Innovation is on our minds as we head toward the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas. This month’s Hot List celebrates restaurants thinking big.

There’s NADC, the smashburger shop in Fort Worth from California chef Phillip Frankland Lee. He moved to Texas during the pandemic — seems like everybody did — and he now owns 12 restaurants in the Lone Star State.

Two other innovators are The Plot Twist in Denton and La Tiki Paisa in Dallas, both bars in bookstores.

This month’s Hot List spotlights all the North Texas restaurants you need to visit now: new, old and everything in between.

Restaurants listed in alphabetical order.

Bugatti Ristorante in Farmers Branch

We heard you lamenting the loss of Bugatti, the more than 45-year-old restaurant serving Italian classics in Dallas. Bugatti was never gone, but its dining room was closed for nearly two years while the restaurant relocated to a new development in Farmers Branch.

The new restaurant, tucked in a corner of interstates 635 and 35E, boasts the same maître d, Zee Aziz, who some people call “Mr. Bugatti.” You’ll have to set your maps to a new location, but regulars tell us a jovial Italian spirit lives on in the new space.

Bugatti Ristorante is at 1940 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Farmers Branch. Dinner only.

Catch in Uptown Dallas

Celebrity spotters, make your reservation at Catch right now. This dark, dim, sexy seafood restaurant is teeming with VIPs most nights of the week. On a recent visit, I had excellent service and food — and I paid a premium for both. Catch seems like a quintessential place to celebrate something in Dallas, without the pricey plane ticket to Las Vegas, Aspen or New York.

Catch is at 3005 Maple Ave., Dallas. Dinner only.

Chicken Guy! in Dallas’ Preston Hollow

Fans of Guy Fieri should hightail it to Chicken Guy!, Fieri’s fast-casual chicken tenders restaurant that just opened near Trader Joe’s at Walnut Hill and the North Central Expressway. You probably won’t find Fieri himself at the restaurant; he’s busy with the Food Network. But you’ll soak up all the pleasures of Flavortown here in Dallas.

Chicken Guy! is at 7859 Walnut Hill Lane (at Preston Hollow Village), Dallas.

The Chumley House in Fort Worth

If you’re looking for an upscale night out on the town, The Chumley House is the answer no matter where you live in North Texas: It’s worth the drive. The menu calls for comfort food like butter chicken, ricotta-stuffed shells and chicken schnitzel, and all are served in a handsome dining room with attentive service. We hope Michelin’s mysterious critics are paying attention to it.

The Chumley House is at 3230 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. Dinner only.

Cleaver and Co. in Uptown Dallas

It’s not an ax throwing place, it’s a burger joint. This casual restaurant was designed to feel like a “blend of a sports bar atmosphere and rustic butcher shop,” according to press materials. It’s one of the few restaurants on this list I’ve not been to yet. I think the way to go is to try two classic burgers, the smashburger and Cleaver’s signature burger, and compare. Tots on the side.

Cleaver and Co. is at 4438 McKinney Ave., Dallas.

Ebesu Robata & Sushi in Plano

Open since 2019, Ebesu is one of the most interesting Asian restaurants in Collin County. How does it compare to the restaurants in the entire state? Yelp named it the 32nd best restaurant in Texas in its Top 100 Places to Eat, making it the highest-ranking restaurant on the list from D-FW.

If you want to try the restaurant’s best bites, consider the $60 4-course tasting or the $99 10-course tasting. We wouldn’t call it “inexpensive,” but for a fixed-menu format, it’s one of the most affordable in town.

Ebesu Robata & Sushi is at 1007 E. 15th St., Plano. Dinner only.

Eddie’s Cocina & Cantina in Dallas

Tex-Mex restaurateur Eddie Cervantes, who created the infamous Primo’s Bar & Grill in Uptown Dallas in 1986, has opened a new restaurant on Dallas’ Lemon Avenue. He’s putting his name on the sign, as he did with Eddie’s on Greenville Avenue, which opened in 2021.

At the new Eddie’s at Lemmon Avenue and Inwood Road, Cervantes’ menu includes his classics: margaritas, queso, stuffed jalapenos, brisket tacos and more.

Eddie’s Cocina & Cantina is at 5622 Lemmon Ave., Dallas.

Four Sisters in Mansfield

TikTok influencer Keith Lee recently put Vietnamese restaurant Four Sisters on a list of recommended Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants. We’re right to question whether we love Lee’s suggestions, but we’re wrong to ignore them. He calls Four Sisters an “off the radar” spot that is most definitely on the radar now.

Lee loved the bao buns and beef pho. The seasonal crawfish fried rice and the Bo luc lac (shaking beef) look great.

Be right back: I’m driving to Mansfield.

Four Sisters is at 3806 East Broad St., Mansfield.

K&L Bagels in North Dallas

We’re in the midst of another mini bagel boom in Dallas-Fort Worth. Go check out K&L Bagels at Preston Road and Forest Lane in Dallas. It’s a tiny space selling our favorite carb-loaded breakfast item.

And, have you had a Jerusalem bagel in Texas? They sell ‘em at K&L.

K&L Bagels is at 11930 Preston Road, Dallas. Closed Mondays.

Kome in Preston Hollow/North Dallas

Do you want another Keith Lee rec? He found Kome to sell “quick and fresh sushi” and called it his “go-to nigiri spot” in Dallas. The restaurant is tucked inside The Hill shopping center and is known for its hand rolls.

Kome is at 8041 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas.

Meddlesome Moth in the Dallas Design District

You still have time to dine at The Meddlesome Moth in Dallas before it closes in late May 2025. The Moth was one of Dallas’s first gastropubs, and it helped make the Dallas Design District cool. (Today, the DDD is a hotspot for restaurants.) The Moth will close because of elevated rent prices. Time to go back for brunch and sit under those famous stained-glass windows.

The Meddlesome Moth is at 1621 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. It’s expected to stay open until May 20, 2025.

NADC Burger in Fort Worth

I walked into NADC Burger alone on a Tuesday night, unapologetically hungry. A manager asked if I was there to drink at the bar, watch a comedy show or eat a burger. Three good options, but I had an agenda: to eat that burger I kept seeing on the internet. NADC’s two-patty smashburger was cheesy, greasy, gooey and delicious. I ate it in less than five minutes, and I’d do it all over again.

NADC (Not A Damn Chance) Burger is at 604 Main St. (inside Big Laugh Comedy Club), Fort Worth.

Pepe’s and Mito’s in Deep Ellum

For more than 30 years, Pepe’s and Mito’s has been serving Tex-Mex in Deep Ellum. But in late February 2025, an internet rumor suggested that the longtime, family-owned restaurant had closed. Not true! The owners are currently doing damage control. Want to help? Go get a margarita and some Tacos Norteños.

Pepe’s & Mito’s Mexican Cafe is at 2911 Elm St., Dallas. Closed Sundays.

The Plot Twist in Denton

Denton’s new bookstore selling sexy romance novels is not a restaurant — but it is a bar. And we love a non-traditional place to eat or drink. The Plot Twist is owned by a mother-daughter duo who took a chance on an industry that’s seemingly dying. See, Denton zigs where other cities zag: Nearly 1,000 North Texans showed up on grand opening weekend. In the weeks since, book worms have continued to share their love of romantasy novels.

The Plot Twist Romance Bookstore & Bar is at 227 W. Oak St., Denton. Closed Mondays.

Ruthie’s Fueled by Good in South Dallas

After years of roaming Dallas selling grilled cheese sandwiches from a food truck, Ruthie’s has opened a permanent restaurant for breakfast and lunch. The shop is on MLK Boulevard, in a food desert in South Dallas. In addition to selling good food, Ruthie’s has a mission to extend second chances to people who need them and to raise money for The Good Foundation nonprofit.

A bonus: Ruthie’s has a private room. Think kids celebrating a birthday, businesspeople hosting a meeting or moms playing Mahjong.

Ruthie’s is at 1632 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas. Open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

SauceBros Pizza in Plano

SauceBros in Plano had its biggest weekend ever in February 2025. Bon Appétit honored this Bengali restaurant for its innovative pizzas, and news organizations (including ours) flocked to the tiny Plano strip center to interview the guys behind it. You’re going to want to order a SauceBros pizza. But give them a few weeks to recover.

Sauce Bros is at 3115 W. Parker Road, Plano. Closed Mondays. Order online for pickup or delivery at saucebrospizza.com.

Saved by the Bagel in Plano

It’s just adorable, theming a bagel shop after the 1990s show Saved By the Bell. This restaurant is especially interesting to me because it’s at the intersection of my childhood home in Plano — home base for my afternoon TV sessions with Zack Morris. It all comes back around.

Saved by the Bagel is at 6921 Independence Parkway, Plano. It opened Dec. 22, 2024.

La Tiki Paisa near East Dallas and Lake Highlands

A second bookstore bar made our Hot List this month. That has to be some kind of record! La Tiki Paisa is a cocktail bar and restaurant attached to Half Price Books in Dallas. The food and the cocktails are serious, but in a fun way. Here’s the story: Go for happy hour and snacks, then wander over to your favorite section of the bookstore and shop.

La Tiki Paisa (same storefront as La Casita Coffee) is at 5801 E. Northwest Highway, next to Half Price Books in Dallas.

La Tiki Paisa serves dinner and drinks only. The shop is open earlier in the day for coffee, pastries and lunch.

Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q in Allen

We called Vaqueros North Texas’s hottest barbecue joint in early 2025 now, and that’s still true a month later. Take a drive up to Allen and you’ll find a casual restaurant with Mexican-inflected barbecue. My favorite bite was the birria taco stuffed with brisket.

Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q is at 970 Garden Park Drive, Allen. Closed Mondays.

Zodiac Room in downtown Dallas

Bad news first: You probably can’t snag a reservation to The Zodiac at Neiman Marcus anymore. Neiman Marcus announced it would close its flagship retail store in downtown Dallas, and The Zodiac restaurant will close with it.

Good news now: In The Zodiac’s 71 years open, it served some of the most fashionable food in Dallas. It is the quintessential ladies-who-lunch spot, but anybody who wanted to feel fancy for an hour was welcome.

Do you have a vivid Zodiac memory? Email me at sblaskovich@dallasnews.com.

The Zodiac is at 1618 Main St. (inside Neiman Marcus, on level six), Dallas.