Friday, May 23, 2008

Best Bites: Dining out in Dallas-Fort Worth May 23

By Teresa Gubbins

Beer.

Coming in June to Dallas' Bishop Arts District -- in the space previously occupied by Cosmo Rouge -- is Eno's Pizza Tavern, a new restaurant-bar with pizza (as hinted) and at least 20 beers on tap.

"All domestic microbrews, which is good for this area because there are not a lot of options for draft beer," says owner Matthew Spillers. "We also have a lot of wines by the glass. It’s a tavern. You could call it a 'gastropub' -- basically more of the tavern feel with a focus on pizza for the food side of it."

The pizzas aren't too frou-frou -- i.e., no arugula, though he does have an arugula salad.

"It's a very classic approach, with good-quality ingredients but I don't want to try too hard," says Spillers, 26, who grew up in Dallas, attended Culinary Institute of America, worked at Gotham Bar & Grill in New York, and opened a restaurant in Little Rock before returning to Dallas. He's finishing up the remodel which he says is as classic as the pizzas.

"We haven't done a lot of décor so it doesn’t become too theme-y," he says. "We're keeping it indigenous. It's just going to be a neighborhood place."

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Also in the "coming soon to Bishop Arts" category and sure to be hugely popular is Bolsa, a combination wine bar and market that's like a miniature version of Eatzi's where you can pick up a prepared meal-to-go or stop and have a light bite with wine by the glass. It's going into the old Davis Street Garage & Body Shop space next to Gloria’s, with renovations almost wrapped up.

Interior of Sporting News Grill

Cowboy cuisine

If you judge by the name, Sporting News Grill, located in the new Holiday Inn on Wet N Wild Way in Arlington sounds like it's capitalizing on its proximity to the new Cowboys Stadium. But it's somewhat coincidental, as there's a pre-existing branch in the Holiday Inn at Love Field, and 20 more branches are set to open at Holiday Inns around the country including Fort Worth and McKinney.

The menu has burgers, maple-seared salmon for lunch, rib-eyes, New York strips, and outstanding desserts, says manager Mark Shook. The interior has a slate waterfall and 52-inch flat-screen TVs. But what's probably coolest about it all is that there'll be walkway extended over I-30, from the hotel to the stadium, for those who wish to go straight from Sporting News Grill to the Stadium fan without, you know, having to cross the freeway.

I see green

Salad Creations does a classier job of serving salad.

The second Salad Creations just opened in Knox Village. This is the new salad chain founded in Florida with branches opening up the East Coast and across the country. According to owners James and Charlotte Baune, Salad Creations is more upscale than the typical salad place in that you walk through a line and get your salad prepared to order and served to you in a chic stainless steel bowl rather than fishing it yourself out of a trough.

The first branch opened in 2007 near the Galleria, and the Baunes are currently negotiating for spots in Frisco and Las Colinas.

Weekly yogurt-frozen-shaky-thing report

• Another new frozen yogurt place called Tutti Frutti opens this week in the food court at the Allen Outlet Mall. It's the first store from a California-based company that's launching in Texas, with Allen first, followed by Houston.
• Meanwhile, Wendy's has more new flavors of its Frosty milkshake, which for years came only in one flavor, chocolate. New flavors: vanilla bean, chocolate fudge, and strawberry. These will also be thinner than the ultra-thick texture of the original, which was notorious for requiring a spoon to eat it. Being able to use a straw just doesn't seem right.

Related stories

• Best Bites: Dining out in Dallas-Fort Worth July 11 (July 11, 2008)

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• Food and Drink > Dining / Restaurants > Best Bites

Comments

Michael Anderson Verified

Seriously, it ain't a frosty if you can eat it with a straw!

1 year, 5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Doyle Verified

Regarding Eno's...pricing says "moderate" on their Places page. Just how moderately priced will these microbrews be?

1 year, 5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

twisteddog Anonymous

Is it prudent for a guy named Spillers to own a tavern?

1 year, 5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Fezziwig Anonymous

I can't say that salad creation's online menu looks any more tempting than the Whole Foods salad bar. Greenz is a much better concept IMO.

1 year, 5 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )