Holiday News

Fall dishes hit Dallas restaurants in all their pumpkin-spice glory

Those realistic-looking pumpkins are actually made of chocolate.

Kate Weiser Chocolate

With the first day of fall under our belt and with Dallas temperatures dropping to the mid-'50s, it's not too soon to start talking about fall dishes: pumpkin cupcakes and pecan pancakes and all things cinnamon and clove.

If you're in the mood for a taste of fall, we've made a list:

Bellagreen Autumn Seasonal Menu
Fast-casual chain has comforting new dishes starring fall fruits and vegetables including butternut squash & pesto soup with butternut squash, potatoes, orange, pesto, pumpkin seeds, and microgreens. Harvest Salad has butternut squash, beets, quinoa, mixed greens, and fig vinaigrette. Autumn Paleo Salmon Tacos has butternut squash and cabbage on almond-flour tortillas. Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake has a coconut-hemp seed-almond flour gluten-free crust, pumpkin cheesecake, and caramel sauce.

Bonefish Grill fall dishes
New seasonal dishes include swordfish & pumpkin ravioli with crispy onions and crumbled feta; pair it with an apple martini made with apples infused for three days in vodka, finished with honey. Decadent Pumpkin Lava Cake features cinnamon and nutmeg with a cream cheese molten center, served warm, topped with house-made whipped cream.

Denny's fall-inspired menu
National chain brings back the Pumpkin Pecan Pancake Breakfast featuring pumpkin pancakes made with real pumpkin & pecans, with pecan pie sauce; served with eggs, hash browns, and bacon or sausage. Double Chocolate Pancake Puppies are chunky balls served with cream cheese icing. The Pecan Panookie is a warm chocolate chip cookie filled with molten chocolate and vanilla ice cream and topped with pecan pie sauce.

Kate Weiser Halloween delights
Dallas chocolate shop has Halloween-themed delights, available at the Trinity Groves store, Central Market, Neiman Marcus, and online. Chocolate Pumpkin is made from dark chocolate and contains malt balls, cherries, toffee bits, chocolate-covered orange peels, and chewy salted caramel balls; you crack open to eat. Chocolate Skulls come in dark chocolate, filled with mini peanut butter cups, M&Ms, and candy corn; or white chocolate, filled with crushed Oreos. Butterfinger Collection looks like actual fingers. A five-pack includes Almond, Peanut Butter, Pistachio, Hazelnut and Pecan. (Available October 1.) Six-Piece Eyeball Collection features candy eyeballs in three colors: hazel has pumpkin pie ganache in a white chocolate shell; blue has peanut butter cookie gianduja in a dark chocolate shell; green has caramelized pink lady apple ganache in a dark chocolate shell. Pumpkin Pie Candy Bar features caramelized pumpkin pie ganache with cinnamon marshmallow and pecan gingersnap streusel in a dark chocolate shell.

McCormick Day of the Dead craft kits
Spice company will release a limited number of free Mexican Hot Chocolate Craft Kits on McCormick.com/DayoftheDead starting September 28 at 12 pm. The kits contain ingredients to make Mexican Hot Chocolate, including Mexican chocolate discs, McCormick Ground Cinnamon, Chipotle Chili Pepper, and Vanilla Extract; a wooden molinillo to whisk the hot chocolate; and a clay mug that can be decorated with colorful heritage-inspired designs using included paint markers. A pack of just-released Peeps Marshmallow Skulls can be used to make a sugar skull stirrer.

Perry's Steakhouse & Grille Fall specials
Menu items available for dine-in or to-go include White Bean Pork Chili with poblano peppers, hatch green chiles, garlic, and pork chop; Butternut Squash puree with bacon and maple syrup; and pumpkin cheesecake with pecan ginger snap crust, vanilla cream, and salted caramel drizzle.

Sprinkles Pumpkin Spice Latte cupcake
Cupcake chain has a spice cake filled with marshmallow and topped with Cuban coffee frosting. Available through October 3.

Sprinkles Pumpkin cupcake
Cupcake chain's favorite seasonal flavor combines spice cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Available through November 28.

Open Mkt Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Latte
This isn’t your typical pumpkin latte. It features pumpkin spice, cheesecake syrup, whipped cream, graham cracker, and of course coffee. Open Mkt. Grab 'n Go is in the lobby of the Sheraton Dallas hotel, featuring salads, pizza, baked goods, coffee, wine and beer, and other drinks.

Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar seasonal cocktails
Restaurant at Legacy West in Plano is taking the long view with seasonal cocktails that run through 2021, including the Huladays Cocktail with rum, cranberry ginger syrup, lemon juice, and prosecco; Coconut Eggnog Martini with bourbon, coconut rum, coconut milk eggnog, and nutmeg; Figgy Five Spice with rye whiskey, five-spice fig syrup, Meyer lemon juice, and Chinese five spice powder; and Peppermint Bark Martini with vodka, white chocolate liqueur, and cream; the edge of the martini glass is rolled in melted chocolate ganache and crushed peppermint candy.

lists holidays

new roots

L.A. celebrity favorite The Ivy plants Dallas branch near Katy Trail

Photo courtesy of The Ivy/Facebook

undefined

A Los Angeles restaurant famous for celebrity sightings on its bright floral patios is opening a branch in Dallas: The Ivy will debut in fall 2027 at 4205 Buena Vista St. inside The Terminal at Katy Trail.

“This will be the first Ivy outside of Southern California,” says India Wolfe, the restaurant founders' daughter, in a release. "I felt a strong calling to bring The Ivy somewhere new and to plant roots there with our family.”

India’s parents opened The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard in 1980, followed by Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica five years later.

While her father, chef Richard Irving, and mother, Lynn von Kersting, remain in LA, Wolfe and her husband, Ernest Wolfe IV, will move to Dallas in February with their two children and dogs, to operate The Ivy. The restaurant will be located inside a luxury apartment tower overlooking the Katy Trail.

India started working as a teen at the family's third branch in Santa Monica and learned everything "from greeting guests and waiting tables to staging events, filming viral social media, and modernizing the business for a new generation," says the release.

Both she and her husband spent time in other professions but were drawn to the dining field. Ernest helped his in-laws so often at The Ivy that they finally employed him full-time.

“I love working with him," India says, "and we complement each other’s skills really well, not unlike my mom and dad.”

The Ivy The family behind The Ivy.Courtesy photo

The Wolfes say they want the Dallas restaurant to retain The Ivy’s familiar cooking, warmth and character, while making it feel like home in a new city.

“I love the idea of people taking a walk on the Katy Trail and then meeting friends for brunch at The Ivy,” India says.

Her parents are assisting with the design and menu; India wants a contemporary vibe but doesn’t plan to change what works so well.

“I don’t want to make it too different because I think the reason that people from Dallas come to The Ivy is because they love The Ivy,” she says. “That said, this new restaurant will certainly stand on its own two feet.”

Unlike the original, the Dallas Ivy will have a bar, an idea India dreamed up. While restaurant bars are nothing unusual, India actually envisioned what her family jokingly calls “the D Bar" (so named for Dallas), where guests can clink glasses and share good energy around a curved, D-shaped counter.

Her interest in art and flowers will result in a space well-appointed with roses, a family tradition, and local blooms like zinnias and snapdragons.

The Ivy serves upscale American comfort food and Californian cuisine with influences from Italian, French, Cajun, and Mexican cooking. Dishes are made with seasonal ingredients, so the menus evolve throughout the year.

While the Dallas menu is being developed, the restaurant's Southern California winter menus, for example, include starters such as crab cakes, Caesar salad, and grilled-vegetable salad. Pasta options include lobster ravioli with Ivy pink sauce and lobster tagliatelle. Wood- or stone-fired pizzas include margherita and Cajun shrimp pies, while house-baked breads, old-fashioned red velvet cake, coconut cake, and chocolate chip cookies round out the menu.

The Ivy has always been at the center of family life, India notes. Now she and Ernest are bringing that way of life to Dallas.

She adds, “I am confident it will be a great home for The Ivy and for our family.”

openings katy trail