Table Talk

More details have been released regarding the upcoming Westin Galleria restaurant developed by Bijoux founders Scott and Gina Gottlich. The bistro, dubbed the Second Floor in honor of its location in the Far North Dallas hotel, is scheduled to debut in June, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unlike Bijoux and its upscale, prix fixe format, the Second Floor will offer an a la carte menu and will also provide room service for hotel guests. Taking control of the kitchen will be executive chef J. Chastain, former sous-chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek and executive sous-chef at Stephan Pyles.

Raising the wine bar

There's a new wine bar in Southlake Town Square. Franchise owners Michael Peck and Rickey Dudley (a former NFL tight end) have opened the Wine Loft , part of a chain based in Baton Rouge, La., with 15 locations stretching from Kalamazoo, Mich., to Redondo Beach, Calif. The upscale lounge offers more than 70 wines by the glass from around the world, as well as some 250 selections available by the bottle. There's also a food menu with about a dozen small plates ranging from prosciutto- and blue-cheese-wrapped figs to a filet mignon salad with pepper jelly vinaigrette.

Mia familia

If you're a fan of Mia's Tex-Mex (and really, who isn't?), you'll be pleased to know that yet another spinoff of the popular Oak Lawn-area eatery is open just a few blocks away. Gina Lara, niece of Mia's founders Butch and Ana Enriquez, has taken over the old Alfredo Trattoria spot and opened Casa Blanca. Like its cousins, Manny's Uptown and the Mi Cocina chain, Casa Blanca dishes up plenty of Tex-Mex standards such as tacos, enchiladas and chiles rellenos, along with less-common dishes, including jalapeño pork chops and complimentary Conchita soup (pasta shells in a mildly spicy chicken broth).

Green-plate specials

Put your Birkenstocks away: Eco-friendly, sustainable food is not only going mainstream, it's going upscale. Gianni Santin, executive chef at the tony Rosewood Crescent Hotel, has rolled out a new menu at the hotel's Conservatory restaurant that highlights sustainably farmed, organic and locally available ingredients. Offerings include shrimp sautéed in vanilla bean butter with organic baby spinach, Toscana ricotta pasta with Italian sausage and arugula, and an all-natural prime-rib ciabatta sandwich topped with organic shiitake mushrooms and four cheeses. The glass-walled sunroom that houses the Conservatory is open daily for breakfast and lunch and also serves Sunday brunch.

And in other Earth-first culinary news, chef Avner Samuel is tweaking the concept at his fine-dining temple Aurora. His new menu, which takes effect on June 2, will focus on locally grown, organic and – say it with me – sustainable ingredients given an upscale touch with classic French cooking techniques. The weekly changing menu will feature such dishes as celeriac velouté with white corn cappuccino and pan-fried free-range Good Earth Farm egg with crispy pancetta, organic sour cream and American caviar. The wine list will be expanded to include certified organic sulfite-free wines. And, in an effort to make a meal at Aurora as agreeable to the pocketbook as to the planet, prices will be lowered.

Shop around

Even more dining options are coming quickly to the hot new Shops on Henderson complex. In addition to current eateries Fish City Grill (casual seafood), Pulcinella (artisanal pizzas) and Natsumi (organic gelato and frozen yogurt), the center just east of Central Expressway is getting a new Japanese restaurant within the next few weeks. Sushi Axiom, a sibling to the same-named establishment in Fort Worth, offers stylish sushi rolls that include the Beauty in Red (spicy tuna, crab, cucumber and masago wrapped in red soy paper) and the signature Sushi Axiom roll (soy-wrapped salmon, crab and avocado topped with tuna wasabi cream).

Bits and bites

• Upscale Italian restaurant Bice has closed after a little more than two years in business. The restaurant's Crescent Court location previously housed Gumbo's, We Oui and Sam's Cafe.

•  Grand Met in the Grand Hyatt DFW at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has rolled out a new dinner menu with offerings that include Wolfe Ranch roasted quail with red onion marmalade, foie gras and pistachios; kampachi crudo with white soy, pickled plums, fresh citrus and shiso leaf; and a sea-salt-crusted grass-fed fillet of beef. The hotel restaurant also offers its dinner guests a state-of-the-art virtual menu that allows diners to get detailed information including dish descriptions, chef's recommendations and wine pairing suggestions via an interactive tabletop touch-screen device.

• Kevin Maxey is on the move. The chef de cuisine at Craft is relocating to Atlanta to open a new branch of Tom Colicchio 's celebrated restaurant in the Mansion on Peachtree. Sous-chef Anthony Zapolla will be moving up to the top spot in the W Hotel restaurant's kitchen.

•  Nove Italiano has a new general manager. Ron Rodgers has joined the team at the upscale Victory Park restaurant after stints at Stone Horse Bistro, Little Katana and Pappas Restaurants.

• Noodles and Company is gearing up for a re-entry into the North Texas market. There are plans for 10 franchised locations to open in the Dallas area within the next five years. The fast-casual eatery, which specializes in noodle dishes from around the world, previously had two local branches that are now closed.

Kim Harwell is a Dallas food writer.