‘Tis the season for giving — and right on cue, Texas restaurateurs across the state have given you a bevy of new places to eat and drink, including several highly anticipated spots that swung open their doors last month. We’re talking steaks and prime rib (because Texas), but also Korean barbecue, a popular L.A. pizza import and a 10-seat Chinese chef’s table. Yes, all the essentials.
The holidays are always busy with travel, events and visitors, but these new restaurants are ready when you are. So enlist a few people you care about, make a reservation and treat yourself to a good meal.
Brass Ram
Dallas
The latest salvo from chef Nick Badovinus (Neighborhood Services, Town Hearth, National Anthem) is now open in Dallas’s newly established East Quarter neighborhood on the eastern edge of downtown. The second-story space is awash in rich leathers, exposed brick, hardback books and taxidermied animals, and there’s a private room lined with framed photographs of Marylin Monroe. Brass Ram’s menu is an ode to the old-school, featuring a selection of prime rib and steak, plus baked potatoes, bone marrow and salads. Wines are plentiful, the spirits list sports 70-plus whiskeys and a martini section lets you customize your drink with gin or vodka before choosing a classic preparation, from the Gibson to the 50/50.
2130 Commerce Street, Dallas (map)
Pizzana
Dallas
Pizzana debuted in Los Angeles in 2017, and now the restaurant from Sprinkles Cupcakes founders Candace and Charles Nelson and master pizzaiolo Daniele Uditi has opened its doors in Dallas. The dining room looks into the open kitchen, where chefs create Pizzana’s famous 48-hour-fermented “slow dough” neo-Neapolitan pizzas with stone-ground flour, plus antipasti, salads and desserts, including a few Dallas-exclusive items, like the Affumicata Pizza and apple crisp dessert. The former features Pecan Lodge brisket, jalapeño, pickled red onion, fontina crema, cilantro and San Marzano barbecue sauce, while the latter incorporates local Herman Marshall whiskey. Non-pizzas include wood-fired meatballs and charred artichoke hearts, and because everything’s better with drinks, you can sip an Italian-inspired margarita or choose something from the thoughtfully curated list of New World and Old World wines.
3219 Knox Street, Suite 150, Dallas (map)
The Finch
Dallas
The Finch gave new life to a long-dormant anchor space in Mockingbird Station. The new project from Milkshake Concepts, the group behind popular spots including Harper’s, Vidorra and Stirr, features an airy dining room, raw bar and patio. That raw bar serves an extensive selection of nautical treats, including snow crab claws, jumbo prawns and oysters, and the all-day menu features steaks, seafood, salads and pizzas. Weekends mean brunch, with dishes like shakshuka arrabbiata and wagyu pastrami eggs Benedict. The Finch also features an excellent weekday happy hour, with half-priced cocktails, sparkling wine, starters and oysters.
5307 E Mockingbird Lane, Dallas (map)
Karne
Houston
Korean fried chicken wizard Jason Cho is following up his popular Dak & Bop with the just-opened Karne, a modern Korean steakhouse in Houston’s Heights neighborhood. The menu features starters like oysters, a seafood tower and rice wine mussels, but the star of the show is the meat — American and Japanese wagyu and prime beef that’s dry-aged in-house. Cook it yourself on the table’s inset grill, or rely on the trained hosts to ensure everything hits the perfect temperature. Whichever route you go, you can choose from more than 150 wines and cocktails like the Jeju Negroni, with gin, coconut fat-washed Campari, pandan cordial and tiki bitters.
2805 White Oak Drive, Houston (map)
Ling Kitchen
Austin
Chef Ling Qi Wu is making her mark in Austin, with restaurants including Qi, Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum, and more on the way. Her latest project is Ling Kitchen, an intimate, 10-seat tasting concept where she presents a multi-course menu that changes nightly but includes a variety of meat, seafood and vegetable dishes prepared in front of diners. The reservation-only restaurant is open on weekends only to start, but opening days are expected to expand as they get settled.
8423 Research Boulevard, Austin (map)
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