Brunch is arguably the most important meal of the weekend. Scratch that — it's definitely the most important meal. It's the only opportunity diners get all week to kill two birds with one fork. It's there for the early risers at 11 a.m. and the late sleepers at 3 p.m. Plus, mimosas.
Dallas is a brunch happy city with plenty of options, but here are eight restaurants with new menus to try.
Cool River Cafe
To celebrate its 20th anniversary year, this upscale steakhouse in Las Colinas debuted 10 new brunch items in late-October. The new dishes range sweet (blueberry pancakes, chicken and waffle) to savory (crab quiche, paleo hash with eggs, sweet potato, spinach and fruit). And one is even -- aptly? -- called I Did What Last Night?, a plate of chicken-fried pork and gravy served with eggs and a grit cake. The brunch menu is served alongside a smattering of lunch options, including appetizers, salads, burgers and sandwiches.
Cool River Cafe serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant/bar is located at 1045 Hidden Ridge Rd., Irving.
Gung Ho
Brunch gets an an Asian twist at this restaurant in Dallas' Lower Greenville neighborhood. Take the chicken and waffles, for example. At Gung Ho, the dish is served with orange chicken, a 9-spice pecan waffle, sesame and salted butter. A plate called the Not Biscuits and Gravy (pictured at top) riffs on its namesake dish by combining a rice cake, mushroom gravy, two eggs and fermented greens. Dim sum (shareable items) also get brunch treatment. Bites include a matcha-orange sticky bun, coconut cream egg rolls, and lo bak go tots that come topped with sweet and sour pork belly and scallions. The bar is also shaking up brunch cocktails, such as the Yuzu Breakfast Martini, a mix of gin, St. Germain, yuzu sake, lemon juice and yuzu marmalade.
Gung Ho serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant/bar is located at 2010 Greenville Ave., Dallas.
Hide
Hide, a cocktail joint in Deep Ellum Dallas, is a popular happy hour spot, but with the launch of brunch on Nov. 10, the kitchen is hoping you'll come for a solid base meal, too. The menu is a mix of appetizers, such as cinnamon pull-apart bread, breakfast on a stick (three pancake-wrapped sausages served with maple butter and syrup), and charcuterie, and traditional plates like steak and eggs and eggs Benedict. Pair your meal with a house cocktail, like the Proud Mary en Provence (gin, clarified tomato, clarified lemon, herbs, and black and green cardamom) or kill both in one order with the Hair of the Dog, a Lone Star tall boy and shot of bourbon plus a side of bacon.
Hide serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The restaurant/bar is located at 2816 Elm St., Dallas.
Jack's Kitchen
This new addition to East Dallas comes from local chef Scott Jones, who wanted to serve southern food with worldly influences. For brunch, the menu focuses heavily on biscuits, which are served as sandwiches stuffed with meats like brisket, pork belly and fried chicken, and covered in cinnamon and sugar and fried into a "doscuit." It's a doughnut-style biscuit, get it? Other options include the shrimp and grits tamales (smoked gouda-cheddar grit tamales topped with shrimp in a chrizo-creole sauce), Bubba Benedict (jalapeno-cheddar cornbread waffle with shredded pork, pico de gallo and a fried egg), and chicken and green chili chilaquiles.
Jack's Kitchen serves brunch Sundays 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The restaurant/bar is located at 6041 Oram St., Dallas.
Pinstack
Bowling and brunch? Now that sounds like a winning combination. Pinstack bowling alley locations in Plano, Las Colinas and Allen began serving brunch in September to make that dream come true. Their menus focuses on "plates ideal for sharing," says a statement. That includes pancake tower served with syrup and honey-cinnamon butter, chicken and waffle sliders, and stuffed French toast. Healthier options include a kale and quinoa salad and avocado toast topped with arugula and hard boiled eggs. Pair that with a mimosa carafe or take advantage of the Bloody Mary bars onsite.
Pinstack serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The bowling alleys are located at 6205 Dallas Pkwy., Plano; 2750 West I-635, Irving; and 635 N. Central Expwy, Allen.
Scout
Since the historic Statler Hotel in downtown Dallas reopened after a multi-million-dollar renovation, it's become a destination for cocktails, food and even live music. Now guests and locals have two breakfast/brunch options there: Overeasy, an upscale diner, and Scout, a ping-pong and bowling bar. The latter launched brunch in October with a modest menu of five entrees, such as eggs Benedict, buttermilk waffles and a brunch burger that's served with white cheddar cheese, bacon and eggs on top. The bar added Bloody Mary and michelada cocktails to the menu, too.
Scout serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant/bar is located inside the Statler Hotel at 1914 Commerce St., Dallas.
Steam Theory Brewing Co.
This brewpub in West Dallas pays equal attention to its house-made beers and its menu of upscale American food. For brunch, diners can expect favorites like migas, eggs Benedict, and chicken and waffles, in addition to inventive dishes like pastrami hash with Dr Pepper-barbecue sauce, manchego-sage beignets, and biscuits and gravy made from spent grain used in the brewery's beer production. The menu also features lunch items, including a burger, Reuben sandwich, and pulled pork tacos. Steam Theory makes beer, but it has a full bar serving brunch cocktails and sparkling wine. Mimosas anyone? Fun fact: Dallas native and Bachelor host Chris Harrison is one of the brewpub's investor.
Steam Theory serves brunch Sundays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant/bar is located at 340 Singleton Blvd., Suite 100, Dallas.
Street's Fine Chicken
Chicken is the star at this restaurant, so it only makes sense it would be front and center on the brunch menu. Street's Fine Chicken has two locations, and the one in North Dallas recently began serving items like the chicken-fried bacon sandwich with eggs, a breakfast burrito stuffed with fried chicken, eggs and potatoes, and biscuits sliders featuring -- you guessed it -- fried chicken and gravy.
Street's Fine Chicken serves brunch Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant/bar is located at 5211 Forest Ln., Suite 108, Dallas.
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