In this wrap-up of restaurant news, lunch is big. Lots of places have decided to open for lunch. There are also the usual openings and closings, but if it's noontime and you're hungry, you've come to the right story.
As predicted, Yard House is now open in Addison. This is the "modern public house" entry from Darden Concepts, with more than 130 beers on tap and a complicated set of beer lines that promise perfectly chilled beer. The menu offers a page dedicated to vegan items made with Gardein, the popular meat substitute, including pizza, "chicken" wings and sliders.
Dallas-based White Rock Coffee opened a location at Children's Medical Center. It's in a former Starbucks, located in an enviable perch on a skywalk leading into the Bright Building, where it's a popular pit stop for patients and families. This is the third branch, following the original on Northwest Highway and the drive-through at Mockingbird and Abrams. Co-owner Nancy Baker points out that the syrup used for the pumpkin lattes has real pumpkin and Imperial sugar.
Four new dining concepts are coming to the Omni Dallas hotel downtown: Coal Vines pizza, Little Katana Sushi, Herrera's and a beer garden. The openings are scheduled for fall 2015. Joseph Palladino, who co-owns the Uptown Coal Vines, will operate the downtown Coal Vines and the beer garden. They join existing restaurants Texas Spice, Bob's Steak & Chop House and a sports bar called the Owners Box.
Colorado-based Modmarket opened a branch in Plano on October 27 at 8400 Preston Rd., where it serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with organic wines and micro-brew Colorado draft beers. This is the second in the Dallas area, following Flower Mound, which opened in September. Two more are coming to Dallas and Southlake in spring of 2015. Texas is the first foray for Modmarket, which has eight eateries in and around Denver.
Amy and Jack MacDonald, owners of the popular Jack Mac's Swill and Grill in North Dallas, are opening Hickory & Fry, a new bar in Denton, where they will focus more on cocktails and aged spirits than beer. Huh, for Denton you would think it would be the other way around. The menu will be tapas-style with shared plates.
Dunkin' Donuts opened a branch in Lewisville, at 1510 W. Main St., serving the full Dunkin' Donuts menu including its new Rainforest Alliance Certified dark roast coffee. Dunkin' Donuts' roasting process creates a smooth finish without the bitterness typically associated with most dark roast coffees.
Blue Plate Kitchen in Preston Center is no more; it has been reconcepted into a private event venue called The Kitchen at 6130, ready now to book your holiday party, corporate event and reception. It's like having your very own restaurant. Capacity ranges from 120 people seated to 165 standing, and the onsite catering team can provide a variety of food options, including passed hors d'oeuvre, food stations and sit-down service.
In addition to its event capabilities, The Kitchen at 6130 is the new home for Kent Rathbun Catering. It will house the culinary side of the business, acting as a cooking and prepping kitchen for the company's many catering endeavors.
Urban Acres has partnered with Artizone to do home delivery of organic groceries. Customers can order a "share" of Urban Acres produce in two sizes — medium for $34 or small for $19.50 — plus a delivery charge of $5.95. The shares consist of a mixture of seasonal fruits and vegetables, delivered on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Urban Acres has been doing co-op style produce since 2009, now at 18 locations across the city and at its farmstead in Oak Cliff. In August, Urban Acres also opened a cafe featuring chef David Rodriguez, and it is hosting classes on cooking, canning and gardening.
Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House has a new menu, devised by owners Matt Tobin, Josh Yingling and chef Eric Salome, formerly of the Omni Dallas hotel and a graduate of DCT International Hotel and Business Management School in Vitznau, Switzerland. Switzerland, you say? New menu items include a cheese board — very Swiss! — plus hummus and the "JCBC," chicken stuffed with jalapeño and cheddar cheeses, wrapped in bacon and deep fried. New burgers come topped with chili, spicy habañero sauce, mushrooms and blue cheese with bacon. There's a seasonal salad and new desserts made in-house such as cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies and seasonal fruit crisps.
Max's Wine Dive in Dallas has a new menu with a fall theme: mushroom toast with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and Manchego cheese, chicken-fried Brussels sprouts with romesco sauce, chowder with celery root and littleneck clams, duck confit and duck fat dumplings, and pork osso buco with cheddar polenta and greens.
Proof + Pantry is now serving lunch Tuesday through Friday, from 11:30 am to 2 pm. Dishes by chef Kyle McClelland include Nanna's meatballs; beet salad; $15 pantry burger with caramelized onions and American cheese; roasted vegetable sandwich with eggplant, squash, zucchini, red pepper and pesto; "pressed" chicken sandwich with truffle butter; $18 lobster roll; and steak frites.
Villa-O has launched a daily lunch with specials such as chicken Parmesan and the Villa-O burger. An expansive list of pizzas includes the Diavola (spicy soppressata, salami, pepperoni, San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella and chili flakes) and a breakfast pizza (sunny-side-up eggs and prosciutto), which is served all day.
Clay Pigeon in Fort Worth is now open for lunch, Wednesday through Friday, 11 am to 2:30 pm. The menu includes soups, salads (such as beet with goat cheese or spinach with bacon and sunny-side-up egg), sandwiches (turkey melt with avocado, arugula and Gruyere), quiche du jour, and featured dishes (such as pork schnitzel and steak frites).
Knife, the critically acclaimed restaurant from John Tesar and one of Esquire magazine's best new restaurants of 2014, is now serving lunch daily, 11 am to 2:30 pm. The menu features constantly changing selections, from burgers to salads to pastas.
Coal Vines pizza is coming to the Omni Dallas hotel in spring 2015.
Panini at Killer JoeKiller Joe