Unsure where Dallas's in-the-know crowd is eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which local businesses have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Dallas businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are on a hot streak, right now.
bellagreen
Open since November, this New American spot, which offers salads, pizza and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw review counts increase by a median of 2.6 percent over the past month, but bellagreen saw a 46.9 percent increase, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Sixty Vines has seen a 12.6 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 8041 Walnut Hill Lane, Suite 810, in Lake Highlands, bellagreen offers its signature dish, Brick Chicken. Half of a boneless chicken is marinated overnight with herbs, garlic and olive oil, then sauteed in a hot skillet for an extra-crisp texture and garnished with lemons and rosemary. It's served with chipotle mashed sweet potatoes and roasted vegetables. Try a slice of gluten-free key lime pie for dessert. A kids menu is also available, offering burgers, chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese and more. This business provides catering services too and has several other locations in the Dallas area. (See the full menu here.)
Velvet Taco
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about North Dallas's Velvet Taco, the New American and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers tacos and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 2.5 percent over the past month, Velvet Taco bagged a 20.3 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to its current four stars. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.6 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 11700 Preston Road, Suite 600, since September, Velvet Taco offers 20 different taco varieties. Try the Picnic Chicken tacos, featuring rotisserie chicken, avocado crema, warm honey-dijon potato salad, crispy chicken skin and cilantro inside flour tortillas. Brunch is served all day and the chicken and waffles dish is a favorite. A waffle tortilla holds crisp tenders, peppercorn gravy, green-apple slaw, maple syrup, peppered bacon, red-chili aioli and chives. Desserts, beer and margaritas are also on tap. The business has several other locations in Texas. (Read more about it here.)
Morton's
Oak Lawn's Morton's is also making waves. Open at 2222 McKinney, Suite 200, the popular steakhouse, bar and traditional American spot has seen a 4.6 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.9 percent for all businesses tagged "American (Traditional)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, review counts increased by more than 500 percent.
Morton's offers all the steak types you'd expect, but if you're looking for something easier to tackle, you'll find bar bites on the menu as well. Iceberg Wedge Bites, for example, are bite-sized wedge salads, served with tomato, egg, bacon bits and blue cheese dressing. Petite filet mignon sandwiches with mustard mayonnaise are also served. Complement your meal with a classic cocktail, wine or beer. (Check it out here.)
Over the past month, the business has maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers. The restaurant has multiple locations nationwide and internationally.
