Eating in Dallas—the latest …

Hat Creek at The Hill. Photo by Carol Toler

Central Dallas: The casual, order-at-the counter spot features shaded patio seating and a playground for the kiddies. On the menu is the carb-lovers triumvirate – French fries, sweet potato fries and tater tots – and never-frozen burgers. (For a single patty burger, order the Little Hat. You’ll get a double patty with the Big Hat.) Hat Creek is the newest addition to The Hill at Walnut Hill and I-75

Lake Highlands: You know what we need more of in Dallas? Tacos, right? Nope. But we’ll take them. The new Taco Diner at Lake Highlands Town Center’s grand opening also will be a fundraiser for a favorite neighborhood charity.

Uptown area: Smithy on Henderson in the old Hibiscus location (which once was a blacksmith shop, who knew? Well, Dallas Eater did. Anyhow, now it’s all ahi tuna bowls, crab nachos, shareable poutine and steak. Sit inside or hang out and look super-hip on the restaurant’s see-and-be-seen patio. The party goes until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, boosted by Italian and Japanese style cocktails and, of course, craft beers.

East Dallas, but not yet: Maya Modern Mediterranean will join Casa Linda Plaza, CultureMap reports. Occupying erstwhile Alligator Cafe on the northeast corner of the intersection of Buckner and Garland, Maya’s makes Middle Eastern dishes such as falafel and kebabs, and the menu boasts three flavors of — oh, Greek gods! — dessert hummus.

Look guys! It’s dessert hummus. And all is right with the world.

In case you were wondering, as was I, “WTF does dessert hummus taste like?” Bon Appetit.com notes that the “texture is creamy in a thick canned-frosting kind of way, a little airy and gritty at the same time—you can tell you’re eating hummus, but your brain gets confused by the sweetness.”