News You Can Eat

Dallas restaurants tease limited-edition items and more dining news

This cheesecake is available for only a limited time. Do not delay.

Photo courtesy of Grimaldi's

This dose of Dallas restaurant news is filled with urgency. Many of the items listed below are available for a limited time only — some available only through the end of December. So there's not a moment to waste. Meanwhile, just when you think the poke trend has passed, another poke restaurant opens and gives us reason to live.

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

Maui Fresh Grill is a Hawaiian poke concept that, given the downward trend of poke, was wise not to put poke in its name. They currently have two locations in the DFW. The original opened in Irving in September, by the Olympus Las Colinas apartments. More recently, a second location opened on Midway Road in northwest Plano. They're a quick-serve restaurant with not only poke but tacos and Asian dishes like chicken katsu, aka breaded fried cutlet. They also have Spam and loco moco, the funky Hawaiian dish with a burger and fried egg over white rice with brown gravy, not something you see too often around Dallas. Unfortunately they use disposable plastic though they are hardly alone in that realm.

Pie Five in Murphy is opening at 109 N. Murphy Rd. This will be the first Pie Five in northeast Dallas and 14th in DFW. With more than 30 fresh toppings, six savory sauces and five crust choices, there's a pizza to match every preference. Pie Five also accommodates dietary restrictions by offering low-carb cauliflower crust, gluten-free crust, and vegan cheese options. To find your closest location, visit the Pie Five location finder.

Bonefish Grill has new winter dishes that include cranberry-chutney Norwegian salmon over bacon-pecan stuffing, and Thermidor gnocchi with lobster, shrimp, potato gnocchi, mushrooms, peas, and tomato tossed in lobster-sherry cream sauce. Seasonal cocktails include the winter white Cosmo and a smoked old-fashioned with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, maple, bitters, and a Bordeaux cherry smoked with oak and served over a colossal ice cube. For dessert, there's a new caramel apple lava cake, a butter cake with caramel molten center topped with caramelized apples and vanilla ice cream.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria has a seasonal menu with holiday flavors like cranberry, pomegranate, pecans, and chocolate. Spinach pecan salad has spinach, candied pecans, dried cherries, red onions, goat cheese, and house dressing. Chicken alla vodka pizza has tomato cream sauce with chicken, onions, mozzarella, and basil. Chocolate Cannoli features fried pastry shells dipped in chocolate and filled with sweet ricotta cheese and chocolate chips. Reeses's Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake has vanilla cheesecake with chunks of peanut butter cups. Three new cocktails include a holiday sangria, a cranberry winter mule with Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka, and the blood orange spritz with Square One Bergamont Vodka, Monin Blood Orange puree, lemon juice, and prosecco. Available through March 3.

East Hampton Sandwich Co. brings back their LTO (Limited Time Only) holiday turkey sandwich, made with black cherry chutney, fried onions, turkey breast, spinach, cranberry cream cheese, and garlic sage aioli. It's $10.95 and available through the end of 2018.

Velvet Taco, the funky taco chain, has a new blood orange sage margarita, with a blood orange sage puree and fried sage leaf. Available December 17 through January 6, the new margarita will join the original Kick-Ass Margarita. Both are made in-house daily using fresh fruit.

Original ChopShop has debuted a new avocado "nice cream' superfruit bowl with a whole avocado, spinach, pineapple, and apple juice, topped with granola, strawberry, banana, and dark chocolate shavings. Available through the end of 2018.

Empire Baking Co. will be selling numerous baked goods for the holidays. You must order by December 20, and pick up December 22-24. Items include:

Apple Cranberry Pie - $23
Texas Pecan Pie - $26
Pumpkin Pie - $23
Chocolate Babka - $15.95
Cranberry Walnut Bread - $6.99
Cranberry Paisano Loaf - $6.99
Pumpkin Bread Loaf - $10
Gingerbread - $12.50
Pecan Ring – $22
Stollen - $13
Rolls (Challah, Soft Paisano, Molasses, Wheat) - $6.50/dozen
Sweet Potato Rolls (9 per package) - $5.95

Bullion, the French restaurant in downtown Dallas, has two new holiday treats from executive pastry chef Ricchi Sanchez. Linzer cookies are $10 for a half dozen and $20 for a dozen. Fruitcakes are $26 each and serve 6 to 8 people. You must give a credit card number to hold. Deadline for ordering is December 17. Hurry! Orders can be picked up on December 20, 21, 22, and 24. Call 972-698-4250.

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Burger News

Smash burger trend is sizzling in Dallas at these 8 restaurants

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Burger Schmurger

Smash burgers remain a hot commodity in Dallas. Pop-up restaurants specializing in the burger — known for its flat crispy edges — are opening restaurants all over the city, each offering their own take on the foodie trend.

The smash burger craze first gained popularity through pop-ups the midwest in 2017, but the origins stretch back further than that. According to The Daily Meal, a cook at a restaurant called Dairy Cheer used a can of beans to smash a patty and found it had more flavor that way in the 1950s in Ashland, Kentucky.

Now, that burger lives on in different forms, but mostly sticks to the caramelized onions, American cheese, and pickles.

Here are eight of the best spots in Dallas for smash burgers now:

Burger Schmurger
Smash burgers are the specialty at this East Dallas burger restaurant, which got its start as a pop-up and now has a location near White Rock Lake. The menu includes a grilled cheese burger, sweet heat, and the original Schmurger, with two smashed patties, American cheese, grilled onions, and pickles stacked on a Mrs. Baird's bun.

Dos Huevos
Newly opened breakfast and brunch restaurant with roots in New York makes everything from scratch. They’re known for their breakfast sandwiches such as the Hobo, but lunch is where you will find the smash burger on a housemade bun with griddled onions and cheese for $7.

Dudley's
Rockwall restaurant and sports bar comes from the Lower Greenville Christies Sports Bar team. They know their burgers, including some with Wagyu patties. Their smash burger uses Texas beef, thick slices of sweet & spicy horseradish pickles, and bang bang sauce on a brioche bun.

Herby's
Oak Cliff restaurant from Will Rhoten, also known as DJ Sober, and Jake Saenz, owner of the food pop up Rev’s Grilled Cheese. Their OG smash burger comes with the usual toppings — grilled onions, cheese, pickles, and house-made sauce — with optional extras like bacon or fried egg. They also have a veggie smash burger featuring everything on an OG smash, but with a black bean patty.

Pacheco Taco n Burger
Mom and pop shop inside Four Corners Brewing in the Cedars District from mother-and-son Cecilia and Adan Pacheco does all their burgers smash style with Mexican-inspired toppings such as chorizo, jalapenos, or creamy chipotle sauce. Their go-to option is the double smash burger with two patties, caramelized onions, cheese and pickles. It goes for $13.50.

Picadera
Dominican street food restaurant inside of Trinity Cider in Deep Ellum from chef Michael Tavarez has two kinds of burgers on the menu. The most popular one is the award-winning Dominican smash burger with two beef patties, griddled onions, American cheese, fried sweet plantains, and sliced avocado on a garlic brioche bun. The bodega chopped cheese burger is similar, but with a single patty and comes on a hoagie. Burger is $15.

Rodeo Bar
Restaurant and bar inside The Adolphus Hotel reopened in 2021 with a new menu featuring a standout smash burger. Though it previously had smash burgers with a Texas twist such as added brisket, they went for a simpler approach. The Rodeo burger is a classic smash burger with cheese, pickles, and Rodeo Bar sauce. The burger is $14, but a second patty can be added for $5.

Shady's Burgers and Brewhaha
Brew pub with locations in Lake Highlands and Richardson has plenty of burgers on the menu, but their smash burger is emerging as a new favorite. Their smash burger features two patties, four slices of American cheese, pickles, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and mustard. A smash burger combo is $13.50.

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