News You Can Eat
Dallas restaurants unveil surprise dishes for fall and more dining news
Custard buns at China Blue Dumplings
The end of October brings another roundup of dining news around Dallas, and this one's rich with new menus and new dishes for fall.
This scenario offers Dallas diners the opportunity to revisit restaurants that are already open, versus chasing down newly opened spots — a chance to to support one's faithful standbys. Don't worry! There are openings, too. In Dallas dining news, there will seemingly always be new restaurants in the wings.
Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:
Mister O1, the Miami-born pizza concept, will open its fourth Texas location at 4610 Long Prairie Rd. #220, Flower Mound, in spring 2024. The concept debuted in 2022 in Dallas' Turtle Creek Shopping Village, followed by Grapevine in spring 2023. Mansfield the third Texas location opens this fall. Mister O1's artisanal pizzas have a delicate thin-crust style, with an exceptionally light dough.
400 Gradi has opened its second location in McKinney, bringing an authentic Italian dining experience to the exciting roster of restaurants in the new 121 entertainment district, from husband-and-wife owners Igor Stevovic and Nikoleta Plavsic. The first location opened in downtown Dallas in 2019. The menu includes pizza, pastas, seafood, wine, and cocktails. Standouts include the Linguine Alla Pescatora and the Pappardelle Ai Funghi.
The Common Table, a neighborhood eatery, has opened in McKinney at 6651 Alma Rd. #350 in the 121 District. It's the second location following The Star in Frisco and differs with a more intimate interior atmosphere, private dining area, extended lawn area, and roll-up window that offers a view of the patio from the inside bar.
Jinya Ramen Bar has opened a location at 7949 Walnut Hill Ln. #160 in Preston Hollow Village with more than a dozen ramen options topped with pork chasu, poached egg, garlic and more. The new location is the 13th in Texas and 61st systemwide.
China Blue Dumplings and Baos, a Chinese restaurant in Plano at 2001 Coit Rd. #135, has a new fall menu with dishes such as honey-glazed ribs, adding to its selection of noodles, soups, buzzy soup dumplings, fried rice, and spicy dry pots (including an amazing cauliflower dry pot with red chiles). The must-get are the custard buns, also called nai wong bao, a Cantonese treat consisting of a fluffy puffy round yeast bun enclosing a filling made with salted egg yolks that have been sweetened and enriched with milk. China Blue embellishes them with cute bunny decorations. They're sweet but not too sweet, great for breakfast, dessert, or a snack with tea.
True Food Kitchen has a new fall menu which is a big deal (or so says a press release). Highlights include Brussel sprouts with mushrooms, marinated peppers; tuna wraps with tataki rice; meatloaf made with grass-fed beef and served with fingerlings; and a trio of butternut squash dishes including butternut squash soup, butternut squash pizza, and squash pie. A new brunch menu features cocktails like Berry Cerealtinis and Cinnamon Toastinis, plus Huevos Rancheros, Hawaiian Fried Rice, and Brunch Towers.
Ford’s Garage has a new menu for Sunday brunch with a Breakfast Burrito with scrambled eggs, bacon, and tots; Chicken & Waffle; Cinnamon Wheel, a jumbo cinnamon roll to be shared (or not); Egg Melt Sandwich on country white toast; Mechanic’s Skillet with scrambled eggs, tots, caramelized onions, red peppers, and sausage gravy; half-pound Black Angus cheeseburger with bacon jam and sunny-side egg; a Monte Cristo - trendy! - with Black Forest ham, Swiss cheese, and bacon; Build Your Own Mimosa with a bottle of Prosecco and OJ.
North Italia has a new fall/winter menu, featuring cacio e pepe arancini, pumpkin spice cinnamon roll butter cake, the frittatine, ricotta cavatelli, Naples white pizza, seasonal anolini, a rotating vegetarian favorite, and farrmers market scramble at brunch.
The Saint, the Italian-inspired steakhouse, has a new Tuesday-only special feature: a 36-ounce Texas Wagyu Tomahawk for two for $195, with two starters and two sides such as whipped ricotta, mussels, Caesar, blistered peppers, charred broccolini, creamed spinach, potato puree, roasted mushroom, and Italian fries, plus choice of panna cotta or white chocolate cheesecake for dessert.
Urban Rio in Plano has specials for November: Turkey Tamales featuring two sweet potato tamales filled with smoked turkey, dried cranberries, jalapeño raja, with salsa verde and cranberry jalapeño pico; and the November taco of the month: Salmon Tacos, three to an order with rice and beans.
Urban Crust in Plano has a November pizza of the month: the tangy La Pera pizza with a basil pesto base, Italico and gorgonzola cheese, pears, red onion, roasted walnuts, and balsamic glaze.
Medina Oven and Bar in Victory Park has new items including beef tenderloin tajine with prunes, lamb chops with goat cheese potato, lamb apricot tajine with couscous, pastilla, seafood couscous, and Moroccan hot tea. They've also added hookah on the patio.
Windmills Brewery Restaurant Music has a new menu showcasing its Indian dishes with Cumin Lamb Chop with arborio-lentil khichdi and mint chermoula; and Pork Belly Sannas with date sauce and carrot-pea poriyal.
Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, the quick-serve dumpling concept, is now offering soup dumplings including Pork Soup Dumplings and Spicy Pork Soup Dumplings.
Birdcall has a new limited-edition Chicken Parmesan sandwich with marinara sauce, parmesan crisp, provolone cheese, and basil. Available at both Birdcall Texas locations (Carrollton and Frisco) through December 5.
Modern Market Eatery has five new dishes for the season: roasted corn salsa, roasted butternut squash, roasted cherry tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, and lemongrass Brussels sprouts, hope those are roasted too?
Flower Child has a seasonal menu featuring Italian chopped salad, Brussels sprouts with yuzu miso, maple-glazed squash with walnut and Medjool date, mushroom Bolognese bowl (squash noodles, crumbled chickpea & tofu “sausage”, almond ricotta, Italian basil), Carolina BBQ chicken wrap, and Brussels & butternut squash salad which is like the fall-est dish ever.
La Madeleine Dallas-Fort Worth cafés are now offering not-very-French-sounding baked pasta dishes with a "four cheese" theme, starting at $10 and available through 2023: Penne with four-cheese sauce, Penne with four-cheese sauce, broccoli, & bacon, and Chicken Cordon Bleu, penne with four-cheese sauce, chicken, and diced ham.
Topgolf has new limited-time menu items including a grilled chicken sandwich topped with pineapple, hot honey pepperoni flatbread, patty melt & truffalo fries, S’mores cookie Skillet, and brisket sliders. Dallas, Allen, and The Colony.
Hopdoddy has a November Burger of the Month: The Duchess with grilled chicken - is that a burger? - basil pesto, marinated peppers, prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, balsamic vinaigrette, arugula, and truffle aioli on a rosemary egg bun.
Tacodeli has a limited-edition Chicken Tinga Taco at all Texas locations (Austin, Dallas, Plano, and Houston), with chicken, tinga sauce, Mexican cabbage slaw, and crema on a Manchego-crusted tortilla for $5, available through November 22; and a new Hibiscus Agua Fresca ($4.50) available through 2023.
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop has new limited-edition menu items, all birria-themed: Quesabirria Tacos, a Birria Bowl, and Chips & Queso with Birria Beef available through November 19. It's Fuzzy’s take on birria, the Mexican meat dish with bold, spicy flavors.
Taziki’s Mediterranean Café is rolling out its beloved Baklava Cheesecake systemwide and bringing back its Tomato Soup for a limited time. Last year, Taziki’s introduced Baklava Cheesecake for the holidays in select markets, as a modern twist on the traditional Greek dessert. The ardent response led to the Baklava Cheesecake becoming a permanent menu item at Taziki’s locations systemwide, beginning October 30. The Tomato Soup, topped with basil and feta cheese, will be available through January 28.
Gelato La Boca, Dallas’ newest purveyor of Argentine and vegan gelato, has new flavors: Pink Chocolate, crafted with ruby cocoa and complemented with pink chocolate flakes; Pumpkin Spice; plus two coffee flavors: Latte and Cold Brew. All are available for delivery at gelatolaboca.com and through the Gelato La Boca app, or in person at Commissary in downtown Dallas.
Yogurtland is offering catering with packages ranging from 10 to 50 cups, where customers can choose their favorite flavors such as the limited-edition Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Swirl and Chocolate Chip Cookie, plus three toppings. A package for 10 people is $50 all the way up to a package for 50 people that costs $250.
Black Rock Coffee Bar has new winter drinks at its 100-plus locations across seven states, including OR, WA, AZ, CA, ID, CO, and TX: Peppermint Bark White Mocha, Eggnog Latte, Gingerbread, and Sugar Plum Fuel made from its Fuel energy drink combining a mix of red raspberry, almond, and vanilla topped with original Fuel.
Travis Kelce Kitchen is a a new assortment of refrigerated entrees created by KC football player (and Taylor Swift beau) Travis Kelce, featuring seven meal options with a KC style theme: Bacon Mac & Cheese, Brisket Burnt Ends & BBQ Sauce, Brisket Burnt Ends with Mac & Cheese, Sliced Brisket in KC-style BBQ Sauce, BBQ Baked Beans with Sausage (Barbecue-baked black beans and white kidney beans with brown sugar, onion, sausage, and bacon), Sausage & Meatball Marinara with Peppers & Onions, and BBQ Baked Beans with Burnt Ends. Prices run from $8.17 to $12.78 and are only available at Walmart.
McDonald's will phase out the McFlurry spoon and replace it with smaller spoons made with less plastic - part of an effort toward more sustainable packaging.
