All The Restaurant News

Openings, closings, and chef collabs top this Dallas restaurant news

Pizza from Perch, now open on Inwood Road.

Photo by Chase Hall

This roundup of restaurant news around Dallas features openings, a closure, a chef collaboration (or two), Hatch chiles, and collectible cups.

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

HTeaO, the Texas brand offering more than 20 flavors of iced tea, is opening a shop in Allen on Saturday, August 17. Located at 103 N. Greenville Ave. at the intersection of Main Street, it's the first store in Allen, joining 16 other locations across DFW.

Perch Bistro & Bar is the name of a new concept now open in the space formerly occupied by Dea, an Italian restaurant that opened two years ago at 7709 Inwood Rd. by Tracy Moore Rathbun and Lynae Fearing, owners of Shinsei next door. According to a release, Perch is, like Dea, serving Italian food, with a menu overseen by culinary director Roman Murphy, who also oversaw the menu at Dea. Dishes include pizza, crab cake arancini, duck confit over cauliflower puree, and Genovese rigatoni with short ribs, which sounds quite similar to the pasta alla Genovese with short rib served at Dea.

Espadas, a family-owned Brazilian churrascuria-style steakhouse from brothers Raul and Joaquin Almanza, relocated into a new, larger location in Mesquite at 1200 E. Davis St. #116 on July 12.

Sugar Factory, the Miami-based chain known for over-the-top desserts and drinks has reportedly closed its Dallas location at 1900 Cedar Springs Rd., according to various sources, although a spokesperson for the chain did not respond to inquiries.

Dog Haus has teamed up with L.A. chef and TV personality Eric Greenspan to launch the Big Belly Burger, featuring two smashed beef patties, American cheese, onions, and pickles on a Big Marty's sesame seed potato roll. Priced at $13, it's available through the end of August.

Sprinkles, the cupcake chain, has teamed with Food Network's Padma Lakshmi on a limited-edition mango cupcake with mango curd and yogurt frosting. The cupcake is $6 and is available at Dallas and Plano locations until August 18.

Carrabba's Italian Grill is hosting a special weekend offering of a three-course dinner for two for $45, available Saturday-Sunday through August. The menu includes soup or salad; entrée such as lasagne, mezzaluna, or Tuscan-grilled pork chop; and dessert to share, such as strawberry cheesecake or tiramisu.

Lounge by TopGolf, the PGA Frisco dining concept, has launched a menu of Tex-Mex specialties. New starters include chipotle hummus with fried naan, and street corn fries. Entrees include cilantro & lime chopped salad, Buffalo chicken pizza, a Cubano, Baja salmon and dulce de leche churros. Prices range from $12 for street corn fries to $24 for Baja salmon.

Mi Dia From Scratch has launched a Hatch chile menu, available through August 31, including an $18 Hatch burger with a Wagyu-chorizo patty, green Hatch chile sauce, and fried quail eggs; a 28-day-aged skirt steak topped with a stuffed Hatch chile; fried chicken tacos with Hatch chile queso; and savory sopapillas filled with ground beef, with Hatch green chili sauce.

UnaVida torta Torta by UnaVidaAdriana Herrera

UnaVida at the West Village has a new menu with light options for lunch and dinner including smoked chicken meatballs, salmon ceviche, carnitas torta, torta carne asada, and mezcal Mayan prawn, priced from $16-$32. New brunch items include the $12 breakfast quesadilla, blueberry French toast, and the ultimate brunch torta (both $17), available Saturday-Sunday from 11 am-3 pm. New desserts feature the churro banana split and chocoflan.

Dive Coastal in Snider Plaza has new specials including BBQ chicken salad and an entree with chicken, tomatillo, and avocado; and a watermelon refresher with a watermelon slice on the rim. Available through the end of August.

El Chico has a deal for parents: With each adult entrée purchase, customers can get one $0.99 meal for kids 12 and younger from the Little Amigos menu. The offer will be available every Thursday at the Rockwall location.

Yogurtland has debuted seasonal flavors including pumpkin spice, S'Mores, and salted caramel pecan frozen yogurt, as well as a new topping: chocolate chip cheesecake bites.

McDonald's has a new line of collectible cups, available in six designs: Grimace Mug, Hello Kitty, Barbie, Shrek, Ty Beanie Babies, and Snoopy. They're pint-sized and made of plastic (not glass), and come with the purchase of a sausage McMuffin, chicken McNuggets, or a Big Mac meal.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop has a limited-time Watermelon Jala-‘Rita available until September 8. The margarita features country music star Thomas Rhett’s Dos Primos Blanco Tequila, watermelon, and jalapeño, served in a Tajin-rimmed 18-ounce glass.

Globe Life Field has been named by PETA as one of the most vegan-friendly ballparks in the U.S., thanks to its animal-friendly menu — be sure check out their PLT portabella mushroom sandwich, meat-free burgers, meat-free hot dogs, meat-free nuggets, vegan nachos, and vegan soft-serve at the Oatly stand.

news-you-can-eat lists

Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its U.S. debut, right here in Texas: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's an ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.