Red white and blue

Dallas restaurants go all red-white-and-blue on 4th of July food & drink

4th of July at SusieCakes

SusieCakes

In a world where good prevails over evil, we'd choose our food and drink based entirely on taste and flavor.

But all bets are off when 4th of July rolls around — a time when Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants go madly patriotic (and mad for red food dye) — giving a red-white-and-blue makeover to everything from basic cupcakes to fruit tarts to milkshakes to margaritas.

Does it taste any better if it's decked out like a U.S. flag? It's your patriotic duty to find out.

Here's where to find the red, white, and blue:

Cantina Laredo margarita Cantina Laredo patriotic margaritaCantina Laredo

Cantina Laredo captures 4th of July in a glass with its USA ‘Rita – a twist on the restaurant’s signature Casa ‘Rita, featuring red, white, and blue layers with Blue Curacao and strawberry puree. The special cocktail is $13 will be available from July 1-4. Participating locations include Addison at 4546 Belt Line Rd. and Frisco at 1125 Legacy Dr.

Empire Baking Co celebrates Independence Day with a slate of limited-edition items including blueberry streusel pie for $30; sugar-sprinkled star-shaped shortbread (package of nine, $11.50); and cupcakes with cream cheese icing and red, white, & blue sprinkles, $17.56 for a 4-pack.

Empie Baking cupcake Empire Baking cupcakeempirebaking.com

Ford’s Garage in Plano has an over-the-top Red, White & Blue Milkshake, featuring strawberries blended with Tillamook vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream, blueberries, and a caramel apple cookie, for $10. They'll donate $1 from each purchase to the First Responders Children’s Foundation, which provides financial support to families of fallen police officers, firefighters, medical personnel, paramedics/EMTs, and 911 dispatchers.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop invites you to cool off with a red, white, and blue treat called the Bomb-a-'Rita, consisting of a frozen strawberry margarita with blue curacao and a classic Bomb Pop, $13.

Fuzzy's Tacos margarita Fuzzy's Taco Stand bomb-a-ritaFuzzy's

Jalisco Norte will offer two patriotic specials for the July 4th holiday: a guacamole and queso combo for $10, and a patriotic red sandia margarita featuring watermelon, for $12 all day.

La Madeleine will offer a red, white, and blue "Liberte Tarte" — consisting of an individual tart filled with vanilla pastry cream, topped with glazed raspberries, blueberries, and whipped cream, for $2.79. It's available June 26 through August 7.

La Madeleine tarts La Madeleine fruit tartsLa Madeleine

La Parisienne is closed on July 4, but the French bistro will offer red, white, or blue macarons with every entree order from July 1-3 and July 5-7.

Punch Bowl Social will celebrate July 4 all weekend, from July 4-7 with various specials including discount bowling for $20 per hour per person (including shoe rental) on July 4. Each day, the team will hide red, white, and blue rubber duckies throughout the restaurant. Guests who find those patriotic ducks will get special prizes.

SusieCakes is offering patriotic sweets (see photo at top) including 4th of July cupcakes (four for $20) cupcake decorating kit ($54 for a dozen); a holiday chocolate chip cookie cake ($34); massive red-white-and-blue snickerdoodles (four for $15); and decorated cakes. June 29-July 4 at Hillside, Preston Center, and Fort Worth.

UnaVida will serve Hamburguesas for $10 and a red-white-and-blue frozen margarita for $13 all day on July 4.

Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

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