The December Hit List: Grace, Shoyo, Hutchins BBQ, and More

This downtown Fort Worth standby continues to hit effortless high notes in a polished, modern setting. Owner Adam Jones and longtime executive chef Blaine Staniford excel with a mostly straightforward menu, from Maine diver scallops to beef tenderloin tartare. Yet global flavors permeate, from chicken karaage with blistered shishitos to Hawaiian kampachi paired with unlikely-but-it-works pastrami seasoning. Steaks come from 44 Farms in Cameron, Texas, so you know the restaurant means business with its filets, prime strips, and dry-aged bone-in rib eyes. No matter if you pair your meal with an order of Regalis caviar, sustainably raised from Holland at $145/ounce, or a more modestly-priced order of French fries flecked with thyme and Parmesan, you’re in assured hands here.

Man-about-town Felipe Armenta (Pacific Table, Maria’s Mexican Kitchen) is helping to revitalize this North Fort Worth corridor, until now bereft of glamorous dining choices. Towne Grill, with its swank set-up, has diners willing to overlook the chain-y Alliance backdrop in lieu of the restaurateur’s trademark cocktails (Try Armenta’s margarita or the cold brew Negroni) paired with his brand of vibrant new American cuisine. With a menu that’s got something for virtually everyone, spanning meatloaf to burgers to a crispy chicken sandwich, the restaurant is a satisfying bet. And a slice of Armenta’s signature key lime pie for dessert only enhances the experience.

This new location, in Flower Mound’s burgeoning River Walk development, expands on the chain’s mini-empire (also in Lewisville and Downtown Dallas) with an enticing Italian-esque menu. Looking for the traditional caprese salad? Try it on skewers here, while ravioli comes crispy and braised. The restaurant’s “sferes,” meatballs made of beef, chicken, brisket, pork, or plant-based, are winners, and the chicken-fried steak is hardly traditional. Uncle Paul’s CFS puts an Italian spin on the dish: it’s a fried rib eye served with meatballs and a mozzarella salad. Italian doughnuts called bombolini make everything come full circle.

Shoyo continues its blistering run, with its omakase-style set-up, in a 12-seat restaurant drawing diners from across North Texas. Former Nobu chef Jimmy Park serves 17 courses over the course of two seatings per night, one at 5:45 p.m. and the other at 8:15 p.m. (Reservations are released on the first of every month at 9 a.m.) Expect a modern take on classic sushi, with two menu options: “Edo” a more traditional experience featuring fermented or edomae sushi, or “Sho,” which reimagines the cuisine.

This ground-floor restaurant in the Kimpton Harper Hotel is shaking things up with its pasta, made before your eyes in a glassed-in pasta-making room — and for good reason. But other items are swoon-worthy too. Clams are served in an ‘nduja broth, burrata is complemented by a cherry-apricot mostarda, and the calamari is married with peppadew peppers, all of which to say classic menu items at iL Modo get star-ingredient treatment. Other standouts include the whole branzino and a recent special: a 22-ounce bone-in rib eye for the table. The sophisticated dining room reads “special occasion” but the menu (and the restaurant’s backers) want customers to know it’s simply serving “classic Italian fare with a modern flair.”

This month of family celebrations brings the crowds to Ellerbe. The beloved dining room along the Magnolia strip strikes the perfect balance of fancy-but-not-fussy, with longtime chef/co-owner Molly McCook imbuing her farm-to-table restaurant with childhood Southern favorites, like crispy tea-brined Texas quail and BLT soup. Local produce and a seasonal menu are in delicious tandem, like in the Shine Farm Stand (from nearby Azle) lettuce with winter squash, chevre, and pistachio oats, and the risotto alle vongole, with littleneck clams conspiring with breakfast radishes from Parker County’s B&G Garden.

Call 817-926-3663 for reservations.

With its distinctive name and pedigree — Chef Brian Lusher created the menu — this new Granite Park restaurant is turning heads. Add a devotion to Southern California food and a casual atmosphere, and you’ve got a recipe for a fun night. On not-so-cold ones, Frojitos and margaritas are must-orders, as are other shareables that Luscher told The Dallas Morning News he calls “drinking snacks,” like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos elote and chile butter-grilled shrimp on the half-shell. Protein bowls and mix-and-match tacos round out the menu, with nods to even lighter fare like ceviche and chicken and rice soup.

In the resurgent East Quarter, National Anthem is already reigning supreme, with a menu that has us pledging allegiance. The new restaurant from Nick Badovinus (Town Hearth, Neighborhood Services) has all of his hallmarks. There’s an outstanding burger (the Prime Double’s got brisket, short rib and chuck, topped with American and a secret sauce), an ode to seafood (the Raw Bar has chilled shrimp “My Way” and oysters on the half-shell), and an overall playful use of ingredients. You didn’t have steak tartare served with a stack of salt and vinegar Pringles on your Bingo card, did you? A bevy of beverages is along for the ride, from house mixed drinks that skew strong (the Mezcal has the agave-based liquor conspiring with cherry, orange, lime and mint notes) to stronger (vodka highballs), all in a laid-back setting that stands up to the up-and-coming district.

This new, over-the-top addition inside the W Hotel in Victory Park is equal parts ritzy restaurant and weekend nightclub. With a French-Mediterranean menu, the food is decadent, opulent and can be transcendent, especially the Ravioles Defroman, with comte cheese, truffle cream and shaved fresh truffles. Other items double down: you can add seared foie gras, white or black truffles, or Osetra caviar to any entrée,. But the showstopper might be the tableside pate a la meule: fresh pasta served tableside in a Parmigiana wheel is flambéed with Cognac and served in a mushroom sauce. Still not enough “extra” for you? You can upgrade your Cognac, too.

Call 214-389-2602 for reservations.

This beloved barbecue joint, finally reopened after a fire last New Year’s Eve, is back and better than ever. That’s thanks to a new addition to Tim and Trey Hutchins’ crew: John Mueller, the son of legendary barbecue king Louie Mueller, of famed Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor. Mueller’s signature items, including sausage specials (peach habanero, anyone?) are the star of the pit, as are the restaurant’s always-reliable pork ribs, loaded baked potatoes, and jalapeno pinto beans, which you can order by the gallon.