Pasta and pumpkin and all the fall dishes top this Dallas restaurant news

This roundup of Dallas dining news is brimming with new menus and fall specials. That means pumpkin, of course, but also short ribs, pasta Bolognese, and sweets: baked goods and ice cream and lots of treats.

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

Bluffview Growler, formerly a beer destination, has converted into a full-service restaurant, serving gourmet twists on traditional bar food alongside their beer selection. Caterer Robin Jackson oversees the kitchen with a menu that includes truffle parmesan fries, raspberry chipotle chicken wings, pulled pork nachos and pulled pork sliders, charcuterie board, farfalle Bolognese, crab cakes, biscuits & gravy, and vanilla cake in a stout beer reduction.

Ellie's Restaurant & Lounge, the Napa-inspired dining destination inside Hall Arts Hotel, has a new fall menu featuring modern dishes with approachable ingredients. Highlights include Gulf snapper with thick spaghetti and butternut squash ragout; Salisbury steak bites with mushroom gravy and gruyere gratin; red & green chile chicken with pozole stew; and salmon grain bowl with chickpea, corn, and cauliflower. And to accommodate events from the surrounding performance halls throughout the Arts District, Ellie's has rolled out a theater pre-fixe menu available on show nights from 5-6:30 pm. A three-course dinner with choice of soup or salad, entrée, and dessert is $42.

Bulla Gastrobar, the Spanish-style upscale restaurant in Legacy West, has fabulous-sounding new food items and drinks for fall that include:

• Short Ribs with tetilla cheese, caramelized onions, homemade potato chips
• Vegan Bolognese Linguini with Beyond Meat, cherry tomatoes
• Cream of Mushroom Soup "Spanish style" with parmesan cheese
• Bibb Lettuce Salad with bacon, avocado, hazelnuts, orange segments, and hazelnut vinaigrette
• Scallops with Cauliflower Puree, oyster mushrooms, kale, shaved cauliflower, and chorizo vinaigrette
• Veggie Burger featuring portobello mushrooms filled with Mahon cheese, tomato, lettuce
• Basque Style Cheesecake, a traditional creamy cheesecake from San Sebastian, with blueberry compote

Perry's Steakhouse & Grille has added a new limited-edition "Smorgasbord To-Go" menu of 10 items that feed 4 to 6 people for $125 and includes bacon-wrapped scallops, pork chop bites, crab balls, 10-ounce New York strip, 10-ounce sous vide roasted lemon chicken, 10-ounce grilled salmon, 10-ounce chateaubriand, sriracha Brussels sprouts, whipped potatoes, and mac & cheese. Add a family-style steakhouse chopped salad or Caesar salad for $25 or individual desserts for $7 each including pumpkin cheesecake, butterscotch budino, chocolate crunch, or flourless fudgy chocolate cake. For dining in, you can Build-Your-Own Seafood Tower with shrimp cocktail, Blue Point oysters on the half shell, tuna tartare, Alaskan red king crab, jumbo lump crab, and lobster tail. They also have new seafood dishes including miso-roasted king crab appetizer and Dover Sole with brown caper butter, fileted tableside.

Bisous Bisous Pâtisserie, the award-winning French bakery in Uptown, has a holiday menu with Halloween and Thanksgiving items such as pumpkin pie, blood orange éclairs, and decorated cookies. Bisous Bisous has also introduced a Freezer-to-Oven Collection with 15 items such as croissants, cookies, brownies, and monkey bread, that you can take home and bake. That includes their signature apple streusel and pumpkin pies. Available for purchase online and in-store.

The Biscuit Bar has three fall-themed items including two drinks: Tipsy Jack-O-Latte has Nitro cold brew coffee with Tito’s Vodka, coffee liqueur, and pumpkin spice. Apple Cider Mimosa has bubbles with apple cider juice. Pumpkin Pie French Toast consists of biscuits soaked in pumpkin pie custard, deep fried, and topped with powdered sugar and house made whipped cream. They're available through October.

Al Biernat's is celebrating the third anniversary of its North Dallas location with a special $95 three-course anniversary menu, available from October 19-30 at the North location. It includes choices from Crab & Corn Chowder, Caesar or Pear Salad, Porcini Crusted Prime NY Steak, Atlantic Salmon, Pork Chops, Red Snapper, New York Cheesecake, Pecan Pie a la Mode, or Al’s Famous Coconut Cream Pie. The anniversary menu is available for the price of $95. For reservations, call 972-239-3400.

Dillas Quesadillas, the North-Texas based quesadilla restaurant, just launched a Frito Pie quesadilla featuring chili cheese Fritos, ground beef, Hatch queso drizzle, and red onion, with sour cream. They say it is a limited-edition item that will be available "while supplies last." That's confusing. Do they have a set quantity of Fritos? Once those are gone, they can't get more?

Logan's Roadhouse has added Southern Fried Fish to its dine-in American Roadhouse Meals menu, which features hearty entrées with two sides, 3-6 pm daily for $9. Two new beverages perfect for fall are Tito’s Black Cherry Electric Lemonade ($5) and Black Cherry Bud Light Seltzer ($4).

Carrabba's Italian Grill has pasta family bundles for $35 during October that include Lasagne, Spaghetti, Penne Alfredo, Penne Carrabba (penne pasta, Alfredo sauce, chicken, mushrooms, and peas), and Rigatoni Campagnolo, large rigatoni with Italian sausage, red bell peppers, and pomodoro sauce.

Edoko Sushi & Robata at CityLine in Richardson is currently offering Texas State Fair inspired cocktails, ranging from the TX Dr Pepper Float to the Mini Fish Bowl, featuring alcohol-infused cotton candy! These drinks are available for dine-in at Edoko or to-go through October 23.

Truluck's is celebreating the return of stone crabs. The season begins October 17 and goes through May 2, 2021. Long "season."

Open Palette, Sheraton Dallas Hotel’s restaurant and bar, has a new cocktail they say tastes like fall in a cup, called the Local Apple with whiskey, egg white, lemon juice, simple syrup, and muddled apple.

Taco Cabana is hosting Enchilada Fest, a celebration of cheese enchiladas with six new sauces including: Suiza, Ranchero, Green, Tex-Mex, Sour Cream, or Queso. Two-enchilada plates are $6, three-enchilada plates are $7.69. Each plate includes rice, refried beans, guacamole, and two flour tortillas. You can top it with shredded chicken, ground beef, or chicken fajita for $.99, or steak fajita for $1.29. Enchilada Fest orders can be ordered online for front counter and curbside pick-up; via the drive-thru; or by mobile order when using the MyTC! App or TacoCabana.com. Select Taco Cabana dining rooms and patios are now open as well.

McDonald's has three new bakery items that will be available October 28, all day. Offered alongside McCafé cookies and pies, they're the first addition of bakery items to McDonald’s core menu in over eight years:

• Apple Fritter: classic fritter with cinnamon and apples that's fried and drizzled with a sweet glaze icing
• Blueberry Muffin: baked with real blueberries and topped with streusel crumb
• Cinnamon Roll: flaky pastry dough layered with cinnamon and drizzled with cream cheese icing

Taco Bell is introducing a tempting sounding new Dragonfruit Freeze and a Chicken Chipotle Melt, as well as regional rollouts of Green Sauce and a Quesalupa. They'll stop serving pico de gallo, to be replaced by fresh diced tomatoes; shredded chicken; and Mexican Pizza, which has spawned some online angst. It'll be available until November 5. They're also bringing back breakast favorites including the Breakfast Crunchwrap, the Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito Potato, and hash browns.

Dunkin' has a new Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut that delivers the heat. It's a yeast doughnut ring with strawberry icing that features a blend of cayenne and ghost pepper, finished with red sanding sugar. It'll be on the menu at participating Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide until December.

Pressed Juicery has an absolutely must-get new flavor of their vegan soft-serve for fall: Pumpkin Spice Freeze, available now at all Pressed Juicery locations that serve Freeze. It contains seven ingredients: water, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, almond butter, vanilla natural flavor, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. It's $6.50-$8 depending on the size.

Planet Smoothie has three new smoothies: The Captain Immunity with strawberries, mango, frozen yogurt, nonfat milk, and whey protein; the Antioxidant Avenger with leafy greens, passion fruit, mango, pineapple, and bananas; the Berry Defender with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, almond milk, orange juice, and chia seeds. Each contains the new Defend+ Blast, a supplement with 1,000 mg of vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, and antioxidants. Defend+ joins the fold of Planet Smoothie's six other Blasts, Immunity, Multivitamin, Fiber, Energy, Fat Burner, and Protein, which guests can add to enhance any of their smoothies.

Dairy Queen has a new fall flavor: the Oreo Mocha Fudge Blizzard, made with vanilla soft-serve, coffee, oreo pieces, brownie pieces, and cocoa fudge: the warm taste of coffee mixed with the chocolatey taste of oreo and fudge. Their fall 2020 limited-time Blizzard menu includes Choco-dipped Strawberry Blizzard, Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Blizzard, Brownie Dough Blizzard, and Caramel Apple Pie Blizzard.

Yogurtland has a new Cold Brew Coffee Light Ice Cream, combining the elements of a morning cup of joe with a hint of creamy sweetness. They're also bringing back Dulce De Leche, to pair with the new Cold Brew Light Ice Cream for a swirl combination that tastes like an iced caramel latte. Both flavors will be available at participating locations while supplies last - again with this "while supplies last" thing, how about get more supplies? although they seem to imply it will be around through October - and can be ordered through third party delivery partners.

Milk Bar, the New York dessert company, now has merchandise at Target: Truffle Crumb Cakes, inspired by their signature cake truffles, available in the refrigerated section; and soft-baked cookies, inspired by the bakery’s signature mix-ins and names, in three flavors: Confetti, a sugar cookie with colorful sprinkles; Compost with pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, graham crackers, chocolate chips, and butterscotch; and cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow.