pollo Loco has a new quesadilla with shredded chicken, mild tomato salsa, melted cheese, diced onion, and cilantro. It comes in a combo with a drink and side of tortilla chips for $5. It joins three other combos: classic chicken burrito, original Pollo bowl, and tacos al carbon.

Motor City Pizza, the Detroit-style pizzeria in Lewisville, now offers full dine-in service and a bar, and has expanded its menu to include pasta and sandwiches.

La Madeleine has new menu items for fall including Pumpkin Streusel Muffin, Chai Tea Latte, Pumpkin Spice Latte, and Caramel Apple Danish (available after Labor Day).

7-Eleven has two new pizzas: Breakfast pizza with gravy, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and breakfast sausage; and Veggie with diced red bell pepper, green bell pepper, white onions, and sliced mushrooms. They've also launched the 7Collection, an online shop with 7-Eleven-themed T-shirts, hats, and memorabilia.

Farm + Feed in Plano has a new power lunch special served weekdays from 11 am-2 pm (except Tuesdays when it's closed) for $12.50.

Smoothie King has a new Espresso that can be added to any smoothie, with 159 mg of caffeine per 20-ounce drink (twice as much as their Cold Brew's 83 mg of caffeine). For example, you could add an Espresso to their Coffee Mocha Smoothie with Sunwarrior Organic plant-based protein, banana, dates, Califia Farms Oat Milk, and cocoa.

Dunkin' has ushered in the pumpkin with Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte, and Nutty Pumpkin Coffee.

Black Rock Coffee Bar has a new lineup of fall drinks available September 1-October 31 including the Pumpkin Blondie, Salted Caramel Chai, Candied Cranberry Fuel, and Caramel Apple Smoothie combining ice cream, green apple base, caramel, ice, and whipped cream.

Tango Room has a new Caviar Martini with a spoonful of caviar, vodka, oyster shell vermouth, kümmel, egg yolk jam, and kaluga for $45.

Al Biernat's has a new Watermelon Refresher cocktail with Casa Noble Reposado, Licor 43, fresh watermelon, mint, and lime juice for $19, available through the end of September at both Al Biernat's North and Oak Lawn locations.

Anise, the Mediterranean wine bar and restaurant at The Village's Drey Hotel, has a new executive chef: Rene De Leon, Jr., whose resume includes Bullion, Next and Aviary in Chicago, the Dawson in Chicago, Le Sel in Nashville, Swift's Attic in Austin, and Michelin 3-star restaurant Alinea. His new menu includes Tuna Crudo, Mussels, Merguez Sausage, and Crispy Eggplant.

-------------

Eric Sandler contributed to this story.

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."

oak cliff openings wine