News You Can Eat
Decadent cocoa and winter cocktails warm up this Dallas restaurant news
This roundup of Dallas restaurant news includes the restaurant openings and new menus that so often appear in a restaurant news roundup. But there's a unique theme this time: beverages, with all sorts of limited-edition drinks introduced for the winter season — from decadent hot cocoa to special cocktails. Never has a restaurant news roundup been as drinky as this.
Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:
The Bells Sweet Factory is a new New Orleans-style restaurant that opened in late October in Plano, at 2109 W. Parker Rd. #210. It's owned by Ashley Johnson and Thaddeus Bell, who started out doing a food truck before graduating to brick and mortar. Their menu includes fried seafood, fried chicken, stuffed peppers, smothered turkey necks, red beans & rice, ribs, lamb chops, and praline brownies - food they've served to celebrities like Megan Thee Stallion and Dak Prescott.
Miruku Creamery, a soft-serve ice cream shop at 207 N. Kentucky St. in McKinney is now open. Husband-and-wife Kham and Yim Phommahaxay are dishing out soft-serve ice cream, cotton candy, and coffees & espresso. The couple are taking a culinary approach, including making soft-serve from scratch, with a style inspired by Cremia, a Japanese version of soft-serve said to be the creamiest and milkiest soft-serve of all.
Oni Ramen has opened its second DFW location at CityLine, the development in Richardson, where it's serving multiple versions of ramen, plus a full bar with cocktails, Japanese whiskey, and to sake. Patrons can order through handy self-serve kiosks. Owner Jennifer Pham calls CityLine Plaza is "the perfect location" to open a new Oni Ramen. The other location is in Deep Ellum.
Kim's House Grill & BBQ is a new Korean BBQ place at Trinity Groves, in the former K's House spot at 320 Singleton Blvd. #100. It's all you can eat Korean BBQ and hotpot soup, for $30. They also have a set menu option, $99 for two, with special dishes such as rib eye and marinated short rib. They have an awesome proviso to discourage waste: Leftovers will be charged $50.
Beerhead Bar & Eatery has made its official Texas debut via a location that opened in Plano at 5805 Preston Rd. Beerhead offers more than 365 different beers with 50 rotating taps, plus a full menu of food and live music. The Plano location is owned by entrepreneurs Anthony Patel and Ashish Patel, and it's the first Beerhead outside of the Midwest.
Jalisco Norte is now open for lunch, Monday-Saturday with a menu featuring items like the Comida Corrida Lunch Special, with choice of taco or enchilada, served with rice & beans, and a cup of soup or side house salad; Skirt Steak Chile Relleno, a poblano pepper stuffed with Mexican cheeses; and the Jalisco burger.
Encina in Oak Cliff has a new menu of dishes for fall/winter: Braised Short Rib with mashed sweet potatoes, Ricotta Cavatelli with lamb sausage Bolognese, Goat Guisado with celery root, hominy, & jalapeño slaw, Blackened Red Fish with parsnip puree, broccoli rabe & cornbread, and Diamond H Ranch Quail with Swiss chard, roasted sunchokes, cauliflower, and sweet potato BBQ, and pumpkin spice latte panna cotta for dessert. New seasonal cocktails include the Outrider with mezcal, and the Shipwreck with rum and cognac.
Modern Market has a new winter salad featuring chicken with shredded chili-spiced sweet potatoes, candies walnuts, and Brussels sprouts on a bed of Romaine lettuce.
Carrabba's Italian Grill has a seasonal menu of specials that include Shrimp Scampi, Short Rib Marsala with garlic mashed potatoes, Penne Martino with chicken, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes, and Chocolate Dream, a fudge brownie with chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce.
Sidecar Social, Addison’s innovative social lounge, has a new Tableside S'mores with marshmallows, Hershey's milk chocolate, and graham crackers served in a cast iron skillet, along with a Boozy Hot Chocolate spiked with alcohol of choice and whipped cream.
BoomerJack's neighborhood sports bar has a new Chicken & Waffles dish, featuring smoky maple glazed chicken tenders served on a waffle, topped with a fried egg and maple syrup on the side; and a Jumbo Pretzel, a Bavarian pretzel served on a hook with house-made queso and spicy mustard.
La Madeleine French Café has new holiday offerings including Peppermint Mocha, Gingerbread Crème Brûlée Tarts, Christmas Tree Linzer Cookies, Holiday Iced Cookies, and the Buche de Noel cake. They're available for a limited time, when it ends they do not say.
Civil Pour, the coffee-and-wine bar at the Hill on Walnut Hill, has a new menu of winter drinks including Pumpkin Pie Latte, Caramel Apple Latte, Hazelnut Dreams (with a "whisper" of vanilla and cinnamon), Maple Leaves Latte with cinnamon, maple, & vanilla, and Lavender Honey Latte, available hot or iced.
7-Eleven has a new winter drink: Winter Wonderland Cocoa, hot chocolate blended with a peppermint flavor. It's available for a limited time, priced the same as their other hot beverages, and customizable with an array of toppings including marshmallows, cinnamon, caramel, a variety of creamers, and chocolate sauce.
Virgin Hotels Dallas has signed on La Colombe coffee, now available at Funny Library Coffee Shop, located on the hotel's lobby level. La Colombe is a coffee roaster known for ethical, long-term trade practices with growers and provides coffees to cafés, hotels, restaurants, and retailers around the world, as well as operating 30 cafés in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington DC.
Bulla Gastrobar, the Spanish-style restaurant at Legacy West, has a limited-edition cocktail: Holiday Spiced Horchata, served through December 31 for $12.
Bonefish Grill has brought back its seasonal martini, the Winter White Cosmo, with Reyka Vodka, Cointreau, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, white cranberry juice, lime juice, and frozen cranberries.
The Yard in McKinney has two winter cocktails available through February 28: Boozy Hot Cocoa with Absolut Vanilla Vodka; and Spiked Apple Cider with Lip Service Rye Whiskey and Fireball.
Hyatt Regency Frisco-Dallas is featuring the Holiday Buck, a holiday cocktail with TX Straight Bourbon, lemon juice, ginger syrup, cranberry juice, club soda, and cherries for garnish, served at the lobby bar and lounge for $13 through the holidays.
Lakewood Brewing released new "Seduction" mixed six-packs for 2021, featuring two cans each of three favorite beers from its Seduction Series: Double Stuffed, French Quarter, and Sin Mint. This is the first time Double Stuffed has been available outside the Lakewood Brewing Taproom; both French Quarter and Sin Mint are returning fan-favorites.
McDonald's holiday pies are back. They feature vanilla custard in a flaky, buttery crust glazed with sugar and topped with rainbow sprinkles, and are available for a limited time.
Impossible Meatballs, made from plants, are now available at Sprouts, Walmart, and other grocery stores. Perfectly seasoned and ready in less than 5 minutes, they have 30 percent less sodium than the leading animal meatballs.
Miyoko's Creamery, a vegan cheese pioneer, won a positive ruling from the US District Court for the Northern District of California in a lawsuit about its use of terms such as butter and dairy on vegan products. Meat and dairy industry groups have argued that it's confusing to consumers. The lawsuit sets a precedent for other brands fighting to defend their corporate free speech rights.
Shell Shack has been acquired by TriSpan's dedicated restaurant platform, Rising Stars, designed to further its expansion into more markets in Texas and beyond. Shell Shack founder Dallas Hale, who will continue to serve as CEO, says they plan to open five new locations each year. TriSpan Partner Anthony Freijy says they're also in the "early innings" of developing a "highly differentiated and experiential 'eat-ertainment' concept."
Café Momentum, a non-profit restaurant and culinary training facility, has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation in partnership with the Crystal Charity Ball. The grant will provide support of the Café Momentum Internship Program as the organization emerges from pandemic-related economic losses. This includes ensuring the stabilization of justice-involved youth via workforce development Intern wages, our homeschool program & education initiatives.
The 2022 Bar & Restaurant Expo, formerly known as Nightclub & Bar & Show, returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center March 21–23, 2022. Early bird registration tickets start at $99 and are available now through January 31, 2022. Bar & Restaurant Expo is a gathering of bar and restaurant owners and operators. The event offers access to suppliers who are launching new products, networking opportunities, workshops, tours of Las Vegas venues, and nightlife events.
