Righteous Foods Does Health Food With a Twist, and More Reviews

Teresa Gubbins reviewed Righteous Foods: Chef Lanny Lancarte's health-conscious Alta Cocina replacement is "is an au courant spot with all of the key signifiers in place: fresh-squeezed juices, organic ingredients, designer coffee program, vegan dishes, kale. And yet it’s not boilerplate; you get a sense of Lancarte and the discoveries he’s made." Standouts include the best-selling shrimp tacos, "perfectly cooked" with tomatillo sauce, and a unique guacamole with smoked pistachios and pita chips. Kelp noodle salad was another favorite, "tossed with pickled carrot, cucumber and olive in a dressing made with cashew cream — a technique used by vegetarian and vegan chefs to provide creamy richness without dairy." [DFW.com]

Leslie Brenner went to Ruggeri's: A recent Friday night at this neighborhood Italian restaurant at Preston and Royal "felt like the hottest restaurant in town." The critic deems it "a thoroughly likable restaurant with outstanding service," though the menu can be "hit-or-miss." Hits include "one of the best Caesar salads around," manicotta with ricotta and red sauce, linguine with clams, and lasagna verde, "its supple green noodles layered with bechamel, ground beef, melty cheeses and that wonderful red sauce." Less successful dishes were soft-shell crab and escargot dishes and an overcooked veal chop; best to stick to the classic pasta dishes here. Two stars. [DMN]

ELSEWHERE: Scott Reitz checked out old-school steakhouse Dunston's; SideDish sampled pumpkin pies; DFW.com sampled Martin House Brewing's River House; Daniel Vaughn fact-checked the Wall Street Journal's terrible barbecue reporting; Escape Hatch sampled beers from Rabbit Hole Brewing.