News You Can Eat

Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar is headed to Garland and more Dallas dining news

Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar is expanding in DFW.

Lazy Dog

This roundup of restaurant news around Dallas is topped by a mega-exciting opening for Garland, plus new dishes for spring and lots of fresh new beverages.

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

Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, the casual dining restaurant known for its innovative twists on American dishes served with small mountain-town hospitality, is opening a location in Garland. It'll be located at 5180 N. President George Bush Highway, and marks their sixth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. According to a release, it'll open in spring 2024.

“We look forward to bringing our concept of delicious food, warm hospitality and small mountain-town vibes to Garland. Lazy Dog has been received with open arms as we’ve joined new neighborhoods, and we can’t wait to be part of this community,” says Chris Simms, Lazy Dog founder & CEO in a statement.

Influenced by the lifestyle of the Rocky Mountains, Lazy Dog Restaurant serves made-from-scratch American food and drink with seasonally inspired ingredients. Other DFW locations are in Addison, Allen, Arlington, Euless, and Plano.

Salad and Go has four new drive-thru locations coming to DFW: 1102 W Main St, Lewisville April 1; 3401 Midway Rd, Plano April 3; 211 E. Euless Blvd, Euless April 16; and 3820 Belt Line Rd., Addison April 22.

Taco Bell opened a location at 12015 University Dr. in Frisco. This location utilizes Taco Bell's Endeavor model which is outfitted with the latest digital channels, free Wi-Fi, power outlets, and comfortable seating. The drive-thru features an easy-to-navigate menu board with an electronic ordering system.

A-T Bistro is the new name for Au Troisième, the Park Cities bistro that opened in Preston Center in 2022. A-T Bistro has been its nickname all along. Now they've decided to make it official. The restaurant is a nominee for Best New Restaurant in CultureMap's 2023 Tastemaker Awards and also madeTexas Monthly's "10 Best New Restaurants in 2023" list. In addition to the name change, A·T Bistro has also added a 600-square-foot outdoor dining space, 14-seat private dining room, 600-bottle wine cellar, Sunday brunch, daily lunch specials, and happy hour menu.

Boneless Butcher, the Dallas startup that makes vegan BBQ ribs and steaks, is now popping up at the Dallas Farmers Market every weekend with a small menu, three-to-four items including Korean BBQ burritos, a bulgogi steak sandwich, steak nachos, sloppy BBQ sliders, loaded steak nachos, and a banh mi.

La Madeleine has new limited-edition bakery items for spring: Blueberry & Lemon Individual Cheesecake topped with tart lemon whipped cream; Blueberry and Lemon Crepe with blueberry-cheesecake filling and fresh blueberries; and Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting. Three seasonal favorites are also returning: Lemon Blueberry Danish with blueberries and a lemon cream center; Lemon White Chocolate Chunk Cookie with tangy lemon glaze; and Lemon Poppyseed Muffin with a sweet lemon glaze drizzle.

Dog Haus has a new creation: the Pepperoni Pizza Sausage, a savory link with pork and fennel Italian sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella, tomato, and oregano. Guests can get it the Würst Way, served on King's Hawaiian rolls with spicy basil aioli and grated cheese; the Corn Dog Way dipped in Dog Haus’ root beer batter; and “Sliced Way” grilled and sliced with spicy basil aioli. A new item in the Absolute Würst Sausage Series arrives each month.

Cowboy Chicken, famous for its rotisserie chicken, has added chicken tenders to its menu, served with honey blaze, ranch, BBQ, and honey mustard sauces.

Genghis Grill has partnered with chef Robert Kabakoff on a trio of new Fried Rice bowls: Kimchi Fried Rice with spicy pickled cabbage, fried rice, scrambled egg, in spicy Korean chili sauce; Jambalaya with chicken, sausage, shrimp, onion, bell pepper, and dirty rice; Farmhouse with chicken, bacon, jalapeños, ranch seasoning, fried rice with carrots, bell pepper, onions, and a cream BBQ ranch sauce. They start at $8.49.

Dunkin' has new Breakfast Tacos with scrambled eggs, sharp white cheddar cheese, fire-roasted corn, and tangy lime crema in a soft flour tortilla, with or without bacon. What sets Breakfast Tacos apart is the fact that the fire-roasted corn takes center stage.

Cicis Pizza is collaborating with Mike’s Hot Honey to offer a Hot Honey pepperoni pizza, drizzled with the signature chili pepper-infused honey. Now through April 30, the Hot Honey Pizza will be in the third slot after Garlic Cheesy Bread and Pepperoni Pizza, or to-go, $10 for a medium, $12 for a large, or $15 for a giant.

Yogurtland, the self-serve frozen yogurt brand, has two new seasonal fro-yo flavors: Thai Tea and Boba Milk Tea, inspired by two classic tea experiences. Thai Tea frozen yogurt is new, with a bold black tea flavor and sweet cream notes. Boba Milk Tea is a returning flavor, with brown sugar notes. They also have a new limited-edition topping: rainbow mochi.

Chick-fil-A has brought back Watermelon Mint Lemonade after six years. It's available as Watermelon Mint Sunjoy, Watermelon Mint Iced Tea, and Watermelon Mint Frosted Lemonade, starting Monday, April 3. According to a release, the Watermelon Mint Lemonade has a devoted following. "Guests loved the Watermelon Mint Lemonade in 2017, so we are thrilled to bring it back to our menu and introduce new ways for guests to enjoy this flavor," a spokesperson says.

Gong Cha has a new Sparkling Series of bubbly beverages featuring combinations of fruit flavors, pearls, jelly, milk foam, and sparkling water: Sparkling Milk Foam Mango with Star Jelly, a bright, fruity and fizzy mango drink topped with milk foam and chewy, peach flavored jelly in star shapes; Sparkling Lychee with Mango Popping Pearls, a tropical fruit blend of lychee with bursts of mango in each pearl; and Sparkling Hibiscus with White Pearls — sweet & sour hibiscus drink with tart, floral flavor and chewy white pearls. The chain has seven locations in DFW.

Häagen-Dazs Shops has a new ice cream confection: Pineapple Coconut Shake, an alcohol-free ode to the classic piña colada, made from Häagen-Dazs Pineapple Coconut ice cream, topped with whipped cream and a slice of fresh pineapple, available April 1-June 14.

Milk Bar, the New York dessert company, has launched two new cookie types in grocery stores: bite-sized crunchy cookies (“crunchies”) and ready-to-bake cookie dough. Known for familiar-yet-unexpected items like their Compost Cookies, Milk Bar entered into the Grocery category in 2020. Crunchies will come in four flavors: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Toast, Pretzel-y Chocolate Chip, and Vanilla Butter Crunch, and sold at Whole Foods. The cookie dough comes in two flavors: Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow and Fruity Cereal, and is sold at Target and Kroger.

El Chico has two new cocktails featuring tropical flavors: Guava ‘Rita: with Monte Alban 100% Agave Silver Tequila, Gran Gala Orange Liqueur, Reàl Guava and margarita mix; and Sangria Swirl, a house frozen ‘Rita with El Toro Silver Tequila and red sangria swirl. Both are $7 and will be available April 3-July 3 at participating El Chico locations: 1549 S. Bowen Rd. Pantego; 7621 Baker Blvd., North Richland Hills; and 503 I-30, Rockwall.

Manhattan Project Beer is launching a blonde beer called Peacekeeper as a permanent offering. It's a blonde ale with a hint of guava and a crisp finish, and will be available in cans, and on tap at some bars, still TBA.

The Mexican is offering tequila flights, led by their in-house certified tequila sommelier. Flights include three tastings of various tequila or mezcal, and are available to add to any dining experience during regular hours, or to enjoy alongside a true tequila education at the tequila table Thursday-Sunday. Prices range from $65 - $250, call 972-768-3470 to book the tequila table.

WES Brands, the Dallas-based company launched after the $610 million sale to Diageo of Aviation American Gin, has a slate of executive hires: Shawn Thurman as CEO, Sean Penn to President & COO, Kyle Stein as President, Lauren Ryan-Kiyak as Senior VP of Marketing, and Chris Jebbia as Senior VP of Finance. The company is focused on the growth of its existing brands — Mark Wahlberg's Flecha Azul Tequila and Jamie Foxx’s BSB Flavored Whiskey — and soon-to-launch spirits brands.

Chili’s is no longer using children’s activity placemats that promote keeping parrots and monkeys as pets, after a complaint was lodged in Nebraska. The North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance collaborated with PETA to discourage use of the placemats.

lists chefs news-you-can-eat

Eco Warrior News

Dallas restaurants doing amazing little things for the environment

Southwest Airlines

Cute bamboo cup from Southwest Airlines

One unfortunate legacy left by the pandemic has been a huge increase in the use of plastics — setting back progress that was being made pre-pandemic.

Plastics are bad. They harm everything they touch: the environment, health, food security, and economies. But they're convenient, subsidized, and in some cases necessary.

Before the pandemic, a growing awareness had started to snowball regarding the negative impact of plastics, particularly plastic straws and single-use plastic containers — and it was significant enough to make the plastics industry very nervous.

"In the two years leading up to the pandemic, the public backlash against plastic was a major concern for industry leaders," says a story about plastics and the pandemic in The Guardian. "As a corporate executive remarked during an industry event early in 2019: 'We need to get the image of plastic in oceans out of the public’s mind. Otherwise, we could lose our social license to operate.'"

But then the pandemic came along, igniting mass hysteria about contagion, and suddenly, bans on single-use plastics that had been in the works were reversed in countries around the world: North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“Overnight, plastics went from public enemy No. 1 to consumers asking for everything to have as much packaging as possible and to be single use," said one gleeful analyst for Shell Oil, who are a major plastics player.

The urgency of the plastics situation remains invisible to most people, lined up at the drive-thru for their coffee or Chick-Fil-A, piling up nearly 250 pounds of plastic waste every year. (That's what the average American amasses — more than any other country.)

But there are brave, pro-environment efforts being made by Dallas companies and organizations, big and small.

La Casita Bakeshop cup Revolutionary compostable cup at La Casita Bakeshop.Facebook

Dallas efforts
The Dallas restaurants and organizations listed below have taken steps to fight waste, even though it costs them money.

Plastic Free Lunch Day is November 22
Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services will participate in Plastic Free Lunch Day on November 22, to help reduce the amount of single-use plastic in school cafeterias.

Plastic Free Lunch Day was started by middle school students in Brooklyn. The initiative was such a success that it was adopted by all New York City public schools in 2022. The concept has since spread to public schools across the country — including Dallas ISD, which was the first in Texas to participate, when it joined up in 2022.

It creates an opportunity to educate students and the community on ways to positively impact the environment, including skipping plastic. Dallas school cafeterias will replace the plastic items they regularly use during lunch with biodegradable alternatives. (Plastic cutlery, cups, and straws will be available upon request for the crybabies.)

Southwest Airlines bamboo cup
Southwest Airlines Co., the Dallas-based airline, has introduced a new bamboo cup for inflight cold beverages, and a wood stir stick in place of a plastic stick. The airline expects the new items to reduce its inflight single-use plastics by more than 1.5 million pounds annually.

In July 2024, Southwest transitioned to a paper overwrap for its napkins made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled materials — fully eliminating plastic from this service item. The airline is making an effort to eliminate single-use plastics from inflight service by 2030.

La Casita Bakeshop compostable cups
La Casita Bakeshop, the award-winning bakery and cafe operation, recently debuted fabulous new cups that are 100 percent compostable, soil- and marine-biodegradable, breaking down naturally after 90 days. and are made from natural materials.

"We are always trying to find ways to be more environmentally friendly and this is a big way we can," they said in their post announcing the new cups. "We just want to be proud of our paper trail and being a restaurant it's hard to do that."

Smoothie King biodegrable cups
Smoothie King, the Dallas-based smoothie chain, previously used styrofoam cups, but began testing a biodegradable cup in 2019. They now offer it as the default choice. They're using Vio Foam, specially made cups that biodegrade 92 percent in four years. They'll still accommodate whiny selfish customers who insist on getting a plastic cup instead, but their Vio foam cup not only helps the environment, it also keeps their smoothies cold a little longer.

Kate Weiser Recycle Box Program
Kate Weiser, the Dallas chocolatier, sells its gorgeous eye-catching bon-bons in a variety of boxes, from 4 pieces all the way up to 35 pieces. (OK, they'll sell them individually, too, but who goes to a chocolate shop and buys a single chocolate?) They have a program where you can bring your empty box to the store and get a refill and get 5 percent off. (Weiser amusingly calls it a "secret hack.")

Dude Sweet Chocolate freezer packaging
Dude Sweet Chocolate, the Oak Cliff chocolatier, has a next-level campaign in which they will accept cold-ship packaging you've received in the mail and re-use it. Say, for example, that you ordered an 8-pack of ice cream pints from Double Rainbow in San Francisco, and it arrived in a box with freezer packs and a foil liner. You can drop that packaging off at Dude Sweet's factory location at 1340 Inwood Rd., and they'll re-use it in one way or another when they're doing shipments of their chocolate.

Note: Whether you're putting it in the blue bin or the gray bin, your plastic is not being recycled. The best course when it comes to plastic, especially single-use plastic, is to not use it at all.

sustainability