Dallas, TX
Hot List: 6 of our favorite healthy restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth
If you’re starting 2024 with ambitions to eat healthfully, we’re here to support you. Dallas-Fort Worth has plenty of restaurants selling delicious veggies and lean proteins. Some of you might be abstaining from alcohol during Dry January, and many of these restaurants have alcohol alternatives, kombucha or sparkling water. Happy 2024!
Restaurants are listed in alphabetical order.
Brix Barbecue in Fort Worth
One of the most exciting barbecue restaurants in Texas right now is Brix, the former food trailer that moved into its permanent home in Fort Worth in 2023. We met Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn at Brix last fall to record an episode of our Eat Drink DFW podcast (listen here!), and we were enthralled by pitmaster Jeremiah Jemente’s Texas porchetta pork belly, Wagyu beef belly burnt ends and house-made jalapeño-cheddar sausage.
Now here’s the rub: You might not think “healthy” when you think of barbecue, but I want you to think again. Whole30 warriors can mostly eat all the protein they like as long as there’s not sugar added, and Brix’s brisket, barbacoa, Texas porchetta and pulled pork meet those requirements deliciously. (Just try to eat some veggies, too.)
Brix Barbecue is at 1012 S. Main St., Fort Worth. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Cava in Addison, Arlington, Coppell, Frisco, Dallas, Denton, Euless, Flower Mound, Forney, Fort Worth, Plano, Richardson and University Park
We like Cava because it has something for everyone. The salads are a great way to pack a ton of veggies in one bowl and jazz it up with a vinaigrette, food editor Erin Booke says. The pitas, especially the crispy falafel, are comforting and can be vegetarian. The bowls with grains are filling but still healthy. And there’s even a build-your-own kid’s meal.
Every time I build a bowl — often, a Mediterranean spin with grilled chicken, hummus, cucumber and tomato — I giggle when I ask for Crazy Feta. It’s just feta with jalapeño, onions and olive oil, but it feels so much more dangerous.
Find a Cava at cava.com/locations.
Manhattan Project Beer Company in Dallas
The food at breweries can be great. We’ve known that since we ate BrainDead Brewing’s Coma Burger (may it rest in peace), since Community Beer Company reworked its menu, and since the new Wriggly Tin started selling pizza with its Small Beer Works pints. Problem is, it’s easy to splurge at a brewery instead of eating light. Food reporter Claire Ballor says the salmon salad with lemon-oregano vinaigrette at Manhattan Project is great. The menu confirms it’s “just as delicious as the fried chicken.” This is just the kind of positive peer pressure we need when we’re trying to eat healthfully.
Manhattan Project is at 2215 Sulphur St., Dallas.
Modern Market in Plano, Richardson, Las Colinas, Southlake and Dallas
Let’s hear it for soup season. Modern Market has three great ones: tomato-basil, green chicken chili and curry sweet potato. Then, pick your favorite veggies and fruit for a main course. The Urban Farmer salad has roasted butternut squash, red beets, dried cranberries and goat cheese with a maple-mustard dressing. The Jerk Tuna comes with roasted red peppers, cucumbers, avocado, mango salsa and a dressing made with Caribbean spices and Greek yogurt. Modern Market is one of food reporter Imelda García’s favorite spots for a salad or a bowl.
Find a Modern Market at modernmarket.com/locations.
Sachet in Highland Park
Sachet is one of the best places in Dallas for a business lunch. We crave the crudité with muhammara and herb labne; just ask for more veggies instead of the warm pita. (But oh! The pita is so good.) The “salady bowls” section of the menu is full of vegetables with chickpeas, chicken or salmon. If you’re extra hungry, opt for the chicken shawarma with spicy baba ghanoush; it’s so filling, you might have some left over for dinner.
Sachet is at 4270 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. Closed Sundays. Reservations recommended.
Sweetgreen in Addison, Dallas, Fort Worth and Southlake
I don’t want to know how much money I spent in 2023 just on the Chicken Pesto Parm salad at Sweetgreen. It’s my midday comfort-bowl go-to, with bright notes of hot sauce and pesto vinaigrette mixed with spinach, quinoa, spicy broccoli, tomatoes, Parmesan and za’atar breadcrumbs. If you’re watching your dairy or carb intake, cut the Parm and breadcrumbs — I’ve done it and still love it. The employees at Sweetgreen are attentive to allergies and dietary restrictions, so tell them what you can or can’t eat, and they can make a recommendation. Salads like the Italian Chopped and Kale Caesar are also great.
Find a Sweetgreen at sweetgreen.com/locations.
Claire Ballor, Erin Booke and Imelda García contributed to this story.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X (formerly Twitter) at @sblaskovich.
Dallas, TX
Dallas police pension won big against the city, but there is still room for agreement
In August, when the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System filed a lawsuit against City Hall, we winced in concern.
The difference boiled down to which entity, the city or the pension board, had the authority to send a plan to the Texas Legislature to get the badly underfunded system back on track.
Well, the pension system won that fight in district court in Travis County. The plan it has crafted would offer substantially more funding to the pension system, with cost-of-living increases and a reduction in employee contributions in later years.
The city could drag this through an appeal, but as things stand, the pension system’s plan would become the required funding formula.
Most readers know the pension system is underfunded by more than $3 billion. The difference here boils down to how much additional money the city will contribute per year to get us back on track. Under the pension system’s plan, it would be millions more per year.
But this is a wholly negotiable matter. Two sides have different figures in mind. The sides need to hash out those differences in a way that ensures the city is aligned with a 2017 state law that was passed for the express purpose of getting this pension funded.
There are serious people on both sides. What we need now is a leader at City Hall who has the standing to get this done. Normally, that would be the mayor, but our mayor hasn’t been doing the hard work at City Hall for a long time and we don’t expect him to start now. It could be the city manager, but that job is in the hands of an interim manager now.
Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins has been doing the heavy lifting for the city, but whether he can lead the city’s side in negotiations is unclear.
All we know is that there is an opportunity for a solution that gets this thing out of court and a solid plan to the Legislature that, yes, includes sacrifices but that also stops the drumbeat about this important public benefit.
Someone needs to get on the phone, book a conference room, order some takeout and work the spreadsheets. There is time, but the clock is ticking.
We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com
Dallas, TX
Victor Cruz agrees that playing the Cowboys comes with a bit of extra motiviation
Something I have come to realize is that if you are a Dallas Cowboys fan around the age of 40 (a little room for flexibility at the top) or younger, you have only gotten the bad in this. Your friends, family, co-workers, etc. all tease you and mock you when your team loses and for the majority of your life, for all of your adult life, that has been the case.
You get the treatment that fans of the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Yankees get in terms of meme-ability but without any sort of hardware to make crawling through the mud worth it. Consider that each of those teams are dealing with droughts of their own, the youngest of which was born when Dallas’ was already 14 years old.
It is for this reason that when CeeDee Lamb said following Monday night’s loss that teams are looking to “embarrass” the Cowboys that I found it interesting. I’m not here to act like playing the Cowboys “is so and so’s Super Bowl”, but I do put some stock into the idea that opposing teams smell blood in the water so to speak and know that a domination against America’s Team lives a little bit louder than most. Consider all the fanfare that the New Orleans Saints picked up earlier this season as a recent example.
These are just my two cents though so I was curious how someone who has actually been in those shoes/cleats feels about the whole thing. Thankfully I had an opportunity to talk to former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz earlier this week and asked him about the idea among other things.
You can watch our conversation here:
Cruz’s Giants team won the Super Bowl 13 years ago when Dallas’ drought was already 16 years old (I’d imagine Jerry Jones bought them a brand new Mercedes for the occasion). They famously defeated the Cowboys in an NFC East title game in Week 17 at MetLife Stadium, the first of three in a row that Dallas would lose to each of their division rivals. I lived those three years like every one of you and still cannot believe that they actually happened in that exact way.
The Murphy’s Law of who the Cowboys are speaks for itself in that what can go wrong will and while Cruz didn’t exactly agree with that particular sentiment, he did note that playing the Cowboys comes with a little bit of extra motivation. He added that playing for the Giants brings with it a big stage in and of itself, an objectively true statement, and said the right things about how you want to embarrass anybody you play because it’s the NFL.
Whatever the case you can add Cruz to people who at least partially share the sentiment that CeeDee Lamb offered on Monday night. The whole thing is depressing and it is hard to know when it will end.
Cruz and I discussed a variety of things, including his recent partnership with Captain Morgan and a particularly sweet new crewneck.
Starting November 22, limited quantities of the Captain Morgan Crewneck will drop on KidSuper.com. Miss the drop? You’re in luck – Captain Morgan is unlocking access for fans 21+ to score the coolest merch of the season. Head over to FollowTheCaptain.com, and while you’re there, dive into a world of hidden clues and surprises, because you never know what Captain Morgan has in store as we gear up for Super Bowl LIX.
Our thanks to Victor Cruz and Captain Morgan for the time.
Dallas, TX
Stephen Jones doubles down on Dallas Cowboys failed trade
When Brock Purdy took over as the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Trey Lance was left without a spot. That led to a trade with the Dallas Cowboys, who sent a fourth-round pick to the 49ers for the former North Dakota State quarterback.
Adding Lance wasn’t a bad idea on the surface, since he was the No. 3 overall pick in 2021. The problem was that Dallas gave up a fourth-round pick when it appeared there were no serious contenders for Lance.
The trade doesn’t look any better given the fact that Lance is sitting on the bench while Cooper Rush starts in place of an injured Dak Prescott.
MORE: Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy comments on Giants’ release of QB Daniel Jones
Despite this, Stephen Jones believes the team made the right move. While speaking on 105.3 The Fan, he even said they would do the trade again.
Ironically enough, the Cowboys said repeatedly that adding Lance had nothing to do with Dak Prescott. Now, Jones is admitting that was a factor in their decision.
Dallas also never truly gave Lance an opportunity. He was the inactive third quarterback all season in 2023, with Rush playing in garbage time games. Not only did they get no look at him during his first season with the franchise, but he’s now only played in spot duty.
Lance has completed 4-of-6 attempts for 21 yards with one interception. He’s also picked up 17 yards on three attempts.
Such a low usage proves the coaching staff doesn’t believe Lance has the ability to be a starter. Even so, Jones would do the trade all over again.
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