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New menus for spring bloom in this round of Dallas restaurant news

Spread from Shodo

Kathy Tran

This edition of hot Dallas restaurant news includes a burst of spring and Saint Patrick’s Day-themed menu additions at fast food chains, upscale restaurants, and local spots alike. There are loads of fresh dishes to try, including pink Barbie-themed cupcakes, Irish-green dumplings, and carrot cake for Easter.

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

La Parisienne, the French bistro, has brunch and lunch additions for spring, including Mille Feuille aux Asperge hollandaise sauce on poached eggs, French puff pastry, and asparagus; Salade de Printemps made with mixed greens, strawberries, blueberries, apples, cherry tomatoes, sliced onions, goat cheese, and vinaigrette; Spicy Rigatoni with creamy vodka sauce; and Poulet Frites, a roasted half chicken and pomme frites with house salad. There’s also a selection of spring cocktails.

Shodo, the newly opened Design District sushi restaurant, has introduced new entrees, including giant sea scallops, hanger steak, big rib, Kinoko bucatini, Atlantic salmon with Japanese curry, duck with plum sauce, and Katsuobushi fettuccine.

HG Sply Co has launched a ready-to-eat meal service offering bowls, a la carte proteins, and sides that will be shipped directly to customers’ doorsteps. There are eight bowl options ranging in price from $9 to $13.50 with options like chicken thighs, garlic green beans, mushroom quinoa pilaf and white BBQ; grilled salmon, cilantro lime brown rice, roasted broccoli, and chile aioli; and grilled chicken breast, honey garlic brussels, cilantro lime brown rice, and chimichurri aioli. The order minimum is eight meals and must be placed by Saturdays at 11:59 pm for delivery on Friday the next week.

Sprinkles, the cupcake and cookie bakery chain, has teamed up with Mattel to release a Barbie Pink Velvet flavor in honor of Barbie’s 65th anniversary. The flavor is available as a $6 cupcake with a white chocolate ganache core and pink cream cheese frosting, or in The Barbie Dozen, a box of three Barbie pink velvet cupcakes with three sprinkles, three strawberries, and three red velvets.

DIVE Coastal Cuisine in Snider Plaza has spring specials like Asian Albacore Tiradito (tiradito, ginger, ponzu, orange, lime juice, cucumber, shallots, cilantro, pickled jalapeños and sliced avocado), roasted tomato and garbanzo soup, shrimp lettuce wraps, and albacore tuna steak, plus sauteed swiss chard chiffonade with fennel as a seasonal side.

La Madeleine, the French bakery and cafe chain, has brought back springtime desserts, including a lemon poppyseed muffin for $2.99, lemon white chocolate chunk cookie for $2.99, blueberry and lemon Danish for $3.99, blueberry and lemon cheesecake (for one) for $4.29, and carrot cake for $5.99 per slice. Available March 20-July 31.

Prive, the intimate lounge on the second floor of downtown’s Kitchen + Cocktails, will debut a speakeasy experience called “Don’t Kiss and Tell.” The space will host up to 300 reserved guests with eight private sections, and offer luxury amenities, cocktails, and small bites. Debuts March 15 with reservations available starting March 23.

Sweetgreen, the salad restaurant chain, has partnered with Austin-based Siete Foods to create a potato chip exclusively available at Sweetgreen. The Green Goddess Ranch Potato Chips with a hint of poblano combines a popular Sweetgreen salad dressing flavor profile with Siete’s kettle-cooked potato chips for $2.50 per bag.

Ramble Room has added new spring menu items, including a seared ahi tuna sandwich with wasabi slaw, chili aioli, pickled ginger, rice crisp and ponzu; yellow curry mussels; seared scallops with with rice succotash, bacon, saffron beurre blanc; Catch of the Day with pea and farro risotto, mint salad, blood orange emulsion; 10-ounce grilled pork chop; and 16-ounce ribeye from 44 Farms.

HG Sply Co has a new spring menu with avocado hummus with crispy taro chips, bison meatballs, half-roasted chicken, a roasted turkey club sandwich, and a veggie club sandwich, plus a mango margarita and bourbon ginger ale cocktail with prickly pear.

Standard Service has a new spring menu with crispy rice and salmon poke, chicken wings, and a buffalo chicken sandwich. Cocktails include the Castaway, a coconut water cocktail; Pimms-in Ain’t Easy, made with gin and Pimm’s blueberry lemon liqueur; Squeeze Me, a fruity Italian margarita; Strawberry Fields, a bourbon strawberry sour; and Blue Coconut, piña colada with a blue coconut swirl.

Malai Kitchen, the Thai-Vietnamese restaurant, has collaborated with Bee and Brew Meadery in Fort Worth to add a new rotating beer brewed in-house: it’s the Honey Irish Red, a traditional, malt-rich Irish ale.

Lakewood Brewing Co. has launched several new brews, including Stub’s – Texas Pils, a clear, crisp pilsner with a smooth finish; Irish Cream Temptress, a stout with Irish Cream, roasted malt, and chocolate; Cookies ‘n Cream Temptress, made with an “outrageous amount” or Oreo cookies; and Sunburst Wheat, a light brew with fruity hints.

Gong Cha, the boba tea chain, introduced two new drinks: Cookies ‘n’ Creme Milk Tea, a black tera shaken with Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme flavor and topped with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and milk foam; and Cookies ‘n’ Creme Milk Slush, a black tea with milk and Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme plus a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Available through April 26.

Twisted Root Burger Co. is serving a new burger and shake: the $12 Quincy’s Patty Melt, made with a beef patty on Texas Toast with swiss, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, and a special sauce; and the $6 Reese’s Shake made with house custard, crushed Reese’s peanut butter cups and whipped cream, with the option of adding rum for $2.

III Forks, the steakhouse chain, is serving American Wagyu steaks from the acclaimed Snake River Farms in Idaho. They’re offering a 16-ounce New York strip for $136 and a 24-ounce bone-in ribeye for $179.

Melting Pot, the fondue restaurant, has a five-course special featuring a green goddess bacon-stuffed tomato, fresh salad, cheese fondue with produce and bread, entrees cooked by the customer using a fondue pot or cast iron grill, and chocolate fondue for dessert.

Ocean Prime Dallas, the upscale seafood restaurant chain, is offering an early dining prix-fixe menu with three courses for $60 per person. Menu items include, lobster bisque, six-ounce filet mignon with a gouda potato cake, chili-seared spinach, and cabernet jus; five-layer carrot cake with cream cheese icing and pineapple syrup; and blackened Texas redfish with corn spoon bread, swiss chard, and corn emulsion.

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop in Deep Ellum is offering green dumplings filled with corned beef and cabbage for Saint Patrick’s Day weekend. Available starting March 15 until supplies run out.

Evans’s Meat Market in The Shops of Highland Park is selling frozen crawfish dishes, including hand pies, fettucini, étouffée, and whole crawfish tails. Available through March 31.

Ebb & Flow in Deep Ellum and Plano will offer Saint Patrick’s Day specials of $5 Irish coffee, $5 Jameson shots, $5 shamrock mimosas, and $10 green eggs and ham. Available March 15-17.

St Pierre Bakery, the brioche bread company, is now available in H-E-B stores. Products include their burger buns, seeded burger buns, and hot dog rolls.

Cowboy Chicken, the rotisserie chicken chain, has introduced Nashville hot chicken, available as a $12.50 sandwich, $13 four-tender meal, or $12 six-wing meal. They also added Cowboy Slaw (shredded cabbage, creamy sauce, and jalapeño). Available through May 26.

Cinnaholic has several new spring treats, including a lemonberry crunch and rainbow sorbet roll; a Spring Break Baby Bun Box of pastel mini cinnamon rolls with rainbow sprinkles; lemonberry coffee cake, a Saint Patrick’s Day-themed baby bun box with 12 baby buns topped with green frosting, marshmallows, and rainbow sprinkles.

Dairy Queen restaurants around Texas are offering chocolate or vanilla Easter cakes made with DQ’s signature soft serve and available in 8-inch or 10-inch sizes. Customers can preorder up to 24 hours in advance of their desired pick up date.

Chick-fil-A has opened a new location in McKinney at 8601 W. University Dr. Owned and operated by franchisee Bryson Bullington, the location will join more than 140 other Chick-fil-A restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Chipotle has reintroduced its chicken al pastor, made with adobo, morita peppers, and ground achiote with a splash of pineapple and lime plus cilantro. Available for a limited time.

Bud Light has brought back its limited-edition green bottles for Saint Patrick’s Day, which is on March 17. Available at bars around Dallas and in select retailers while supplies last.

lists news-you-can-eat

Food trends

Dallas-Fort Worth pitmasters lead Texas’ growing halal BBQ boom

Levant BBQ

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FORT WORTH, Texas (RNS) — At 9 am on a scorching Saturday in June, nearly 100 people were already lined up outside Goldee’s BBQ, a small, wooden-shack restaurant.

First in line was 30-year-old Thanh Huynh, who had been sitting in a lawn chair on the joint’s rustic porch since 6:30 am.

“I have, like, a whole list, and I’m going to spend lots of money here. It’ll be worth it,” he said, laughing while rattling off a long order of meats and sides from his phone’s Notes app as a sweet, smoky scent from nearby pits hung in the air.

Opened in 2020 by a group of his friends, the restaurant was named the No. 1 barbecue spot in the state by Texas Monthly a year later, and then won a Bib Gourmand award from the prestigious Michelin Guide, given for “great food at a great value.”

The restaurant serves classic Texas barbecue like craft pork belly, sausage, and ribs. But it also offers halal brisket, turkey, and lamb.

"Halal" means meat raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines. It refers to the method in which the animals are slaughtered, one that focuses on humane treatment, cleanliness, and acknowledging the value of life — similar in concept to kosher food in Judaism.

A growing number of halal places have opened around Fort Worth in recent years, and there are also non-halal restaurants that use halal beef, such as burger institution Kincaid's, the new Burger Vault in Keller, and the forthcoming Tick Tock Taco in Colleyville.

Growing Texas trend
At a time when Republican leaders are increasingly targeting the state’s growing Muslim communities, halal barbecue joints like Goldee’s are thriving in Texas. Across the state, Muslim pitmasters are gaining recognition for putting their own spin on one of Texas’ most iconic culinary traditions.

Goldee's Barbecue is an acclaimed BBQ joint in Fort Worth. Goldee's Barbecue/ Facebook

At least a dozen barbecue spots now serve halal meats, including Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice, run by Black Muslim couple CJ and Sabrina Henley, soon-to-be in Plano; and Levant Mediterranean BBQ, a restaurant with locations in Houston and Frisco and whose all-beef menu includes a brisket shawarma sandwich.

“Now there are so many options, and for us to have highly rated barbecue, it’s a blessing,” said Haris Ghaffar, who drove an hour from Celina and stood in 90-degree weather for nearly two hours with a friend for the halal options at Goldee’s.

Growing up in the 1990s, Ghaffar said a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich was one of the few halal meals he could eat while dining out. Back then, halal food was seen as serving a small community. Today, it’s a multibillion-dollar industry that’s part of the American culinary mainstream, said James Beard Award‑winning food writer Farhan Mustafa, who wrote about the rise of American halal barbecue for Bon Appétit magazine in 2025.

“Halal food is American food,” said Mustafa, who is based in Seattle. “It belongs on your plate. It belongs in the casual chat. It belongs in hip hop tracks. It’s the most American thing there is.”

Mustafa said Muslims are part of a growing list of communities putting their stamp on Texas barbecue. “Whether they’re first, second or third-generation Muslims or Muslim Americans or just Americans, they’re bringing what they know and what excites them,” he said.

More than salt and pepper
Texas barbecue is typically defined by salt-and-pepper brisket and pork ribs, but this new crop of halal pitmasters are adding inventive twists, often based on their own family heritages.

Zain Shafi, a pitmaster and co-owner of Goldee’s, previously ran Sabar Barbecue, a food truck that offered Pakistani-infused halal dishes, such as brisket with rub that included spices like bay leaf and coriander.

Sabar was nominated for Best BBQ in CultureMap's 2025 Tastemaker Awards, and made the list of Texas Monthly's Top 50 Barbecue Restaurants of 2025. The restaurant was also featured in a recently published BBQ book Texas BBQ: The Art of Low and Slow. He closed Sabar in December 2025 after two years.

Sabar BBQ Sabar Barbecue offered a Pakistani twist on BBQ. Sabar Barbecue

Shafi brought tandoori smoked turkey to Goldee’s menu. And sourcing halal cuts, he said, was a natural choice because they are “the highest quality” meats.

Goldee’s chef and part owner Nupohn Inthanousay also blends his Laotian heritage, serving a smoked Lao “sai oua” sausage with sticky rice and a fiery, tangy dipping sauce.

At Kafi BBQ in Irving, owner Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi brings halal Wagyu beef and Iraqi spices to classic Texas barbecue, challenging what he said is the “traditional old guard of Texas barbecue.”

“My goal at Kafi BBQ is to make the best barbecue in Texas,” Abdul-Kafi said. “I have not been shy about that at all, and making the best barbecue in Texas does not necessarily have to include pork.”

A former Silicon Valley tech worker, he moved to Texas six years ago in search of a Muslim community. On weekends in his backyard, he smoked brisket for friends. By 2024, he bought a smoker and opened Kafi BBQ.

He said he spent months testing and perfecting recipes and finding local producers. Abdul-Kafi attributes his obsession with crafting a stand-out menu to the Islamic concept of “Ihsan”— an Arabic term meaning doing something with excellence for the sake of God.

On a Sunday afternoon this summer, the restaurant’s red booths were packed with diners, drawn to menu items like the 13-spice Wagyu brisket, pomegranate-glazed beef belly burnt ends and Iraqi-inspired spicy beef sausage.

“That sausage, I’d probably put it at the top sausage I’ve ever had, and we eat barbecue a lot. This place is unique,” said Jonathan Tate, a Fort Worth resident who came to Kafi BBQ with a friend after reading about it on a Facebook foodie group.

“I don’t necessarily have to have it halal, but it’s nice to know they took good care of the food, the meat,” his friend Jon Sklar said, before going back in line to order oxtail.

Meat at Kafi BBQ in Irving. Kafi BBQ

'We love barbecue'
Although political rhetoric against Muslims in Texas has become increasingly hostile — some GOP lawmakers even discussed a ban on halal food at a conference this month — pitmasters like Abdul-Kafi see the rise of halal barbecue as an effective counterargument.

“It’s an example of exactly the opposite of what the Islamophobes talk about, right?” he said. “They say, ‘oh, Muslims don’t integrate, they stay alone, they don’t help society and all this stuff.’ And it’s like, I’m sitting here contributing to the most well-known cuisine of Texas.”

One of the diners at Kafi BBQ, Houston native Muhammad Sohail, 23, said the restaurant reflects who he is — a proud Texan and Muslim. “This place is super important because I can see halal within the culture of Texas, which is my culture at this point,” Sohail said. “We love the food. We love meat. We’re Muslims and we love barbecue.”

After finishing a big lunch with 10 relatives, Areeba Ali, a Dallas native of Indian heritage, said the restaurant’s appeal cuts across communities, which she said is evidence that halal barbecue isn’t a niche but resonates broadly with Texans. “If you look around in the restaurant, you see everybody in there — it’s not just one demographic in there,” Ali said.

For Mustafa, that success is ultimately a testament to the resilience of Muslim American communities.

“No matter how much they try to erase us, our food is here to stay,” he said. “You will see the power of just good food and the fact that most people really seem to understand that this is just as American as anything else.”

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This story was written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. It also includes information from the CultureMap archives.

halal halal barbecue muslim communities pitmasters religion texas texas barbecue trends culinary traditions goldee's barbecue