The October Hit List: Revolver Taco Lounge, Strangeways, The Rustic, and More

One of Dallas’s most excellent and heartfelt tasting menus can be had at chef Regino Rojas’s Purépécha, where he serves seven meticulous Michoacán-influenced dishes for $180. The intimate production is a family affair: His mother, Juanita Rojas, is in charge of the more traditional aspects of the recipes, and his aunt Teresa assists by preparing heirloom tortillas in the way only a Mexicana knows how. While the courses are always changing depending on seasons and availability, Rojas reliably delivers an inspired feast to a communal table that actually sparks conversation among its eight diners each Friday and Saturday night. The impeccable flavors that show up in dish after dish make it impossible not to bond.

We’re ready for colder weather and Quan Nguyen’s warming 14-hour broths at Pho 544. Her fifteen varieties of pho and “wild child” bún bò huế with Vietnamese pork sausage, beef shank, pork knuckle, sliced pork, and blood cake make this family-run storefront the place to come for a pick-me-up. Most soups are available in an enormous “super bowl” size for only $13.95. For dry noodles, don’t skip the shaken beef garlic noodles packed with saucy, mouth-watering chunks of beef. After a customer request, it’s now offered as a surf-and-turf with a lobster tail for less than $30.

Find more info here.

Most North Texans know about the flood of crimson-and-cream visitors from the north who bring good-natured rivalry to Dallas bars on an early October weekend. For this year’s Red River Showdown, aka the OU-Texas game, the Rustic will stake its claim as Uptown’s premier venue for patio dining with live music. On Friday, Oct. 6 and Saturday, Oct. 7, they’ll partner with Shiner for $25 beer buckets and the ancient Bavarian strength contest known as a stein hoisting competition. Directly after the game on Saturday, “American Idol” contestant Jade Flores will perform, followed by Neon Prophets, a local country cover band. Hangover brunch and more singer-songwriters will be around on Sunday, too. (Find the full schedule here.)

For a taste of Puebla, Mexico’s most visually stunning and historic dish that’s also a symbol of Mexican independence, make a reservation for Don Artemio’s chile en nogada festival, which began last month and continues through October 15. Chef Rodrigo Cárdenas follows his well-known father’s lead in preparing the seasonal meat- and fruit-stuffed poblano pepper the same way it was prepared by the Traslosheros family 200 years ago. A glass of bubbles from Querétaro’s El Bajío winery in central Mexico enhances it. Speaking of wine, don’t miss Don Artemio’s Mexican-heavy wine list — including an October 11 wine dinner featuring Casa Madero, the Western Hemisphere’s oldest winery.

It’s rooftop bar season, an ephemeral but extraordinary fringe benefit of being a Dallasite. After relocating from Deep Ellum to a far larger space on Lower Greenville Avenue last year, Hide Bar on Lower Greenville offers prime real estate for second-floor imbibing. Hide continues its substantial selection of craft cocktails, including craft shots, which now can be sipped while beholding downtown Dallas views. Everyone knows alcohol is best enjoyed with something to eat, so the popcorn, pigs in a blanket, salads, pizzas, or the double cheeseburger with chuck and brisket patties covered in beer onions will fit the bill. You can also get the party started early on weekends with brunch beginning at 9 a.m. Or for an extreme bargain, weekday happy hours present 10 classic cocktails for under $8 (when that double cheeseburger also will set you back only $7).

Hospitality expert Jon Alexis has been on a restaurant-opening blitz in the past year with two new restaurants, Escondído and Ramble Room — along with coming-soon Birdie’s Eastside. However, TJ’s Seafood Market remains his first endeavor, and the one that led to the founding of his restaurant group Imperial Fizz. He took over TJ’s from his parents 14 years ago and has maintained its reputation for fresh seafood, cooked right. In addition to the classics, which remain on the menu, last month, Alexis and culinary director Stan Rodrigues added 15 new dishes, including oysters Rockefeller, warm lobster dip, and saffron shrimp rigatoni. The cocktail menu has some new recruits, too, like a blood orange gin and tonic and a “ranchrita,” a mix between a margarita and a ranch water.

Recent Texas Tech graduates Ian Greenberg and Harrison Nguyen are on a mission to make onigiri a recognizable treat to the average American. After starting with a food truck in Lubbock, the first brick-and-mortar restaurant in their plan to make GoGogiri a national chain opened on Preston Road last month. The cute triangular rice balls filled with wagyu beef, katsu chicken, roasted pork, and Spam are deceptively filling. And, by the looks of the busy dining room, an onigiri-hungry audience has been eagerly waiting for them to become available on a permanent basis. Soon, Greenberg and Nguyen will add mochi pancakes and breakfast onigiri, along with a boba tea shop at the back of the restaurant.

Find more info here.

Pizza and its myriad styles have been majorly featured in the press lately. One place to sample most every style out there, including Dallas-style (yes, we said, “Dallas-style”), is Andrew’s American Pizza Kitchen in Plano. There’s New York, Detroit, Chicago, and crackery Philly tavern-style pizzas, along with lasagna soup, salads, pastas, and sandwiches. As for what accounts for a Dallas-style pizza, owner Andrew Albert, the owner of the much-loved, now-closed Picasso’s Pizza, says it’s prepared from a dough that uses yeast and shortening to yield a crunchy-yet-soft crust. Further, this summer saw the addition of a happy hour menu that extends to 7 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday. Along with reduced-price bites, drafts, and by-the-glass wine, look for $10 cocktails, such as ice-cold martinis, a fig old fashioned, and a grapefruit rosé spritz.

At Texas’s only modern Brazilian restaurant, chef Junior Borges translates the food of his homeland for the Texans he loves. Earlier this year, Borges briefly experimented as a tasting menu-only concept. Now, there’s the best of both worlds: An updated à la carte menu maintains all the original highlights, while also including the option for an eight-course chef’s tasting for $115. Courses will change often, but this month, it can be expected to start with oysters and caviar, followed by triangoli pasta with stracciatella cheese and Texas corn.

Find more info here.

Opened September 14, Pearl by chef Shine Tamaoki is the newest restaurant to enter Dallas’s booming Japanese restaurant scene. Choose between dining in the cozy-but-dramatic dining room with a sushi bar, or sipping a Japanese-influenced cocktail on the patio, or grabbing takeout sushi from the dedicated to-go window. The fresh nigiri, sashimi, maki, and chirashi bowls will charm fish-loving tastebuds wherever they may be sitting. Until Shine begins featuring monthly omakase dinners, omakase-lovers can request it any night of the week at the sushi bar.

Find more info here.

Take note, Dallas craft beer fans: Strangeways will close this month after 12 years. The family-owned bar and restaurant was known for its niche microbrews and annual sour and barrel-aged beer weeks — and for being the only bar in Dallas named after an album by The Smiths. Brother-and-sister owners Eric Sanchez and Rosie Ildemaro were caught off-guard by the sale of the building on Fitzhugh Avenue, but they’re pressing on as they always have, selling everything they have in stock, including bottles to go, until they’re out. Their mother Yolanda Sanchez, who led the kitchen, is still making everything except her tamales. So a small window of time remains to pour one out for one of Dallas’s most-loved bars while noshing on yuca fries with guasacaca sauce from the family’s native Venezuela.