This roundup of dining news around Dallas has lots of interesting new eateries, new menus, and cocktails, plus the usual assortment of fun tidbits from national chains. There's news of robots, vegan cookbooks, a rant about plastic, and a survey about snacks.

Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:

Enrique Tomas, the Dallas restaurant that's part of the largest purveyor of Spain's legendary jamón ibérico, has opened a new location in Victory Park, at 665 High Market St., a space most recently occupied by Mot Hai Ba, and before that, an Asian place called Naga Thai. Dallas was the first U.S. Enrique Tomas location, serving as a market for the ham, but also as a restaurant serving tapas and drinks. They were previously located at 2822 N. Henderson Ave., but closed during the pandemic; this represents a relocation.

Alma Mexicana Restaurante is a new spot in Flower Mound which opened in the spring, serving family recipes of tacos, burritos, fajitas, and a piña azteca stuffed with shrimp and scallops. Avocado Fire Crackers, featuring a tortilla filled with chicken, pork, and avocado, is impressing the locals. They have steak, seafood, and vegetarian dishes including veggie tacos and veggie fajitas.

Mendocino Farms, the fast-casual chain featuring sandwiches and salads, is opening a new location in West Village on Tuesday, July 12. This will be the third Mendocino Farms in DFW, following downtown Dallas and Addison. Founded in Southern California in 2005 by husband-and-wife team Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen, Mendocino Farms has grown to 47 locations in California and Texas. Two more are slated to open:Plano at 7000 Windrose Ave. on July 26, and Preston Hollow, coming in late 2022.

Encanto Market & Cocina is a new family-owned grocery store in far southeast Dallas at 8560 Fireside Dr., across the street from Fireside Recreation Center, that's specializing in produce and fresh foods. It also houses a cocina with tacos for breakfast and lunch, plus tortas and burritos, as well as an ice cream shop with fruit-studded paletas. Locals rave about the tortas, and the place gets a thumbs up from Dallas City Council member Jaime Resendez, which is surely the highest recommendation.

Abruzzo's at Bishop Arts Winery, the wine bar in Oak Cliff at 838 Davis St., has quietly re-opened after a pandemic-induced closure, but warn that they're still in the initial stages and are a couple of weeks away from having their grand reopening and are still working on details. They're open Tuesday-Saturday 5-10pm.

Valerie's Taco Shop, the family-owned chain specializing in the fish tacos for which San Diego is most famous, has opened a location in Flower Mound, at 4150 Justin Rd. #120. Valerie's came to Texas in 2021 because members of the family moved to Collin County and couldn't find Mexican food they liked.The Their menu is extensive, with tacos, tortas, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, and chimichangas.

Kura Sushi, the interactive Japanese restaurant concept built on authentic cuisine and served with an engaging revolving sushi service model, has new technology features at all 37 locations which include: delivery robots dubbed Kur-B the KuraBot, and new table tablet features that include self-checkout and self-drink menu ordering. Kur-B the KuraBot welcomes guests by delivering their ordered drinks and condiments tableside. Once their waitstaff receives a drink order, they place the beverages, soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger on Kur-B and send it to be delivered. Previously, guests gave their drink orders to servers and used the tablet to place their food orders for delivery on the restaurant's Express Belt. Now they can order drinks and check-out on their mobile phone.

The Henry Dallas is launching a new seasonal pop-up on its rooftop bar called The Hamptons at The Henry, transforming into a breezy getaway where guests can relax on the open-air patio and enjoy a specialty menu of coastal-inspired food and drink including Sangria, Pina Colada, lobster roll with miso aioli, and crab cake with tarragon remoulade and roasted corn salad. It runs from July 6 to September 5, all summer long.

Thirsty Lion has a Summer Menu available July 7-September 25 with grilled artichoke, shrimp ceviche, fried pickles, salmon cakes, caprese salad, lamb burger on ciabatta bread, seafood paella, cedar plank salmon, chicken sausage & penne with garlic basil pesto, cast iron skillet mixed berry crumble with blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries, jalapeno paloma margarita, blood orange ginger iced tea, hibiscus basil lemonade, and passion fruit and mango aqua fresca.

Bonefish Grill has new seasonal specials: Shrimp Rangoon Dip with tortilla chips, Pineapple Glazed Shrimp with jasmine rice, Baja Scallop Scampi and Shrimp skewer, and Salmon topped with Shrimp Rangoon over wilted spinach, red bell peppers, and jasmine.

Dog Haus, the California-based chain known for gourmet hot dogs, sausages, burgers, plant-based, and fried chicken offerings, has a new Honolulu Hot Chicken sandwich available through July 31, combining chicken tenders with miso aioli, sweet chili sauce, pickled carrots & onions, scallions and wasabi furikake on a King’s Hawaiian pretzel hamburger bun.

TLC Vegan Kitchen, the delivery- and pickup-only vegan ghost kitchen from chef Troy Gardner, is now stocking some pre-made vegan meals at Lakeside Urban Grocery, located at 2500 Lakeside Pkwy. #100, in Flower Mound. There's vegan pasta and a risotto, and some desserts as well. Gardner also just published a new cook book, called Easy Southern Vegan Cookbook, with recipes for dishes such as vegan chicken gumbo, four-bean chili, creamy cajun pasta, jackfruit barbacoa tacos, beer-battered okra, and bourbon pecan pie, now available on Amazon.

Wayback Burgers has new menu items: Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich, Jalapeño Ranch Fries drizzled in ranch and topped with jalapeños, and The Works Dog with onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, and mustard, available until September 9. There's also an Old-Fashioned Donut shake coming on July 11, also available through September 9.

Sfuzzi, the iconic Italian restaurant on Henderson Avenue, has a new Blueberry Mojito with lime, mint, blueberry, and rum, available throug the summer, and served at the discount price of $7 on Tuesday, July 12.

Cotton Patch Cafe has a new Sizzlin' Mango Summer menu, available through August 1, featuring Habanero Tenders, Lemon Pepper Tenders, Sizzlin’ Mango Duo of tilapia and shrimp is topped with diced mango and pico de gallo, served over rice pilaf, and Sizzlin’ Mango Salad: A refreshing spring mix greens salad served with grilled chicken, shredded cheese, diced mangos, topped with pico de gallo, served with warm, crunchy tortilla strips partnered with honey lime dressing.

Carrabba's Italian Grill has a new "Pasta and Pour" featuring Linguine Positano with tomato, garlic olive oil, and basil paired with a glass of Italian wine Bonizio Bianco or Bonizio Rosso by Checchi, along with a soup or side salad and bread for $19, available through July 11. For $2 more, upgrade to Mark West Pinot Noir or Chloe Pinot Grigio.

Melting Pot is offering a 3-Course "Endless Entrée" featuring salad, entrée, and chocolate fondue starting at $45 per person. The Endless Entrée includes chicken, pork, shrimp, teriyaki steak, and more, available through July 20.

Twin Peaks Restaurant added three new menu items: spicy Thai ribs; smoked St. Louis-style pork ribs with mac & cheese and coleslaw; and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cheesecake with RumChata sauce.

Wingstop has a new Hot Honey Rub flavor with honey, cayenne pepper, and ancho chili. This isn't sticky and gooey, but is instead a crunchy, sweet, fiery dry rub. It's available through the summer.

7-Eleven has a new flavored coffee drink: the Peanut Butter and Jams Cappuccino, combining the flavors of a PB&J sandwich, available through August 2.

Dunkin is offering non-dairy options for its coffee drinks including almondmilk, oatmilk, and coconutmilk. No soy milk, which is a bummer. They're also featuring a limited-time Cold Brew offer with a Medium Cold Brew, a Cold Brew with Cold Foam, or a Brown Sugar Cream Cold Brew, is $3, through Tuesday, July 19.

Keurig Dr Pepper now has Intelligentsia Coffee in K-Cup pods for the Keurig brewing system. How sad for Intelligentsia, a one-time "super-premium coffee brand," to be part of the environmental blight that K-Cup pods represent. How hard is it for people to brew a single cup of coffee or drink instant?

Dairy Queen has five new Blizzard flavors for the summer: Oreo Cookie Dirt Pie, Girl Scout Thin Mints, Nestlé Drumstick, Very Cherry Chip, and Caramel Fudge Cheesecake.

Mi Dia from Scratch has a new flavor Margarita of the Month featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson’s Teremana Tequila, fresh watermelon, Elderflower, lime, and sweet agave nectar. And their flight of the Month features Teremana Blanco, Teremana Reposado, and Teremana Anejo.

Cantina Laredo has three new drinks for summer: Pineapple Mojito Sangria, Passion Fruit Piña Colada, and Watermelon Mojito, all with rum, all available through October 3.

True Food Kitchen is now pouring chardonnay by Fresh Vine Wine, Inc., which produces lower carb, lower sugar, and lower calorie premium wine.

Taco Cabana has new margarita flavors. There's a new Watermelon Margarita at all Texas locations for $4 through July 31; and, at select participating locations, there's a Fireball Margarita available only through Monday, July 4.

McDonald's restaurants across Texas raised $250,000 for the Uvalde community, donating 10 percent of lunchtime sales from June 23 to two organizations: The Robb School Memorial Fund and Ronald McDonald House Charities San Antonio. The Robb School Memorial Fund was established with the First State Bank of Uvalde to directly benefit those impacted. Ronald McDonald House Charities has created a special fund to support families impacted by the tragedy.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers says it plans to add more than 40 new locations around Dallas/Fort Worth. The chain already has 63 locations in Texas.

Frito Lay does a survey every year on what's hot in snacks. The 2022 version found that Gen Z and Millennials prefer to eat in solitude, and 42 percent of Americans go for salty/sweet combination over texture, international, or local flavors.

Dave & Buster's has a new CEO: Chris Morris, replacing Brian Jenkins, who retired in 2021. D&B recently acquired Main Event, the Texas bowling and arcade entertainment company, where Morris was CEO. Prior to that, he was a president at California Pizza Kitchen and has held other executive positions at On the Border and CEC Entertainment.

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