The November Hit List: Lyla, Yao Fuzi, The Woolworth, and More

Among all the freshly-opened restaurants this year, Lyla in the former Primo’s MX Kitchen on McKinney Avenue stands out. You could call it a triple threat with a prime location, impressive interior design that includes a chic patio update, and most importantly — outstanding food. Responsible for the last part is chef Cristhofer Sanchez, whose CV includes stations at Major Food Group’s Carbone and José Andrés’s Zaytinya.

At Lyla, Sanchez is putting out a toothsome range of coastal Italian fare that includes crudos, pizzas, pastas — and yes, steaks. Enhancing the food and environment are fun wine cocktails, including the Prince Sebastián with Rioja, Tequila and Mexican Coca-Cola, and the Last Train to Madrid with bourbon, cabernet sauvignon, pineapple and orange.

Patios will be in top form this month, making it high time to investigate Oddfellows’ new spritzes and natural wine list. Owners Amy Cowan and Jason Roberts made the changes this summer as a reminder that Oddfellows is as wonderful in the evening as it is during their consistently fabulous brunches. Now, on that hip corner patio, you can sip herbaceous spritzes aperitivo-style or relish sustainably-farmed sparkling Italians, orange wines, and “nerdy, unfiltered reds,” as they call it. The dinner menu is seeing some fall colors, too, with a roasted fig salad, escargots, and a butternut squash linguine with fried arugula. You will also want the permanently delicious dark chocolate ding dong.

After a swell of praise, culminating in a spot on the New York Times’ 2022 best restaurants list, Smoke ’N Ash moved two miles away from their original location this September. The new space offers much the other could not: A bigger kitchen for Fasicka Hicks’ Ethiopian home cooking, a bar, a larger dining room, and a stage for bands. As for what to expect at a nationally-recognized Ethiopian barbecue spot, think Texas-grade smoked brisket and pork rib tips, but laced with berbere-spiced clarified butter and served with spongy injera. For sides, the beefy collard greens will almost literally send you to another place, and the berbere mac ‘n cheese will cause you to wonder what else you might possibly be missing out on in life.

Pro tip: On November 18, Smoke ’N Ash will celebrate their new location with a grand opening, an excellent occasion to get acquainted with their berbere-inflected cocktails.

Sally and Evan Batt were ahead of Dallas-Fort Worth’s distillery curve when they opened Lockwood Distilling Co.’s headquarters in Richardson in 2019. A few possible factors could explain the distillery’s continued popularity: A laid-back patio, killer cocktails to pair with thick sandwiches and pimento cheese-tater tots, or the Saturday afternoon tours that include a tasting and a prize for the best dad joke. Bring the group in early for root beers, boozy coffees, and pumpkin martinis, or stick around afterwards for spiked hot chocolates with cinnamon rum from Lockwood’s stock of the good stuff.

Kick off holiday season with pinkies up at the posh French Room in the Adolphus Hotel. For the first year, holiday tea will be served seven days a week from 11 a.m to 3 p.m., with a spread that includes cucumber cress and truffled egg salad sandwiches, scones, tea cakes, pastries, a glass of Champagne, and two loose-leaf teas from Dallas-based tea importer Zakti. To further lean into the luxe, ask for the Regiis Ova Siberian Reserve caviar service that includes buckwheat blinis.

Holiday tea goes live on Nov. 1, and continues through January 7, with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

Given the proximity to Oklahoma, fried onion burgers and Indian tacos are a far too rare treat in North Texas. One place to find both is Hooker’s Grill in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. Owner Ruth Hooker is from Oklahoma’s Choctaw Nation, and since 2017, she’s been serving two of the Sooner State’s finest delicacies from a colorful walk-up window. Grab a seat at one of the patio tables that offers a glimpse of the stockyards’ twice-daily cattle drives and tap your feet along to the country music, while diving into Indian fry bread with all the toppings, or one of the world’s most influential foods born from the Great Depression.

This aptly named Venezuelan restaurant is nestled in the middle of Addison’s many office buildings. Since arriving from Maracaibo, Venezuela seven years ago, owner Genesys Añez spearheaded a food truck in 2019, a restaurant in 2021, and this year, a market and bakery, where many of Big Yummy’s breads are made. Everything seemingly comes fully loaded here: Cachapas, patacones, hamburgesas, and arepa cabimeras, a fluffier Venezuelan arepa filled with your choice of meat and mounded with toppings. Añez takes diners into Venezuela even further with the beverages of her birthplace, including Frescolita, papelón con limón, and Maltín Polar.

While Dallas and Richardson have their own established, upscale Chinese restaurants, Yao Fuzi Cuisine belongs to Plano. For more than 15 years, the Yao family has served Chinese classics including lion’s head meatballs, wonton soup, and scallion pancakes in a storefront that conceals the interior bustle and elegance. Boosting the restaurant’s caliber are martinis, an extensive wine list, white tablecloths, and the family’s regional recipes from Shanghai, which include xiao long bao. The pork broth filling bypasses the greasiness of other dumplings in town, and is enclosed in a slightly smaller dumpling, but that means the juicy goodness is more likely to land into its target (your mouth), rather than spilling out on the nice tablecloths.

After a three-month closure, The Woolworth reopened last month on the second floor of downtown’s historic 1520 Elm Street Building. While the library-inbspired private dining room was expanded to accommodate groups up to 50, chef Ronald Van Hatten recreated the menu to include more internationally-inspired fare, he says. The result is new additions like lobster rangoon spring rolls; duck fat-fried truffle tater tots with cheese curds, duck confit, and duck gravy; and the “101” pork belly crackling, wherein marinated Berkshire pork belly is smoked, sous-vided, deep-fried in peanut oil, and then coated in star anise reduction. In addition, new bar chief Christian Rodriguez is debuting new cocktails, all of which can be enjoyed outside on the terrace with a front row seat to the Eye.

This Plano storefront is named after a city in South India known for its ornate temple architecture. Available every day for lunch are thalis, one of the world’s most striking sample platters that also originated in South India. Small bowls of varying vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries are served on silver circular platters with sambar, raita, rice, and a paratha. Or, if you prefer naan, go with the Bombay thali.

Really, Madurai Mes is an optimal place for sampling, with north and South Indian dishes, eight Indian breads, and twelve presentations of rice. For the gastronomically adventurous, try a carefully wrapped paan available next to the cash register. The extremely bitter betel leaves have been a customary post-meal digestif, breath-freshener, and stimulant for centuries. (Note: They are often spat out.)