Category: Restaurants

Why getting a table at Dallas restaurants is harder than it used to be

Posted onAuthor

The restaurant industry has changed in innumerable ways in recent years, but one shift Dallas diners are coming to terms with is the growing demand for restaurant reservations and the dwindling ability to get a table without one.

The surge in demand for table bookings picked up speed in 2021 as people eagerly returned to in-person dining once COVID-19 cases dropped, but the shift seems here to stay. Walk-in seat availability is harder to come by, and making reservations only a day or two out at popular restaurants often means taking early or late-night seating — or striking out altogether.

The uptick in demand for restaurant reservations is happening nationally. Online searches for reservations in the first quarter of 2022 were up 107% from the same time frame in 2021, according to national data from Yelp. We talked with several local restaurants who said they’ve seen a noticeable owner rise in demand for reservations at Dallas restaurants in the past year.

There are several reasons for the shift. First, there’s the matter of planning and convenience, which is no different now than it’s always been. Diners have schedules to juggle, babysitters to hire, and celebrations to plan around, all of which factor into the demand for reservations.

Then there’s the matter of social currency. Hard-to-get reservations have become a signal of social status. The country’s most coveted restaurant bookings are now being sold to people willing to pay anonymous sellers thousands of dollars on black market sites, like one run by a 34-year-old in Miami, according to a new report from the San Francisco Chronicles.

But restaurants are really driving this change in reservation culture. Still facing workforce shortages and rising operating costs, some restaurants have reduced their hours or scaled down their footprints. This has led restaurants to rely more heavily on reservations to run their businesses, and they’re encouraging them more than ever in a climate of economic uncertainty, says Emily Knight, president of the Texas Restaurant Association.

“In Dallas, we’re running at about a 20% [restaurant] staffing shortage, and with that you’re going to have fewer tables and slimmer menus,” Knight says. “So now what you have is a restaurant that needs much more thoughtful staffing and to know who is coming in and when to dine. And they need to ensure that if that person makes a reservation, that they’re going to really come in.”

TakeTatsu, for example. The omakase restaurant opened in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood in May 2022 and has already become “the city’s hardest reservation,” according to D Magazine dining critic Brian Reinhart. To get a seat at Tatsu, hopeful diners set alarms for 8 am on the first and the 15th of the month when reservations for the tasting menu, which must be paid in full at $170 per person, are released in two-week batches. The seats go quickly. After all, there are only 10 seats and two seats a night.

Matthew Ciccone, owner of Tatsu, says offering a limited number of prepaid reservations is pivotal to their business model and to ensure the level of hospitality and food they strive to execute. He found that releasing any more than 10 days of reservations at a time increases the likelihood of cancellations, even with a policy in place that asks for cancellations to be made five days in advance.

Master sushi chef Tatsuya Sekiguchi prepares sushi at Tatsu in Deep Ellum, Thursday, May 19,...
Master sushi chef Tatsuya Sekiguchi prepares sushi at Tatsu in Deep Ellum, Thursday, May 19, 2022.(Elias Valverde II / Staff Photographer)

“By doing it this way, we are controlling our food waste and ordering exactly what we need. The other side of that coin is why we ask for full payment up front. We pay our staff what they should be doing by doing this,” he says. “We can also really tailor the menu to the guests that book, and the only way to do that is to have that money up front.”

Ciccone says there has been a noticeable change in restaurant reservation demands in the Dallas dining scene in the past few years, and he sees it as Dallas catching up to other major cities like New York, where he lived for a decade.

“There’s no such thing as dining out without a reservation there,” he says. “I think this is going to be a new thing here [in Dallas] and part of the trade-off that we’re making with having more good restaurants.”

With that change, though, comes the possibility of people taking advantage of the demand and reselling restaurant reservations for a profit, and it’s something Ciccone is trying to hold off.

“We did an analysis with Tock [a booking site] to make sure people were not using computer programs to book reservations. Tock doesn’t allow people to use a script to book reservations, so we feel comfortable

… Read More

What Makes Authentic Mexican Food Truly Authentic?

Posted onAuthorAuthor

There’s a reason people search for authentic Mexican food when they crave something meaningful, flavorful, and real. It’s not just about spices or presentation. Authenticity is rooted in tradition, in the way ingredients are treated, the stories behind each preparation, and the cultural memory carried from kitchen to kitchen. When a dish feels like it could have been served at a family table in Mexico, that’s when it’s truly authentic.

Mexican cuisine is an inheritance: flavors, techniques, and rituals passed down through generations. And tacos, perhaps the most beloved of all Mexican foods, are one of the clearest expressions of this heritage.

The Foundation: Ingredients That Tell a Story

At the heart of traditional Mexican cooking is respect for ingredients. One of the most essential examples is the tortilla.

For centuries, corn has been a staple of Mexican life. But it becomes something extraordinary through nixtamalization, an ancient process of cooking and soaking corn in an alkaline solution. This unlocks flavor, improves nutrition, and gives fresh tortillas their tender texture and deep aroma. This difference sets the tone for everything built on top of it.

Then, we have the salsas. Salsa is not just a topping: it is part of the flavor structure of the dish. And in an authentic taquería, salsas are prepared each morning using ingredients that speak for themselves: roasted tomatoes, chiles, onions, cilantro, and lime.

There is no one “true” salsa. Each recipe reflects a region, a family, or even a specific cook’s personality.

Tacos: A Clear Example of Authentic Mexican Food

Tacos are one of the most expressive examples of Mexican culinary tradition because they carry the identity of the regions where they originate. Each style reflects a different landscape, history, and technique, and that’s what makes them truly meaningful. There is no single “right” taco; the variety itself is part of the culture.

Take tacos al pastor, for example, come from a blend of indigenous and Middle Eastern influences: pork marinated with spices and chiles, slow-roasted on the trompo, and carved into thin, tender layers. Suadero, on the other hand, offers a silky, savory texture achieved through careful searing and simmering. And carnitas are a celebration of patience, cooked slowly so the meat develops both juicy softness and crispy edges.

Each style reflects the community that created it: their ingredients, their celebrations, their everyday life. The way these tacos are prepared tells stories that have been passed from one cook to another, from one generation to the next.

Why Authentic Flavor Matters

Authentic Mexican flavor isn’t defined by intensity or complexity, but by care. It comes from taking the time to marinate al pastor overnight, from allowing carnitas to simmer gently until they reach just the right texture, from watching suadero closely to ensure it stays tender and rich. These methods aren’t shortcuts or quick conveniences: they are traditions preserved because they produce flavor that feels complete.

Authentic vs. Americanized Mexican Food

Across the United States, many restaurants adapt Mexican dishes to fit mainstream expectations, often adding more cheese, thicker tortillas, or heavier sauces. While these versions can be enjoyable, they tend to flatten the delicate balance that defines traditional Mexican cooking.

Authentic Mexican cuisine respects contrast:

  • the acidity of lime,
  • the freshness of cilantro and raw onion,
  • the heat and complexity of real chiles,
  • and the texture of a well-made tortilla that supports the filling.

When these elements are balanced, the dish feels connected to where it comes from. It reflects history, place, and memory. That’s the difference between a taco that simply fills you and one that truly resonates.

Preserving Tradition, One Taco at a Time

Restaurants that stay committed to these practices help keep cultural heritage alive. They honor recipes that have traveled through family kitchens and street stands. They value hospitality as part of the meal.

Authentic Mexican food is not just about flavor; it’s about continuity. It’s about remembering where we come from and sharing that memory with others.

… Read More

‘Irate’ restaurant worker pulls gun on employees

Posted onAuthor

An Upstate restaurant worker who found out his schedule had changed got rate Monday morning and pulled a gun on the other employees, sparking a school lockdown, police said. Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart released the police report showing Gary Lamar Brown, 44, of Anderson , was charged with simple assault, second-degree assault and battery, three counts of pointing a firearm at another person and unlawful carry of a weapon. The report said police responded about 9:45 am to a call about a hostile employee who had pulled a gun on other employees at Mission Grill on Greenville Street. The report said Brown was mad because his work hours had been cut, according to employees. Employees told police Brown started scaring and threatening other employees before he left the store. Brown came back to the store 20 minutes later and was told, because of his behavior earlier in the morning, he was fired, the general manager said. That’s when Brown became angry, pulled a pistol from his waist and started ed threatened everyone, the report said. The general manager told police he had just come out of the restroom when he heard a loud argument in the dining room and saw Brown pointing a gun at other employees. Brown hit one of the employees in the back of the head with the pistol, according to the report. Brown also threw a laptop at them as well as damaging a light above the counter the employees were standing behind, according to the report. The general manager said he went to his car and got his concealed carry handgun and that he and another employee blocked Brown from the rest of the employees. The hurt employee continued talking to Brown while the general manager helped get the other employees to the back freezer , according to the report. Brown left the restaurant on a bicycle and was later arrested at his home on Babb Street, according to the report. McCants Middle School was put on lockdown, according to the report. According to Kyle Newton, with Anderson School District 5, several other schools were put on into a “holding pattern” during the incident. The employee hit with the gun was checked out by emergency medical services but was not taken to the hospital, the report said. Investigators said the whole incident inside the restaurant was captured on security video.

ANDERSON, SC —

An Upstate restaurant worker who found out his schedule had changed got rate Monday morning and pulled a gun on the other employees, sparking a school lockdown, police said.

Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart released the police report showing Gary Lamar Brown, 44, of Anderson, was charged with simple assault, second-degree assault and battery, three counts of pointing a firearm at another person and unlawful carry of a weapon.

The report said police respondents about 9:45 am to a call about a hostile employee who had pulled a gun on other employees at Mission Grill on Greenville Street.

The report said Brown was mad because his work hours had been cut, according to employees.

Employees told police Brown started scaring and threatening other employees before he left the store.

Brown came back to the store 20 minutes later and was told, because of his behavior earlier in the morning, he was fired, the general manager said.

That’s when Brown became angry, pulled a pistol from his waist and started threatening everyone, the report said.

The general manager told police he had just come out of the restroom when he heard a loud argument in the dining room and saw Brown pointing a gun at other employees.

Brown hit one of the employees in the back of the head with the gun, according to the report.

Brown also threw a laptop at them as well as damaging a light above the counter the employees were standing behind, according to the report.

The general manager said he went to his car and got his concealed carry handgun and that he and another employee blocked Brown from the rest of the employees.

The hurt employee continued talking to Brown while the general manager helped get the other employees to the back freezer, according to the report.

Brown left the restaurant on a bicycle and was later arrested at his home on Babb Street, according to the report.

McCants Middle School was put on lockdown, according to the report.

According to Kyle Newton, with Anderson School District 5, several other schools were put on into a “holding pattern” during the incident.

The employee hit with the gun was checked out by emergency medical services but was not taken to the hospital, the report said.

Investigators said the whole incident inside the restaurant was captured on security video.

… Read More