The July Hit List: Billy Can Can, Fitzgerald, Nikko Southlake, and More

Billy Can Can proves that steakhouses can still be relevant in the summertime — with seasonal menu items like the street corn ravioli in sunflower-shaped girasole pasta pockets, and an heirloom tomato salad prepared with 20 different varieties from chef Matt Ford’s garden. Sure, you could still go big with a prime rib eye from 44 Farms or a buffalo filet mignon with bordelaise, but you can also eat light (and similarly well!) with snapper crudo topped with pickled honeydew melon, or rock shrimp ceviche with cucumber aguachile, or a crispy skate fish sandwich.

And of course, when it opened in 2018, Billy Can Can was a trailblazer in putting Texas wines on an upscale steakhouse menu and offering them by-the-glass, too. All the better to discover the state’s finest efforts with selections from Reddy Vineyards, C. L. Butaud, and Pedernales Cellars. Spirits lovers can get well-slaked here too, with sixteen craft cocktails and Balcones whisky, Elijah Craig bourbon, and Tesoro Tequila flights.

During the pandemic when patios were essential, Yellow Rosa Cocktaileria owner Joel Roland installed a retractable roof, which has resulted in a charming “indoor patio” in Deep Ellum. The open-air dining room makes for a chill yet spirited cantina where paleta shots, spiked horchatas, frozen Palomas and large format drinks go down smoothly alongside fajitas, quesabirria tacos, and enchiladas.

Weekend brunch offerings include molletes, chilaquiles, and huevos divorciados, which can be savored to the emotive melodies of a live mariachi band when the mimosas and micheladas flow. Dance it all off after 10:30 p.m. on Friday or Saturday when Yellow Rosa transforms into a lively Latin dance club, or play for prizes on Thursday lotería nights.

Find more info here.

Forget the exorbitant seafood towers of Dallas and head to Fitzgerald in the Camp Bowie district for Gulf Coast seafood in a far more relaxed environment. Here, the seafood tower costs $85 and includes a dozen oysters, pickled and poached shrimp, seared ahi tuna, crawfish salad, and ceviche. That will successfully whet the appetite for lobster linguine, jumbo Creole scallops with crawfish maque choux, and gumbo loaded with redfish, oysters, shrimp, crawfish tails, and jalapeño sausage.

In addition to being a U.S. Navy veteran, chef Ben Merritt is also a seasoned kitchen veteran after years at his former restaurant, Fixture. Fort Worthians know him for his winning episode on “Chopped,” as well as for excellent brunches, which he continues at Fitzgerald with lobster corn dogs and classic lobster Newburg.

With hand-stretched mozzarella, a side-by-side prosciutto de Parma tasting, and housemade ricotta, focaccia, pasta, and gelato, 61 Osteria is an Italian food-lover’s dreamland. Housed in what was formerly the First National Bank of Fort Worth, which incidentally opened in 1961, the upscale restaurant decorated in brown, gold, and aqua hues comes from a Cowtown powerhouse team: owner Dain “Adam” Jones and executive chef Blaine Staniford.

With their third collaboration, they’re honing in on “Texas ingredients with an Italian twist,” where ricotta-stuffed pastas like the rotolo and “serpente” have pasta-philes rolling in. The coiled serpente is wreathed with umami-laden hen of the woods mushrooms and balanced with the cultured taste of preserved lemon. It’s so rich and interesting that an absence of meat goes unnoticed. But if a slab of meat is what you’re looking for, go for the bistecca Fiorentina, a porcini- and fennel pollen-crusted 28-ounce prime porterhouse.

What was once a singular, family-owned storefront serving Shanghainese cuisine in Irving has become one of Lower Greenville Avenue’s hottest reservations. Fortune House’s second location opened in February on what has historically been mostly a beer, pizza, and burgers strip. Four months later, it continues to draw busy weekday crowds, and on weekends, tipplers hungry for a late-night dumpling fix snake out the door.

In addition to creative riffs on popular cocktails, like an old fashioned with Chinese five-spice, find an extensive menu of Chinese classics, including Mongolian beef, kung pao chicken, and twice-cooked pork. The highlight and must-order, however, is the pork xiao long bao (soup dumplings), a delight that most likely originated in Shanghai. For a further taste of the cuisine from China’s biggest city on the Yangze River, bring a group for tea-smoked duck and whole steamed sea bass.

At last, the most elusive Japanese sandos in Texas are available on a permanent basis in a fast-casual spot on Main Street in downtown. After launching during the pandemic to much success, chef Stevie Nguyen and his team are accomplishing their original mission to make pillow-soft and aesthetically excellent sandwiches available to the masses from a brick-and-mortar. One bite of the Japanese shokupan (milk bread) that’s as soft as a mother’s breast will prove these sandwiches aren’t just Insta-worthy; they’re air-light, refreshing, and tasty snacks.

As Sandoitchi has always operated, flavors will change with a few core constants: The egg salad with kewpie mayo, the classic chicken katsu with koji chicken, and the spicy truffle chicken katsu with (mild) truffle hot sauce. Otherwise, look for rotating flavors that includes sweeter varieties like mango ube cream and Japanese sweet potato with pistachio. Add a bag of Japanese chips and a matcha soda, and you have a complete and extremely cute meal.

Find more info here.

For barbecue, steaks, and burgers in a comfortable, classy, and kid-friendly dining room, reserve a booth at chef-owner Doug Pickering’s outpost in Snider Plaza. With high-caliber meats, such as USDA prime Allen Brothers steaks, Duroc pork ribs, Texas wagyu brisket, and smoked Berkshire pork shoulder, the menu at the Douglas is balanced by sizable salads and nods to Southern classics.

Appetizers like the spicy pimento dip encircled by deep-fried saltines and the bacon-wrapped jalapeño brisket bullets will reinforce your whereabouts, lest you forget you’re in the Lone Star State. These delicacies go down well with new summer cocktails like the July Moon, which combines vodka, elderflower liqueur, and Coors Banquet with strawberries and rhubarb bitters. For $10 cocktails and reduced-price bites, visit during happy hour, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and all day Monday.

Dallas-Fort Worth hosts a couple of successful churrascaria chains, but there’s only one 12 Cuts Brazilian Steakhouse. Husband and wife owners Juarez DeCanto and Alda Boiani originally moved from Brazil to open Fogo de Chão’s first U.S. location in Addison in 1997. After more than two decades with the company, they branched off with their own steakhouse that’s an equally elegant meat-fest — with possibly even more personal attention.

After filling up a plate at the salad bar and snacking on warm, gooey pão de queijo, flip the coaster from red to green to receive non-stop, all-you-can-eat cuts, including spicy picanha, rib eye, filet mignon, and chorizo. And try to save room the sugar- and cinnamon-dusted grilled pineapple that’s served from skewers just like the meats, a presentation only found at 12 Cuts.

Call 469-779-7012 for reservations. Find more info here.

Visit TLC Vegan Cafe for deceptively delicious plant-based meals prepared by celebrity chef Troy Gardner. He’s made several appearances on the Food Network and most recently appeared on an episode of “Beat Bobby Flay” in May. He’s been calling his “tastes like chicken” creations “the gateway drug to veganism” since his first restaurant in 2006, and with hearty Not Yo Mama’s Sloppy Joes, chili cheese brats, Impossible cheesy lasagna, and chicken-fried steak, he makes it easy to fill up on animal-free fare. Which isn’t to say there isn’t indulgence, especially on the dessert menu: strawberry cake, bananas Foster bread pudding, or gooey, gluten-free chocolate cake.

Find more info here.

You don’t need to be in a bustling city center for high-quality sushi when restaurants like Nikko Southlake exist. Opened one year ago this July in Southlake Town Square, the restaurant offers an affordable omakase that begins with four preliminary tastings (think sea bream crudo with yuzu chojang or a crispy rice bite topped with uni and caviar). That’s followed by eight pieces of nigiri and a slice of violet ube mille crepe cake — all for $100. For an even more deluxe experience, try the premium omakase on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights for $250.

There’s also an extensive à la carte menu, including tataki, crudos, ramen, and 24 maki rolls that aren’t overly drizzled with sickly sauces. The drinks menu is just as thorough as the food, with 10 Japanese beers and 41 sakes.

In addition to dinner, Nikko is open for lunch Monday through Friday, which allows more opportunities to work through all that’s offered. And, Tuesday night is oyster night, when all Japanese-style oysters from Murder Point are half-off.