Matt McCallister’s new restaurant is almost ready, and the way in is through a garden.
River Sing is set to open in late November at 820 Exposition Ave., a block from Fair Park in Exposition Park. It fills part of a 1928 building that once held a General Motors truck showroom and service bays. The front of an old service room is now a walled garden. Guests walk through it to reach the dining room, and after dinner they can come back out and linger over a drink.
Continue readingFiled under Restaurants, Steven Doyle
Some weeks the big openings get all the attention, and the smaller news slips through the cracks. Here are five stories from around Dallas-Fort Worth worth knowing about this week, from a barbecue goodbye in Allen to a sushi factory in southern Dallas.
Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q served its last plate at Watters Creek in Allen on October 28. The restaurant’s partner, M Crowd Restaurant Group, confirmed the closing in a statement from CEO Edgar Guevara, and the partnership between the two has ended. Vaqueros posted its own farewell the same afternoon, telling fans the doors had closed at 4, then adding, “Stay tuned. We ain’t done yet.”
Continue readingFiled under Restaurants, Steven Doyle
Pecan pie has been the official State Pie of Texas since 2013, when the Legislature passed a resolution saying no dish says “Texas” more sweetly. It took a while. The Texas Siftings humor paper was already calling pecan pie worthy of being a “real state pie” back in 1886, and the pecan has been the state tree since 1919.
Thanksgiving is three weeks out, and the good pies go fast. Here are four places in DFW to order one now.
Continue readingFiled under Restaurants, Steven Doyle
Some of the best weekend brunches in Dallas come without a mimosa list, a DJ or a two-hour wait. At Torteria Insurgentes, the doors open at 8 a.m., the coffee comes with cinnamon in it, and the chilaquiles come out with eggs on top.
This little Mexico City-style torta shop near Bachman Lake has been on our list for a long time, and there’s a second location on Holly Hill Drive. Both run the same menu and the same hours, which means breakfast is on every day of the week, starting at 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday.
Continue readingFiled under Restaurants, Steven Doyle
The weather has finally turned, the patios are full again, and there’s live music in just about every room in town. Here’s your weekend, November 6 to 8, one day at a time.
Start with dinner at The Charles, the contemporary Italian restaurant at 1632 Market Center Blvd., near Oak Lawn in the Design District. Begin with the Focaccia di Charles with prosciutto and black truffle honey, then go to the wood-fired grill for the Wagyu short rib with brown butter balsamic and sticky shallots. If you’re sharing, add the cappellini with caviar and Meyer lemon, and finish with the affogato semifreddo, finished tableside with flaming espresso. The kitchen serves until 11 p.m., and it’s a short drive from there to Oak Cliff, Lower Greenville or Deep Ellum.
Continue readingFiled under Events, Steven Doyle
Somewhere in Dallas right now, a chef is figuring out how to fit a Snickers bar and foie gras into the same crust. Another is turning crab rangoon into a pie. A third is folding okra into white chocolate cream, on purpose. It’s pie season, and The Piehole Project is back.
The sixth annual Piehole Project online auction runs November 9 through 19, and this year 32 of the area’s best chefs are baking 33 one-of-a-kind pies for the cause. Bidding opens Monday, November 9 at 9 a.m. and closes Thursday, November 19 at 8 p.m. You can register and bid here.
Continue readingFiled under Events, Steven Doyle
Selda Dallas started as a neighborhood Turkish restaurant at 6006 Belt Line Road, and it has since grown into a family of restaurants that includes The Mayor’s House by Selda in Oak Cliff plus locations in Frisco, Las Colinas and San Antonio. Habip Kargin, one of Selda’s chef-owners, once led the Pera restaurants in Dallas, and his kitchen still centers on the charcoal grill. The menu is long, so here’s where to start.
Open with dips for the table. The Hummus and the smoky Grilled Eggplant Salad are the classics, but the one to order is the Spicy Ezme, minced tomatoes and peppers with hot spices, garlic, lemon and pomegranate molasses. Add the Cigar Borek, flaky pastry rolls stuffed with feta and fried, and the Halloumi Cheese, lightly fried and set on roasted peppers and walnuts with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.
Continue readingFiled under Restaurants, Steven Doyle
Most brunch spots make you wait for the weekend. The Bloom Lounge in Plano serves brunch every day of the week, starting at 9 a.m., in a dining room hung with flowers that looks ready for a bridal shower even on a Tuesday. It sits in a shopping center at 6145 Windhaven Parkway, Suite 120 and on weekends the tables fill with friends and birthday groups.
The place has a sweet backstory. Owner Jorge Saab built his name on rum cakes first, with Rum Cakes Factory in the same plaza, and opened The Bloom Lounge right alongside it in January 2024. You can see the connection on the menu, where the specialty pancakes are credited to Rum Cakes Factory.
Continue readingFiled under Restaurants, Steven Doyle
