Texas Monthly adds and updates approximately sixty restaurant listings to our Dining Guide each month. There’s limited space in the print issue, but the entire searchable guide to the best of Texas cuisine is at your fingertips online!

Below are a few highlights from the new restaurants reviewed in our October 2022 issue. Click “More Info” for further detail on each restaurant:

Dallas

Hugo’s Invitados

The West Village was lucky to land the second location of this modern restaurant, which originated in Las Colinas. The kitchen celebrates regional Mexican flavors, evident in the superb salsas and dazzling sauces that complement a range of dishes. An excellent starter was the seared panela cheese, served over a tomatillo salsa and topped with herbs, edible flowers, corn, and tangy roasted nopales. Another was the barbacoa, which turned out to be a tower of braised and shredded Wagyu beef cheek surrounded by an earthy cascabel-guajillo chile sauce. The Crackling Pollo entrée stars a marinated, pan-roasted chicken breast atop charred tomatillo salsa; it was moist and flavorful, flanked by lemongrass rice and a tangy cucumber salad.
Mexican | ⭑⭑⭑ | $$$ | More Info

Fort Worth

Paris Coffee Shop

Restaurateurs Lou Lambert, Mark Harris, and Chris Reale had a tough task when they took over this diner from its longtime owner, Mike Smith, early in 2020. They wanted to refresh the interior and update the menu for a new generation, while also satisfying regulars who had long cherished a restaurant that opened in 1926. Success on all counts. The dining room is stylish but still traditional, with chrome accents and lots of blond tones. The menu retains familiar favorites, such as the blue-plate special of meat loaf in a tomato sauce glaze. But it has notable new items, like a grain bowl with quinoa and barley. There’s even a bar. As always, save room for buttermilk or coconut cream pie.
American | ⭑⭑⭑ | $$ | More Info

Frisco

Baonecci

This charming corner spot in a shopping center south of downtown Frisco is the new baby of chef Stefania Gambaccini and her husband and co-owner, Walter. After emigrating from Lucca, the historic walled city of Tuscany, with their two sons some fifteen years ago, they established themselves in San Francisco’s North Beach, where their trattoria became the darling of critics and ordinary folk alike. But when the pandemic shut down the city, in 2020, the family visited friends in Texas and unexpectedly found their new home. Stefania’s specialty is, fittingly, cucina lucchese, which captivates with its subtly layered flavors and generous, homestyle authenticity. Every single dish we tried delighted us, from the tordelli alla lucchese—a ravioli-like pasta fat with beef and pork—to a lasagna bolognese with tissue-thin layers of egg pasta. This is expertly prepared food, from a region you don’t see represented much in the Dallas area.
Italian | ⭑⭑⭑ | $$$ | More Info

Houston

The Warwick

Naming his restaurant after one of Houston’s earliest fancy hotels, New Orleans native Antoine Ware offers creative Southern cuisine in the Westheimer space that once housed Houston’s. Top marks go to the Warwick Cheddar Burger and the crisp lemon-truffle chicken wings, with a bit of pepper for punch and a blue cheese dip for cooling off. Equally satisfying are plump char-broiled Gulf oysters topped with collard greens and garlic butter and a perfectly seared beef filet perched on a bed of polenta with cabernet sauce. Our only complaint was service: our wine didn’t appear until we finished our first courses, and a salad ordered as a starter arrived after we were offered dessert.
American | ⭑⭑ | $$$$ | More Info

McAllen

Joelene’s

The folks at Teddy’s Barbecue, in nearby Weslaco, have opened a new restaurant in McAllen’s Mercado District food hall. You can get the famous brisket (featured in this magazine’s 2021 list of the 50 best barbecue joints), but there’s also an expanded Southern menu. We loved the decadent Jo
Sandwich—crispy fried chicken and fried green tomato topped with pimento cheese on a potato roll—but the dish that really got our attention was the fried spareribs: they drop their amazing smoked pork ribs in the fryer and sauce them like a chicken wing—crazy, but it works. Pro tip: get there early because the ribs go fast!
Southern | ⭑⭑ | $$ | More Info

Rating System

Our reviews are written by critics who live in the cities and regions they cover. They remain anonymous to ensure that they receive no special treatment. The magazine pays for all meals and accepts no advertising or other consideration in exchange for a listing. Comments? .