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Food

7 new Plano restaurants you need to know -- and 1 coming soon

Do you like seafood, burgers, Italian, Southern, coffee and/or health food? The answer is yes. And the answer is in Plano.

Here's a look at six new restaurants that have opened in Plano in the past three months.

The Keeper

This one's been a well-kept secret. The Keeper is a seafood restaurant and tiki bar from the folks who opened Whiskey Cake and Sixty Vines in Plano. (Did that perk your ears up? It should have.) Fish is the thing to get here, and the GM tells Plano Profile that most of it comes from Hawaii. The menu is changing, and it's only been open since Monday, but the Keeper is so far serving dishes such as tiger shrimp over soba noodles; whole fish; mahi mahi; and "knuckle sandwiches" -- king crab knuckle meat in steamed buns. If you're a landlubber, there's also chicken, pork belly and beef dishes. 5840 Legacy Circle, Plano.

Snuffer's is known for its burgers and cheddar fries. Pictured here is the Dak Burger, named...
Snuffer's is known for its burgers and cheddar fries. Pictured here is the Dak Burger, named after the Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

Snuffer's Restaurant & Bar

If you've lived in Plano for years, you remember when the Snuffer's at Park & Preston closed. It became meaty restaurant Smoke -- a great place with kitschy-cool decor -- but, say it with me!, they don't have Snuffer's cheddar fries. It was cause for celebration when Snuffer's announced it had reopened at that same intersection, new storefront. The restaurant serves all the old Snuffer's favorites: bacon cheeseburgers, patty melts, fried pickles and, of course, those famous fries. 4901 West Park Blvd., Plano.

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North Italia

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You'll find "Italian comfort food with an upscale edge" at North Italia, explains Tiney Ricciardi after visiting in late June. The restaurant is one of several newcomers in Legacy West, the development that just opened on the west side of the Dallas North Tollway, opposite the Shops at Legacy. North Italia is splashed with wood on the ceiling, floor and tables, and while it doesn't scream "Italy," it's plenty elegant. If you don't know what to order, from the pizzas, pastas and mains like grilled branzino or dover scallops, go simple with the house specialty, the bolognese. 7501 Windrose Ave., Plano.

Norma's Cafe

You know it for its mile-high pie. Or its chicken-fried steak. Or perhaps for its great deals. This beloved restaurant, open since the '50s in Oak Cliff, has been growing in Dallas-Fort Worth. Now, Planoites have a Norma's Cafe for good, down-home food. 605 W. 15th St., Plano.

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85C Bakery Cafe

Walking into 85C Bakery Cafe is both exciting and overwhelming. There are pastries, some of which you've never heard of! Dessert! Sandwiches! Coffee! A really long line! Our Brentney Hamilton has a handy guide of what to order at 85C Bakery, if you -- like us -- didn't visit back in 2004 when it first opened in Taiwan. Here's what you really need to know: Get a Sea Salt Latte, because everyone else is; try anything with taro in it; and go on a Monday if you're a deal seeker. Dallas-Fort Worth now has 85Cs in Carrollton, Richardson and Plano. But since we're talking Plano, here's that address: 107 W. Spring Creek, Plano.

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True Food

Common dilemma: You have a friend coming to town whom you want to impress. She likes good food but she isn't down to eat a plate of cheese enchiladas or scarf a greasy burger. She wants a good glass of wine, but she doesn't want five. Take her to True Food Kitchen, where entrees are poke bowls, sustainable seabass and spaghetti squash casserole (which happens to be vegetarian and gluten-free). True Food Kitchen is great for people with allergies or strong food preferences, but the servers aren't annoying about matching your food feelings to the menu. Dallas has had a successful True Food Kitchen for several years now. It's Collin County's turn to for this stylish, new spot. 7601 Windrose Ave., Plano.

Meso Maya

In a city stocked with greasy Tex-Mex, Meso Maya is anything but. This Mexican restaurant sells cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork), tacos, enchiladas and queso that's white, not yellow. The restaurant opens in Plano Sept. 25. It also does brunch, y'all. 4800 W. Park Blvd., Plano. Meso Maya has three other D-FW locations, all in Dallas: downtown, Preston Hollow and Lakewood.

And one to come: Whistle Britches

This lovable fried chicken spot currently located in Far North Dallas (at Frankford and Preston roads, which is as close to Plano as you can get) is opening a second spot. Don't count your chickens, because it's going to be a minute: Whistle Britches No. 2 is expected to open in February 2018 in the Shops at Willow Bend's restaurant district. The under-construction area is part of a $125 million renovation of the mall that will soon house six to eight new restaurants. Whistle Britches is the project of Omar Flores, the talented chef who you may know from the now-shuttered Casa Rubia in West Dallas. To be located at 6121 W. Park Boulevard, at Willow Bend mall in Plano.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include Norma's Cafe.

Here's the Whistle Britches sandwich, photographed at the original Whistle Britches in 2016...
Here's the Whistle Britches sandwich, photographed at the original Whistle Britches in 2016 in Far North Dallas.(Ting Shen / Staff Photographer)
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