Hottest headlines of 2023

Top 10 restaurant and bar stories that Dallas devoured in 2023

It was the year of the Monte Cristo comeback.

Courtesy photo

Editor's note: As the year comes to a close, we look back at the 10 most-read restaurant and bar stories of 2023. The list features several sad closures, but also a big supermarket expansion, relocations, and the comeback of an iconic sandwich.

These are the dining stories that Dallas readers devoured most this year.

1. Dallas sub shop saved by new owners closes at new location after 6 months. A ballyhooed sub shop met its untimely end in early June: Great American Hero, a onetime institution on Lemmon Avenue that had been around for nearly 50 years before undergoing a change in ownership in 2022, shuttered its relocated location at 6216 Retail Rd. after six months.

Great American Hero closed its original location, tried a new one, and didn't make it. Google Maps

2. Bennigan's Monte Cristo sandwich now served at 2 Dallas-area ghost kitchens. A once-popular Dallas-based chain was getting a revival, beginning first with baby steps. In February, Bennigan's, the Irish-pub-styled neighborhood tavern, opened two ghost kitchen operations in DFW called Bennigan's On The Fly, that were serving a concise menu of Bennigan's classics including the famed Monte Cristo sandwich. Later in the year, we rounded up all the Monte Cristos in DFW.

3. Top Dallas restaurant Homewood closes following death of co-owner. One of Dallas' most acclaimed restaurants closed: Homewood, the restaurant led by creative and award-getting chef Matt McCallister, shuttered on February 14. The closure followed the death of its co-owner Michael Barnett, 39, who died on February 13.

4. One of Dallas' most highly rated sushi restaurants has closed. One of Dallas' top sushi restaurants was no more: Yutaka Sushi Bistro, the highly ranked sushi restaurant in Uptown Dallas at 2633 McKinney Ave., closed in August, after 17 years.

Sushi from Yutaka Sushi Bistro Courtesy photo

5. H-E-B continues Dallas expansion with 3 new supermarkets in the suburbs. Texas supermarket chain H-E-B continues its Dallas-Fort Worth expansion, with three new stores in the works, announced in September, in Melissa, Prosper, and Rockwall. The announcement came just as the chain was about to open a new store in Allen, on October 4.

6. Family-owned Mexican restaurant in Plano opens with irresistible lure. Since its quiet opening in January, Alexander's Mex Cuisine in Plano has taken a savvy and singular route to success: a generous happy hour. The restaurant, located in the former Latin Deli at 2237 W. 15th St., boasts all-day happy hour, which means $5.50 house margaritas, $6 flavored margaritas, and $4 on all beer.

7. Restaurant in Dallas' Lakewood closes despite crowd-pleasing hours and brunch. A popular brunch spot in Dallas' Lakewood neighborhood closed: Buzzbrews Kitchen, the local chain of diner-style restaurants that specializes in both breakfast and late-night hours, has closed its location at 5815 Live Oak St. at the intersection of Skillman on August 30.

8. Acclaimed Dallas bagel shop sweeps top awards in New York bagel competition. They came, they saw, they conquered: Dallas' top-ranked bagel shop Starship Bagel, rated the best bagel in Dallas, took top awards at the 2023 edition of New York BagelFest in New York October 21-22.

Starship is No. 1. Photo courtesy of Starship Bagel

9. Award-winning Mexican restaurant hits the jackpot at new location in Denton. A DFW restaurant that's earned national acclaim opened in Denton: El Rincón del Maiz, previously of Garland, relocated to 1431 E. McKinney St. in Denton, where it's been winning over locals with its Tex-Mex classics and vegan dishes.

10. Dallas' iconic Stoneleigh P is leaving current location after 50 years. An iconic Dallas restaurant institution decamped: The Stoneleigh P, also known as The P, which has brought an eclectic restaurant and bar experience to Uptown Dallas since 1973, announced in spring it was closing down its original location at 2926 Maple Ave. The lease was up and the restaurant would be relocating in 2024 to a new address, they said.

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Dumpling News

Asian soup dumpling chain Ugly Dumpling to open location in Allen

Ugly Dumpling

Colorful dumplings from Ugly Dumpling

A new dumpling concept is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: Called Ugly Dumpling, it's a chain specializing in Chinese soup dumplings, and it's opening its first DFW location in Allen, at 213 N. Central Expy., near the intersection of McDermott Road, where it will debut in early fall.

Ugly Dumpling is from Vertex Hospitality Group, a national restaurant franchise organization whose portfolio includes two other Asian chains, KPOT Hot Pot & Korean BBQ (which has a location in Arlington and another coming to Fort Worth), and Kinya Ramen.

Buoyed by the success of those two brands, Vertex launched Ugly Dumpling in 2023, opening the first location in Edison, New Jersey. They now list 26 locations on their website, in Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas, although 14 are "coming soon," including one in Austin that's been in the works since 2024.

Soup dumplings — official name, xiao long bao — are a dish of Shanghai origin that are popular due to their unique combination of a delicate dough wrapper enclosing a tender filling and savory broth, which releases when you take a bite — making for an indelible comfort food experience.

Ugly Dumpling's menu includes six varieties of dumplings, accompanied by a savory soup broth, as follows:

chicken
pork
pork & crab
pork & truffle
pork, shrimp, & spinach
Szechuan pork

Porky! They can be ordered in a dumpling sampler, one of each variety, for about $14. No vegetarian options, although they do have a couple of vegan dishes such as vegan wonton soup.

There are also Chinese classics like spring rolls, cream cheese wontons, hot & sour soup, salt & pepper popcorn chicken, garlic green beans, orange chicken, beef & broccoli, Mongolian beef, Kung pao chicken, and fried rice; plus tempting Asian favorites like edamame and bao buns, and even chicken wings.

They also serve boba tea and other beverages.

Bringing the concept to DFW is Grace Zhao, who previously owned Zhao Star Chinese Bistro in Frisco, which she sold. She's all in on Ugly Dumpling — "we're hoping to open more than one location, but Allen comes first," she says.

A statement from marketing head Margaret Farrell says that "when we created Ugly Dumpling, we wanted to tap into the historical Shanghai street food movement but do so in a way that caters to the modern palette. [Surely she means 'palate'?] Our menu respects Shanghai's centuries-old cooking techniques while cultivating an exciting experience for today's restaurant goer."

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