New Restaurants Elevate Favorites
Enchiladas and barbecue are considered comfort food, straightforward, and having plentiful options and easy access a Texan’s birthright. Two new restaurants opening this month and one reopening elevate dishes and dining experiences with well thought out menus, premium ingredients, and beautiful settings. Read on.
Bienvenido a nuevo Tulum!
Tulum, the sophisticated Mayan Riveria-inspired restaurant has reopened with a new chef, new menu, a creative line up of dishes and cocktails and, apparently, a new name: The Tulum Experience. Located on Oaklawn Avenue in The Shops of Highland Park, Tulum’s new Chef José Meza is also executive chef of nearby Jalisco Norte, which was purchased by Tulum’s owner Mike Karnes just before the pandemic hit. Chef Meza is a young superstar who has creativity and vision that elevates every dish on the menu. The standouts are the Scallop Aguachile, Vegan Tartare, and Octopus, which is coated in a smoky, rich guajillo paste and roasted to tender perfection. Tulum offers dine-in and take out service.
Whole Lada Love
An acclaimed chef has created a new concept centered around one of the best foods ever created: the enchilada. From former Executive Chef of The French Room and Forty-Five Ten’s Mirador, comes Lada, an artisanal take on traditional Tex-Mex. Lada is set to open mid-November in Far North Dallas. The space is a stunning 2,500 square-foot restaurant with an expansive patio designed by the award-winning team of Michael Hsu Office of Architecture and FODA Design, known for creating hospitality and restaurant venues that are as enticing as the menus and accommodations that inspire them.
Besides the six fabulous and funky sounding enchiladas, such as the Orange-Pepper Carnitas enchiladas with house-made carnitas, butternut squash, Oaxaca cheese, petite mustard greens, and a crispy topping, Lada offers tacos, soups, salads, sides, drinks, and a special menu for kids. Stay tuned for more news and reviews when Lada officially opens. In the meantime, you can preshop their menu at https://eatlada.com/ and follow them on Instagram @EatLada.
I’m all OAK’D Up
A new barbecue restaurant opens this weekend in Old Town Shopping Center on Greenville Avenue. OAK’D is created and led by restaurant industry veterans and is backed by the cutest couple on radio, Kellie Rasberry Evans and her husband, Allen. The name reflects the Central Texas-staple oak wood used to smoke the Wagyu and other premium proteins on the giant smokers. The menu here is perfect with a mix of items Texans expect on menus but not normally found on barbecue joint menus such as chips, salsa, and queso. The mains, sides, cocktails, desserts – everything here is a bit more elevated than our beloved downhome barbecue and I’m looking forward to checking it out tonight. For more information visit their website.
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Time to Get Stoned
It’s Stone Crab season and Truluck’s has some of the best this side of Miami. Truluck’s claws are always fresh, never frozen, and are sustainably resourced. The season runs through May but, as always, if you’re making a trip to Truluck’s just for Stone Crab claws, you might want to call ahead to be sure they have them. Local locations are in Dallas and Southlake.
Stay tuned for our Thanksgiving round up for your best take-out and dine in options for your holiday. And, if you haven’t voted on your favorite place to get holiday take out, vote now!
