Dallas Food Blog

?August is generally a slow restaurant month and this year was no exception. Aside from KRLD Restaurant Week madness, the surprise revelation about Lola, crowds piling into Marc Cassel's Park and the buzz about Smoke, it was one lackluster stretch.

September should be even more interesting, what with a grand opening shindig planned at the much anticipated Oak Cliff barbecue joint and ribbon cuttings at two very upscale palaces.

Meanwhile, here's a rundown of opening and closings over the past 31 days:

Entering
Churchill's takes over for The Londoner in McKinney
BJ's opens another installment, this time in Mesquite
Holy Grail Pub, the Plano outpost of a couple Old Monk alums
Good 2 Go Taco, Chef Colleen O'Hare's quick serve joins the Green Spot
Hard Rock Cafe (yawn) reopens, this time in (double yawn) Victory
Tea Thyme & Tisane, for tea and food in Carrollton
Petaluma Cafe, a salad and sandwich joint in Cedar Hill

Exiting
Two Rows in Addison, thanks to construction on a new hospital
Lazare, ending its bungled run; will return as something else

On the way
Smoke, as mentioned
Ten15 Elm, a big, fancy downtown space
Bailey's Prime Plus Park Lane, because if at first you don't succeed...
Mario & Sabino's, adding Salvadoran to the usual Mex