Happy Hour News

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 5 new happy hours for April

A frozen toast at Shoals.

Shoals

April bring showers, but a drink often makes the weather better, rain or shine. That's why we are here with this edition of where to drink, our monthly column highlighting worthy Dallas bars. This edition boasts four new or notable happy hours and one hotel offering a special themed cocktail menu.

Here's where to drink in Dallas right now:

Bread Winners
Cafe chain has introduced new happy hour from 4-6 pm with discounts on domestic beers, wine, margaritas. Beers are $3.75, wine and bubbles are $6, margaritas are $6, and a featured specialty cocktail is $8. Bites deals include $6 Cajun fries, $9 hummus and $10 smash burger and fries. Available at Uptown, Allen, and NorthPark locations.

JW Marriott
Dallas Design District hotel has spring and butterfly inspired cocktails for a limited time — through June — at the rooftop Vincent's Sky Bar. The Butterfly Effect cocktail changes color and mixes tequila, butterfly pea flower-infused vodka, & peach brandy, with a butterfly garnish for $22. The Pear Noir is a gin-based martini with house-made rosemary syrup using herbs from the JW Garden for $20.

Kessaku
Downtown cocktail and sushi lounge recently debuted a happy hour featuring Japanese-inspired cocktails for $10-$14 and bites. Drink specials include Japanese G&T with Roku gin & yuzu; saketini with Tito’s, sake, St. Germain, & lemon; Green Tea Highball, with shochu, honey, & lemon; and wines such as Sparkling Rosé Veuve-Olivier. Bites include $2 island creek oysters, $12 tuna tartare, and $10 spicy tuna, salmon, or hamachi rolls. Tuesday-Friday 6-7 pm.

Shoals Smokehouse
BBQ restaurant from Hospitality Alliance at Toyota Music Factory features an extended weekday happy hour Monday-Friday from 3-6 pm, with: $7 frozens, wells, and house wine by the glass. Bar snacks include $14 queso and nachos, and $12 burnt ends.

Thomas Avenue Beverage Company (TABC)
Eddie "Lucky" Campbell (Standard Pour, Parliament) recently reopened this legendary Uptown haunt with a major overhaul to the space and an ambitious menu of food and drink. Campbell is one of Dallas' top mixologists so getting his drinks at happy hour prices is a deal. Cocktails are $5 to $6 and include French 75, black cherry sangria, and barrel-aged old fashioned; plus $4 beers and $7 glasses of wine.

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Fried Chicken News

New Korean fried chicken chain opens 2nd U.S. location in Carrollton

Puradak

Puradak chicken

A new name in Korean fried chicken has made its Texas debut in Carrollton: Called Puradak, it’s a chain that originated in South Korea in 2014, and claims to offer a "luxury" fried chicken experience, featuring a unique oven-fried method that results in a juicy, crispy chicken.

The chain debuted in the U.S. in 2024 with a location in Buena Park, California. The Carrollton restaurant, at 3044 Old Denton Rd #110, is only the second in the U.S.

The menu features fried chicken wings, boneless bites, and a whole chicken broken into wings, drumsticks, breast, and thigh (and fried) for $31.

The chicken is fried to precise specifications: Pre-fried for three minutes, then fried for another minute and 20 seconds once ordered, to get a soft, juicy inside and crispy outside.

As with many chicken places, Puradak has various sauces, but they're more exotic than usual, such as a spicy chili-flavored mayo, and a sweet Korean sauce topped with crushed peanuts.

According to franchisee Danny Lee, who has a background in hibachi restaurants and retail sales, the most exotic and the biggest crowd-pleaser is one called corn so-amazing.

"It's really sweet and has pieces of corn cob and corn seasoning," he says.

In addition to wings, the chicken can also be ordered in a chicken sandwich, in a wrap, in a salad, or in a $15 entree called chicken fried rice, featuring classic fried rice topped with sliced fried chicken and drizzled with your choice of sauce.

Other items include fries, onion rings, coleslaw, steamed rice, jalapeno poppers, and a unique category called cheese balls, featuring a chewy mochi-like dough wrapper filled with choice of mozzarella or cream cheese and deep fried.

Best of all, they have a bar with draft beer and Korean soju, a distilled vodka.

"We started in Carrollton first because we want to expand everywhere through Texas from here," Lee says. "I want people to know this is a totally different style than other chicken stores."

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