Third Coast Cuisine

From Thrillist:


Alice in Wonderland might be history's most influential children's book -- just take a listen to "White Rabbit" by Grace Slick, who's been making hatters look sane since 1965. Creating a wonderland of food to shove down your rabbit hole, Madhatter Café, soft-open Thursday.

The first indie venture from a trio of yeast-loving lifers, this "gourmet quick-serve" bakery-bistro serves Farmers' Market-sourced creations in a whimsical space bedecked with everything from Dali-esque, presumably backwards-running clocks to something also found on the WaPo editorial page -- a caricature-driven tea party sketch. The menu's "as vegetarian friendly as three carnivores could make” (about 25%), starting with breakfast items ranging from Pig and Pepper GIANT Kolaches (smoked sausage, roasted chiles, and cheese in a housemade croissant) to homemade sticky buns that're batter dipped, grilled, and topped w/ cinnamon butter and powdered sugar, or Bert's bones when he actually tried to fight. For lunch, try an UnBurger (ground turkey, bean sprouts, avocado, brie, A. Bauer’s mustard), a brisket-stuffed baked potato, or a Salvadoran-style tamale they say's "The Queen of Hearts' Favorite" -- that is unless you choose the pork filling over the seasonal vegetables.

They also offer loads of teas and coffee sourced from a personal-friend Laotian farmer, plus cookies, brownies, personal-sized creme brulees, cheesecake, and even wedding cakes -- careful though, 'cause once you go down that rabbit hole, your head will be cut off.

From Thrillist:

An LA sports franchise has come to DFW, and it's not the Rams, nor the Raiders! Meet Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge: the upscale bowling alley chain that serves as a nationwide Lebowski Fest host, bringing N TX a ball-'n-pin experience bolstered by a 40ft island bar, a garage-doored upstairs patio beer garden, 30 hi-defs, and a suite with four private lanes, something Kelsey Grammer thought he had when he flipped his Viper. The chow goes well above-and-beyond, with apps like chicken confit turnovers, grilled cheese sliders w/ jalapeno aioli, and a grilled apple & brie quesadilla with mustard-maple dressing and bacon, putting you within six degrees of Cardiology Consultants of Texas. Furthering Lucky's "this is also a real restaurant" cred are mains like beef short ribs simmered in tomato au jus and served with Parmesan bread pudding, and a deconstructed chicken pot pie, definitely not what Judd Nelson's dad was telling his mom to shut up and go fix.

Because bowling without booze is idiocy, they're currently putting together a cocktail list, and have already set up taps ranging from international standbys Guinness and Bass to local faves like Rahr’s Blonde and Ugly Pug...oh, wait, that's Al Davis!

From Thrillist:


It's never too late to break with tradition: OU and Texas switched to the spread and won National Championships, and in 1981's S.O.B., Julie Andrews broke from nanny & nun roles and actually spread her legs. Just kidding, she flashed boob, but still, go Julie Andrews! Brilliantly breaking with nine decades of tradition, Luna’s Restaurante Brookhollow, soft-open Wednesday, grand opening Friday.

A primo restaurant supplier since its 1924 founding by Maria Luna, two current generations (Francisco Sr. and Jr.) are now set to serve family recipes & more in a cozily traditional space right next to the factory, complete with tiled doorways and murals by a local artist of the Luna crest and a mariachi band, the mari-Acho band being unavailable due to a schedule involving thousands of pushups. Keeping it in la familia are in-house takes on tablitas (thin cross-cut short ribs), various pollos (a la parilla, en mole, en fiambre), guiso de puerco con calabacitas, picadillo, and fish tacos, far less alarming than Widespread Panic tacos. Purely traditional mains include carne asada, tilapia a la Veracruza, steak Mexicano (prime-beef tips sautéed in ranchera sauce), chile rellenos, and tacos dorados; a la carte sees enchiladas as well as make-your-own tacos with all the aforementioned meats, plus pork chops with pico de gallo, because after a jug of wine, Ernest and Julio like to get spicy.

Luna’s is BYOB for now, but’ll soon have a selection of beers and ‘ritas, from which Fernando Sr. says he'll ply customers with a couple gratis samples -- the same boozy gift Julie must've received before she showed us just how alive her hills really were.

From Thrillist:

Gardening is a pastime that can bring deep satisfaction to those who themselves could be mere minutes away from being planted. Assuming you're still more into suds than sunflowers, go beer gardening instead, at the Katy Trail Ice House, soft open now, grand opening April 4th.

A "collab" between Barley House & Mi Cocina investors and Banditos' owner/operators, the Ice House's admirably simple mission is to provide a place to "walk along the path and have a beer" (suck it, joggers). The sprawling, dog-friendly outdoors sports dozens of picnic tables and a couple of flatscreens, while the wood & corrugated steel inside -- accessed through three garage bays -- welcomes idlers with a majestic 30ft bar, six more TVs, oak-barrel tables, and Texas-ness including antlers, a neon Willie portrait, and signage for the Dallas Blackhawks -- the old minor league team, not the Chicago franchise the Stars have owned for a decade. What you'll be over-consuming:

Beers: 50 taps, concentrating on Texans like Rahr Bros., Franconia, Real Ale, Shiner, Pearl, 512, Live Oak, Independence, Thirsty Planet, St. Arnolds, Pearl, and Jester King, with out-of-staters repped by Breckenridge, Fat Tire, Guinness, Santa Fe, Sierra Nevada, Big Sky, and Boulevard -- obviously not of Broken Dreams, because hey, there's beer.

Booze: A literal TX-liquor uprising with Waco’s Baby Blue Whisky, San Leon’s Ralean Handmade Texas Rum, Texas Republic Blanco Tequila, and a slew of vodkas including Titos, Dripping Springs, Enchanted, Savvy, Famous, Hudson Ferus, De Los, and Deep Eddy Sweet Tea, not to be confused with Deep Eddy, Sweet Tee, a tender coming of age drama starring that guy who played at Tennessee after Peyton Manning.

While the focus is imbibing, Katy is offering simple eats like burgers, chicken sandwiches, tacos, chili, and nachos -- a defiantly unhealthy choice proclaiming that, when it comes to pushing up daisies, it's nacho time.

From Thrillist:

Instilling a new attitude can mean bringing in an outsider, like when Helen Hunt came to Mel Gibson's ad agency to teach him about the opposite sex, even though they already said Mel's character was raised by Vegas showgirls -- clearly, what women want is not a movie that makes sense! Bringing in an ace to instill laid-back culinary attitude, Dragonfly.

Ditching ceiling-drape formality, Dragonfly's now going breezily funky with touches like a rain-shower of hanging Edison bulbs, neat rows of circular disturbing/alluring portraits of women, and a ferociously awesome boar skeleton; to overhaul the menu, they've brought in gourmet-comfort wizard Dan Landsberg from Fog City Diner and Tillman’s Roadhouse, also a great movie where Spencer Tillman tells Tim Brando "I used to **** guys like you in Norman". The mealing starts with Brisket Bacon Cheddar Sliders, Hoisin BBQ Baby Backs, and devil'd eggs w/ tobiko caviar or bacon; entrees cover a rotating "Comida" (the staff meal of the day), Maryland striped sea bass over mashed Yukons, and roasted pork tenderloin served on a bed of miso-poached pan-fried lo mein -- but not Lo Pan, as importing even a little from China can get you in big trouble. "Comfort Desserts" include the “After School Snack” (house Ho Ho, baked Twinkie, butterscotch pudding cup), the “Who Put Their Peanut Butter in MY Chocolate” (p-butter mousse stuffed in a chocolate bundt cake & covered in fudge sauce), and the exactly-what-it-sounds-like "Cereal Milk Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich" -- a Grrreat idea that would only turn Cuckoo if they used Kashi.


Booze has been upgraded thanks to one of only four machines in Dallas producing perfect spheres of less-melt-y ice, while holdover signatures run from Frank's Morning After (an Ardbeg-based Bloody) to S'mores After Dark, with various Godiva liqueurs, Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka, and a graham cracker-crust rim -- if that's what your woman wants, her showgirl career is probably doomed.

From Thrillist:

The first rule of business is "location, location, location" -- and the second rule of business is "say things three times". Moving on up to a much better spot, Luckie's Smokehouse, opening this week.

Started by a blues musician who spent his formative years sampling Austin's BBQ scene, the original Luckie's was opened in the shopping grid anchored by the Cockerel Hill Rd Walmart, right by a Dollar Tree; since people shopping for Uni-Ball pens and the world's crappiest children's toys weren't biting, they closed after six months and relocated to the former gas station across from the Kessler Theater, replacing the pumps with a covered patio and filling the inside with comfy vinyl booths, warm lighting, and a lacquered wood bar. Despite the Cen-Tex roots, the fare takes its cue from Memphis pork, with pulled shoulder and giant ribs, plus beef (brisket & chopped) West Tennessee'd with the house's wet rub; you'll also find smoked birds (turkey and half & whole chickens) and sausage flavored with "just the right spice", so you needn't worry about your meal being Scary. Sides run from potato salad, baked beans, and slaw in apple-cider vinegar, to mac 'n cheese studded with bacon bits, creamed spinach, and a brisket-or-pork-toppable smoked spud, who loves kicking back on the couch and giggling at old episodes of Starsky and Wilmer-Hutchins.

Right now, they're serving a single light beer, but they plan on ramping up to a full bar and 10 taps, including Rahr and 512; they'll also host live music on the front porch, something not possible at the initial location. Something not possible at the initial location. Something not possible at the initial location.

Step up to this menu! No, really, it's delicious. Look at it.

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