Dallas Food Blog

​Seems there's always much ado about little in the restaurant news.

So it was in October: Lazare became Lemon Bar and will, most likely, become something else before long. Ten 15 Elm (or 1015 Elm, I was never sure) decided to call itself Thrive instead. The ballyhooed Jean-Michel's, coming to downtown, will no longer be Jean-Michel's and no longer be downtown. Gaspar Stantic left Cadot--an announcement we all knew was coming at some point from the vagabond chef. More personnel stuff (yawn) happened at Tre Amici. Big news arrived about a ban on raw gulf oysters...starting in 2011.

But there were several high points. Shortly after FitzGerald Dodd introduced his new fall menu at Screen Door, he was let go--and a new group led by chef David McMillan and the once golden Mico Rodriguez swept in.

Interesting combo: a chef at his best when dealing with diver scallops, truffles and such with a restaurateur who revels in mediocrity. See that working well.

The rest of it:

​Dallas had been on a hot streak.

The scoreboard of restaurant openings vs closings had leaned heavily to the positive all spring and summer. March, for example, recorded a 10-5 result, openings vs closings. In April it was 8-3 in favor--and things continued that way, including a 15-2 July blowout.

Not since February has the closings side evened things. But they sure came close this time.

Of course, we're not counting the three Krispy Kreme's that shut down recently. The closure of Arcodoro & Pomodoro doesn't make the list, either, as it merely moved a few blocks...to a jinxed location.

Expect bad news on that front, then. On the other hand, Samar officially opens in a week or so. In the meantime, a look at a near miss month:

​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:

​Recession? There must be one, judging by our paychecks and news today that Lola planned to shut down. Still, July saw an unprecedented (even in boom times) wave of restaurant openings.

Strange--July and August are not generally considered the best of months by those in the food service industry. Maybe rents were too cheap to pass up.

Anyway, our slightly delayed round up of last month's doings.

Entering
Flying Saucer, Garland
Zinsky's Deli
Geisha House (finally)
15th Street Eatery, Plano
Hacienda on Henderson
Park (also on Henderson)
Urbino Pizza e Pasta (also also on Henderson)
Luckie's Smokehouse, Oak Cliff
Split Peas Cafe
Sauce on the Square, McKinney
Catch 22 Seafood, Rockwall
Barcelona Connection, Richardson
Texas de Brazil Express
Cereal Bar, The Colony
Fish Shack, Plano

Exited
Vern's Kitchen, the legendary Deep Ellum joint
Normandie Alliance, a not so legendary space

Heading for the door
Lola, after almost a decade

Word that Sambuca decided to shutter their Addison location stirred little reaction. It had been relegated to the ranks of karaoke bar, after all. Then Omega's locked up and Fedora appeared to follow suit. Suddenly it looked as if Dallas had hit the skids.

Oh, the recession cut into profit margins across the board. But so far we've seen more restaurants open than close...and (justified or not) June eventually proved no different.

Entering
Einstein Bros. Bagels, Frisco
Carolina's Mexican Cuisine--two locations, Dallas and Plano
Bijou, a Caribbean-African fusion kinda place in Arlington
Cafe Istanbul in Plano's Legacy
Gator's Croc & Roc--just what North Dallas needs: more schlock...sorry, schloc
Urban Crust Pizza, wood fired pies for the Plano crowd
Urbano Cafe, long awaited and finally open

Exited
Omega's Tex-Mex in Deep Ellum
Sambuca Addison, so the owners can concentrate on Sambuca 360, set to open in Plano
Alo, thanks to a fire (it will reopen once repairs are made)

Turning in circles
Fedora, closed briefly, although the place is running again, whether or not anyone cares
Tre Amici tacked on the "Parkway Grill" name, which sure makes us want to go
Nicola's saw the return of chef Sascia Marchesi
The Counter became Meathead's (who names these places?)
Normandie Alliance is shopping for an Addison location, when what they need is a steady kitchen

On the way
Park, the new outpost for Marc Cassel
Nodding Donkey, a Tex-Mex joint fitting into the 2900 slot
Geisha House, which may or may not be open now
Flying Saucer, landing soon in Garland
Hard Rock Cafe, back from the dead to resurrect Victory Park

Have a good July.

The Dallas area has been hitting better than even in the openings and closings department. But when one closes...

This month the new, well-reviewed "gastro-pub" on lower Greenville, Zymology, shut down. Suddenly and quietly. From all accounts, the venue proved too good for its neighborhood. The breakdown:

Entering
Vapiano--The German-based, Italian-kinda-themed chain in Mockingbird Station.
La Calle Doce--Reopened after a devastating fire.
Cobb Switch BBQ--Big names are behind this Carrollton venture.
Burguesa Burger--Jeff Sinelli's joint is drawing early raves.
Penne Pomodoro--(Yawn) Another branch.
Si Tapas--Fully opens next week in Uptown
Healthy Me Cafe--Out in Coppell
Russo's Coal-Fired Pizzeria--Teresa Gubbins likes this Richardson place, and we like TG, so...


Exited
Tipperary Inn--A pub that probably won't be missed.
Her Secret Garden--Guessing not a guy hangout. Nope, it was a catering and lunch spot in Rockwall.
Zymology--Damn. Good food, interesting beer. Just in the wrong location.
La Condesa--Vacated some place called Victory Park. Ever hear of it?

On The Way
Another branch of The Londoner, coming to a spot near Pizza Hut Park in Frisco.
Kebab N Kurry opening soon in Addison
To replace Martini Park, the folks at Legacy in Plano found Sambuca 360.
Also: A deli named Zinsky's, Urbano Cafe and Split Peas Soup Cafe, which caused problems with our spell check.

Welcome to June.

We were trying to think of any significant restaurant closings in Dallas over the last 30 days and nothing, besides that odd moment when Kavala in Oak Cliff shut down then reopened almost immediately. So, we had to call our buddy Teresa Gubbins and pry into her database-like brain.

Thanks TG.

Just glancing at the balance of comings and goings in Dallas, it's hard to believe there's a recession on. A few cases of swine flu are responsible for more closings--just schools, but still...A recap of the month just passing:

Entered
Tequila Rain (145 W. Pipeline, Hurst). Would be nice if it rained tequila.
Chez Moi (3685 Preston, Frisco). Thinking maybe French?
Ava (108 S. Goliad, Rockwall). Already hearing good things.
Joan of Arc Cafe (4020 N. MacArthur, Irving). Crepes and such.
Bailey's Prime Plus (305 W. FM 1382, Cedar Hill). A big steakhouse.
Chipotle (4502 McKinney). Yep, another.
Chapman Chile Kitchen (515 N. Carroll). Little place that sounds good.
WiWi Kitchen (3020 Mockingbird). Who thinks up these names?
Gregory's (1022 E. 15th St., Plano) reportedly reopened and, of course, Sushi on McKinney (4438 McKinney) is back in play.

Exited
Chef Wok in the Preston-Royal area. Big deal.
Bliss Frozen Yogurt (both locations). Still plenty of ice cream around.
Watel's Allen Street Cottage closed, but it's relocating.

Coming Soon?
Clarity Corner a vegan spot in Denton.
Howard Wang's China Grill in Frisco, where family friendliness prevents a Wa Xing Dong franchise.
Jean Michel's upscale in downtown.
Bliss Raw Cafe opens tomorrow, presumably.
A3 pizza by the slice from the Olivella's guy.
Samar a Stephan Pyles spinoff.
Lemongrass Vietnamese and set to open in Deep Ellum
Si going into the Watel's spot

Yeah, expensive places like Sullivan's continue to cut prices or delve into the prix fixe menu idea, but there have been more comings than goings lately.

So we wrap up March with a brief survey of what turned out to be a mild, mild month:


Entered
Lazare--in the Uptown space vacated by that failed Lombardi venture whose name we've already forgotten
Masala Masala--in Euless
Roasters 'n Toasters--filling in for the late Ed's Deli
WiWi Kitchen--next to SMU
Ziziki's--yet another branch, this time in Plano
ConFusion--great name for an Oak Cliff fusion joint
Nazar--a Turkish restaurant replacing a Turkish restaurant in Addison
Cretia's on McKinney--reappears a few blocks north
Twisted Root--calling names in Richardson
Blackfinn--an Arlington branch
Bryan Street--from the owners of the once-great Barley House

Think we forgot to mention Hully & Mo and Bella, new additions to the Quadrangle, last time.

Exited
Black-Eyed Pea--the Forest Lane location
Shish--not to be missed...and quickly replaced by Nazar
Paciugo Gelato--nothing smells like Victory anymore
Casa Blanca Tex-Mex--will be missed
Celebrity Bakery--was that in Allen or someplace?

Coming soon?
Chuy's--an Arlington location on the way
Ziziki's--keeps expanding, this time to Grapevine
Rock-and-Rogers--set to open in Plano
Hard Rock Cafe--to save Victory
La Calle Doce--reopening after fire
Also: Zinsky's Deli, Mandola's Market, Urbano Cafe and another Rockfish

Dan4th, via Flickr

Our monthly wrap-up of  restaurant openings and closings around Dallas. See what's been canned, what's new and what's sizzling on the back-burner in local restaurant news.

Entered
Nick & Sam's Grill: a casual spin-off of Nick & Sam's Steakhouse recently opened in Uptown. It replaced Strong's Everyday Tavern at 2816 Fairmount St.

Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen: casual, creative and affordable cuisine, located at 6130 Luther Lane, from the chef behind Abacus and Jasper's. Rathbun won over the media with a free, 30-item meal. His menu of Texas Gulf Blue Crab Gratin, "DP" Mopped Rotisserie Chicken and such appears as promising as his marketing skills.

Five Sixty: Wolfgang Puck's Dallas restuarant debut aimed for the stars and landed at Reunion Tower - 560 feet in the air. Finally, the icon of the Dallas skyline is worth the daunting elevator ride to the top

Vickery Park: a replica of the restaurant-bar on Henderson Avenue opened in Plano at 1011 E. 15th.

Exited

Paciugo Gelato: Frozen treat vendor's Victory Park store went stone cold February 28. 

N9NE Steakhouse: Another Victory failure. This upscale steakhouse uttered its last moo in Dallas, keeling over February 4.

Chef's Room at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek: closed February 26 after losing its main chef. The rest of the restaurant remains open, of course.

Franki's Li'l Europe at Casa Linda Plaza--former Dallas Observer "Best Restaurant" runner-up--closed early last month.

On The Way?

Stop-Play-Rewind bar, Naga Thai and Olivella's Neo Pizza Napoletana scheduled to open at Victory Park this fall. We'll see.

Ziziki's: future Grapevine location, unconfirmed.

Chipotle is rumored to replace Sushi on McKinney.

Roasters and Toasters, a New York Jewish deli, may replace vacated Ed's Deli.