News You Can Eat

There is so much newness in this summary of Dallas restaurant news

With the arrival of fall comes fall menus. That means root vegetables, short ribs, and gingerbread gingerbread everywhere. There's also news about new restaurants, and a big-deal chef hire. Here's the latest round of restaurant news:

Grayson Social, a restaurant and social club serving tall drinks and Southern food in the historic LTV Towers in downtown Dallas, has proclaimed itself officially open. Menu highlights include white chocolate croissant bread pudding, chicken-fried quail and waffles, pulled chicken poutine, and mushroom-dusted baby trout. The design features white marble tabletops and natural wood floors. It's open for breakfast and dinner, seven days a week.

Flying Fish opened in the Dallas Design District, in the former Purple Onion location at 1838 Irving Blvd. This location is smaller than usual but incorporates Flying Fish trademarks such as photos of local fishermen and their catches. The menu includes catfish, shrimp, oysters, gumbo, crab, and other exotics found in local area lakes. It's open every day for lunch and dinner. There are eight other locations — five around Dallas-Fort Worth, two in Arkansas, and one in Memphis.

ViVi Bubble Tea is a new bubble tea shop open at Firewheel Town Center with New York cred. The chain was founded in New York in 2007, where it has 22 branches. Drinks are made to order, and the menu includes seasonal flavors.They use ingredients shipped from Taiwan, for the most authentic Taiwanese rendition.

Ichi Sushi Grill and Lounge is a new sushi spot open at Firewheel Town Center. The restaurant offers a fun sushi experience with a wide variety of sushi, rolls, and other traditional Japanese items.

Fearing's has injected an international flavor to its lunch and dinner menus, incorporating Asian, Hawaiian, and Lebanese items: Korean BBQ-glazed brisket banh mi with Kennebec frites; jumbo prawn and roasted pork ramen noodles with fermented black bean sauce and poached egg; opah on crab ravioli; Bay of Fundy salmon yakitori with umeboshi onigiri, Denton oyster mushrooms, red plums, and lemon miso; baked opah with roasted pineapple glaze, crispy crab rangoon, grilled vegetable maki, and charred shishito peppers; and Lebanese spiced lamb chops with farro tabbouleh, harissa-roasted carrots, and house-made labneh.

Sablon Chocolate Lounge, the Uptown spot offering couverture chocolate dishes, drinks, and savory bites, has added specialty drinks and cheese fondues created by owner/founder Sudhir Shah. Fondue varieties include aged cheddar and Swiss cheeses with crisp almonds and garlic, mozzarella with tomato salsa, aged cheddar cheese with fresh broccoli florets, spinach and cheese, pesto, and pizza and dips. Fondues are served with a choice of four dippers, including grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, herbed potatoes, bread, and more.

Sablon also introduces "frappistas," a spin on its Belgian frappes that sound a lot like Starbucks' frappuccinos, made of Sablon's coffee blend, milk, and ice. Hazelnut frappe has Nutella hazelnut spread, and it's topped with a glazed cake doughnut. Honestly, if I wanted a doughnut, I'd order one. Other flavors include frosted black coffee, crunchy coffee frappe, honey crunch frappe, and minty cookie frappe.

Empire Baking Co. has holiday items in stock. There are pies such as apple cranberry, Texas pecan, and pumpkin, for $20. Special breads include cranberry walnut and cranberry paisano. For November, there are sweet dinner rolls and pumpkin bread.

CBD Provisions has new fall desserts. Gingersnap cookie pumpkin ice cream sandwich, from executive pastry chef Keith Cedotal, has cookies with three types of ginger, with pumpkin ice cream in the center, rolled in pumpkin seeds. Apple crisp with horchata ice cream has a crust made from house-made granola and topped with large scoops of house-made horchata ice cream.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar has a Thanksgiving-themed burger for $11, available November 1-20. It's a turkey patty with sage pesto, jalapeno cornbread stuffing, ginger cranberry chutney, Gouda cheese, and a bacon Brussels sprout salad. The special shake flavor for November is butter pecan for $6.

Draft Media Sports Lounge at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel is offering a new MLB-paired menu. Dishes include two mini hot dogs served with chili, cheese, onions, and chopped jalapenos; tacos with smoked brisket and smoked chipotle chicken; mac and cheese balls deep fried and served with a gremolata dip; sweet potato fries topped with Deep Ellum blue cheese and Texas honey; St. Louis-style ribs with fries and coleslaw; and cheesy fries smothered with queso, caramelized onions, and bacon.

Stampede 66 has new lunch menu items, namely: bacon-wrapped meatloaf; smoked chicken sandwich; and kale salad with green apple slices, bourbon infused raisins, cornbread crumble, and Manchego cheese.

Sundown at the Granada has a new fall menu designed by chef Jason West. Dishes include snow crab claws; smoked corn and crab bisque; pappardelle with sausage, kale, and pine nuts; and coffee-rubbed bone-in short rib with truffle mac and cheese and bacon-braised garden greens. New cocktails include a drink with banana-infused Gentlemen's Jack, Disaronno, lemon, and pecan mist.

Houlihan's Restaurants is doing five new "Americana" dishes, including lobster corn dogs; boneless short ribs with potatoes and Brussels sprouts; ravioli with clams, crab, shrimp, and scallops in a spicy tomato broth; deconstructed chicken pot pie which chicken, carrots, and celery in a chicken gravy pot pie filling, served with a cheddar biscuit; and bag o’ doughnuts, with mini chocolate doughnuts fried to order, and shaken with cinnamon and sugar. All dishes will be available through mid-January.

Stonedeck Pizza Pub in Deep Ellum has a new house-infused pumpkin spice moonshine, and Southern Tier’s Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Stout on tap.

Stirr, newly opened in Deep Ellum, is now serving brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am-3 pm, with dishes as follows: lobster claw omelet; Benedict with fried green tomatoes, chard, crab cakes, and chef's hash; Prince Edward Island mussels; a bag of mini doughnuts with cinnamon sugar; giant cinnamon roll; and cranberry walnut bread French toast.

Bowen House has a new fall menu featuring a sloppy Joe grilled cheese sandwich, crab deviled eggs, and milk punch and cookies for dessert.

With PSL soon on the wane, it is time for the return of Starbucks holiday beverages. The lineup includes chestnut praline latte, caramel brulée latte, eggnog latte, gingerbread latte, and peppermint mocha.

Glazed Donut Works has made a big-time chef hire, netting pastry chef Joseph "Joe the Baker" Baker, who has worked at Cityzen in Washington, D.C.; Las Canarias and Ostra in San Antonio; and the Mansion on Turtle Creek and Spoon in Dallas. He's also appeared on TV cooking challenges such as Food Network's Sweet Genius.

Baker's new appointment means he will no longer run a booth at the Four Seasons Market in Flower Mound. But his goods, including his just-arrived annual seasonal peppermint park, can still be found at the Coppell Farmers Market, Royal Blue Grocery, and Liberation Coffee Company, or via the online store, where he also sells macarons, marshmallows, and other confections.

Empire Baking Co. has seasonal goodies.

Photo courtesy of Empire

Empire Baking Co. has seasonal goodies.

openings

Sushi News

Frisco sushi restaurant Hinoki does a slimmed-down twist on omakase

Thanin Viriyaki

Hinoki

A new sushi restaurant has debuted in Frisco with a mini version of omakase: Called Hinoki, it's open for lunch and dinner at 8050 Preston Rd. #106, in a space previously occupied by another short-lived Asian restaurant called Imura, and is serving seafood both raw and cooked.

Hinoki is from chef Leo Kekoa, who previously worked for the acclaimed Nobu chain and who also owns the popular Kinzo Sushi in north Frisco, which he opened in 2022 to bring omakase to Frisco.

Omakase is the dining experience in which the chef prepares a multi-course tasting menu of small bites made to order, often at a premium price. While omakase has no set number of dishes, it usually ranges from 10 to 20 courses depending on how excessive the chef/restaurant is.

Hinoki offers a six-course menu they describe as omakase for $75. It's a starter version that rotates but usually includes a sushi course, oyster topped with caviar, soup, galbi, and mochi dessert. The restaurant also has a regular a la carte menu featuring sushi, hot items, and composed bentos boxes for lunch.

Hinoki sushi HinokiThanin Viriyaki

"Kinzo is my fine-dining omakase restaurant," Kekoa says. "Hinoki is designed as its more casual counterpart — still rooted in discipline and detail, but more accessible."

Kekoa created the menu but he says it’s a team effort, with two veteran chefs: Chikau "Harry" Kikuchi, who brings 25-plus years of experience to the sushi counter (he and Kekoa worked together at Nobu); and chef Sachiko Hashimoto presiding over the hot line and overseeing the preparation of Hinoki's home-style and regional Japanese dishes.

No sushi restaurant can ignore basics like the spicy tuna roll, California roll, dragon roll, and shrimp tempura roll, but Hinoki also has a few of distinctive rolls such as the Kumo roll with crab, avocado, and chipotle aioli, wrapped in soy paper, which has a pleasing texture that's a little more toothsome than the standard crisp seaweed wrapper.

There are creative bowls as the Sake Dashi, featuring sushi-grade raw salmon, Asian pear, crushed marcona almonds, yuzu shirodashi, and truffle oil; and hot dishes such as miso black cod, teriyaki salmon, and Kushiyaki skewers with chicken thigh, kurobuta sausage, and shishito pepper. Most items average about $20.

Kekoa calls his lunch offering "honest and efficient."

"We’re bringing back the Japanese bento [referring to the cute boxed lunch with compartments for courses], such as our chirashi bento with fish, sushi rolls, and seaweed salad," he says.

Hinoki also has a full bar with sake, wine, beer, and cocktails.

Kekoa lives in Frisco and is bullish on his hometown.

"With Universal Studios on the way and PGA nearby, I believe this city deserves a neighborhood sushi spot done right," he says. "I want Hinoki to bring fine-dining service at a price more people can enjoy."

openings