This roundup of dining news around Dallas has exciting openings, seasonal menus, new dishes and specials, loads of pasta, and spooky cocktails — some local, some chains, culled from press releases and other sources, a little tasty something for everyone.
Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:
Trompo, the beloved taco shop from Luis Olvera, officially opened on September 26. It's at Jefferson Tower in Oak Cliff at 337 Jefferson Blvd., in the former Kookie Haven, which closed in July. The space looks cool with cheery yellow and white chairs, a rustic cement floor, and appealing patches of drywall chipped away to reveal brick underneath. There's a parking lot out back, accessible via Sunset Avenue, plus right on Jefferson Boulevard. Trompo is famous for its tacos, quesadillas, and corn tortillas made in-house — sufficiently famous that it earned a spot on a list of the 50 best new restaurants in America in 2016 by Bon Appetit magazine. They'll be adding alcohol, as well, that's a first.
Latham Bakery, a small family-owned chain founded in 2017, just opened a location in downtown Garland at 700 Main St., where it's serving not just housemade desserts like pecan sticky buns and lemon cake, but also breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with tempting fare such as a turkey sandwich with apple slices, roasted poblano soup, and grilled cheese with artichoke & spinach. This is the fourth location; they opened the first in Forney, followed by locations in Kaufman and Canton.
Black Bear Diner, which serves home-style comfort food and breakfast all day, is opening a location in Mesquite, at 3730 Towne Crossing Blvd. on October 4. Founded in California in 1995, it's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a vast, enticing menu anchored in hearty portions and value. They also have a cute little bear theme such as black bear insignias on the coffee cups. They currently have nine locations in Texas, most in the suburbs of Houston, but they're opening one in Fort Worth later in 2022.
Brasão Brazilian Steakhouse is opening a location in Las Colinas, at 855 W. John Carpenter Fwy. This will be its second DFW location following Plano's Shops at Legacy which opened in 2021. It's a churrascuria-style restaurant founded in San Antonio, with all-you-can-eat meat from a selection of beef, chicken, lamb, pork, and shrimp. OR you could skip the meat and do the salad bar with steamed asparagus, wedge, deviled eggs, grilled eggplant, and even meat things if you must, like bacon and cold salmon, because god forbid there be one thing in this restaurant not laced with meat. More than a dozen desserts include cheesecakes, cakes and Brazilian flan. It's $48 at lunch/$32 for the salad bar, and $62 at dinner/$46 for the salad bar. Seriously, get the salad bar.
Bulla Gastrobar the tapas-style restaurant has new fall items include Yukon gold potato leek soup, duck breast with butternut squash purée, shrimp in curry cream with artichoke confit & rice, grilled vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, squash, tomato, scallions, asparagus, with romesco sauce), fried eggplant with Manchego cheese, and pumpkin crème brûlée with vanilla ice cream.
Good Graces, the brasserie at Marriott Dallas Uptown has a new menu by Executive Chef Johney Han inspired by fall and winter ingredients, starting October 1. Options include squash salad with arugula & figs, cod with shellfish vadouvan, chicken breast with Brussel sprouts & sweet potato puree, truffled mushroom fricassee and polenta, brown butter cauliflower, and braised short rib. Han assumed leadership of the kitchen in early 2022.
Ida Claire, the Southern restaurant, has a new rainbow trout on spring pea salad with Benton's country ham; a new summer squash and zucchini side dish; and a new steak & eggs brunch dish with NY strip, sunny side eggs, biscuits, black pepper gravy, and skillet potatoes.
Cowboy Chicken has a new two-piece dark special with two sides, a regular drink, and a roll for $10, and a family special that feeds four with dark meat chicken, three Texas-size sides, and rolls for $29. Sides include ranchero beans, mac & cheese, green beans, sweet potato, roasted broccoli, Mexican street corn, fried okra, and creamed spinach.
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar has eight new handcrafted bowls including blackened chicken burrito bowl, curry chicken, chilled salmon, Korean ribeye bibimbap, chili ahi tuna, Mediterranean chicken, roasted veggie & butternut squash, and cheeseburger FryBowl. They're calling the whole thing a virtual restaurant named Road Trip Bowls which seems like a fancy post-millennial way of saying it's to-go only? It can be ordered online and through third-party apps at 40-plus Lazy Dog Restaurant locations across eight states.
Cantina Laredo is celebrating Dia de los Muertos with special cocktails the Sweet Heat Sipper and Sandia Revier ‘Rita, served in Cantarito clay cups for guests to take home.
There are four Cantarito designs: Ramon the Rooster, Calavera on Unicycle, Calavera with Machete, and Skull & Crossbones. The cocktails become an experience through augmented reality images that spring to life when guests visit espolon.glass and scan the Cantarito graphic on their smartphone. They're at the Addison and Plano locations October 4-November 2 or while supplies last.
Bonefish Grill has a new seasonal menu with kung pao Brussels sprouts, kung pao noodles with shrimp, cedar plank salmon, swordfish & pumpkin ravioli, and pumpkin lava cake with a cream cheese molten center.
Olive Garden is bringing back fan-favorite Never Ending Pasta Bowl October 3-November 20, following a two-year hiatus. Diners get unlimited servings of pasta, soup or salad, and breadsticks, starting at $14. Pastas include fettucine, spaghetti, rigatoni, and angel hair. Sauces include creamy mushroom, marinara, five cheese marinara, meat sauce, and alfredo. An additional $5 gets you never-ending toppings such as meatballs, Italian sausage, and chicken.
Buca di Beppo has three pasta specials, available October 1-31: roasted mushroom ravioli in Alfredo sauce with garlic mushrooms; bacon & sausage shells; and campanelle Rustic, with sausage, fingerling potato, and broccoli rabe in a creamy sauce, all $30 for small and $42 for large.
Bravo! Italian Kitchen and Brio Italian Grill are both featuring two pasta specials from October 1-31: campanelle carbonara with garlic egg sauce, fennel & sausage, and pancetta for $25; and frutti di mare with spaghetti, shrimp, scallops, mussels, tomato, and Arrabiata sauce.
Luckys, the Oak Lawn diner, is channeling Fletcher's and doing a State Fair homage with its own rendition of corn dogs and a special beer. Two corn dogs with fries are $11, perfect with Cotton Candy Pilsner from Texas Ale Project for $6. It'll be served throughout the run of the State Fair, from September 30-October 23.
Jack in the Box on Gaston AveJITB