Holiday shoppers at NorthPark Center have a new place to recharge with the opening this week of La Duni Latin Kitchen and Coffee Studio. The restaurant is the third in the La Duni brand, joining the original La Duni Latin Cafe on McKinney Avenue and La Duni Latin Kitchen and Baking Studio in Highland Park. "The new location has a lot of the same La Duni DNA, but it's a little bit different, as well," says owner Espartaco "Taco" Borga , who, with wife Dunia, also own Aló Cenaduria and Piqueos in Knox Park Village. "Because we're located in a mall, we had to do things a little differently with this one."

Some of those differences include more accessible menu additions, like a hamburger and baby-back ribs, though even these items offer a Latin American twist. "With the hamburger, we're doing an Argentinean-style burger," Mr. Borga says. The burger is a combination of ground beef and ground Argentinean sausage, served on South American-inspired egg bread.

The shopping mall setting also demanded a kids' menu (another first for La Duni), and the new locale, which opens onto NorthPark's open-air CenterPark, is well-suited for a more family-friendly clientele.

Working-class blues

Don't look for any froufrou fare at the new Blue Collar Bar , a self-labeled "delicious dive" where diners can wash down fried bologna sandwiches and fried Twinkies with cans of Schlitz and Pabst Blue Ribbon. It's not all quite so low- rent, though: The Blue Collar version of a sloppy Joe is made with hand-pulled flank steak; side dishes include green beans amandine; and other bar offerings include Boddingtons, Strongbow Cider and a selection of craft-brewed beers from Houston's Saint Arnold Brewing Co.

Culinary cravings

Ever wonder what professional chefs whip up for their own dinner behind the closed doors of their restaurant kitchens? Wonder no more – just head to Tramontana, where chef-owner James Neel has introduced a prix fixe dinner based on what he personally feels like eating that evening. The nightly changing menu is offered with two, three or four courses, priced from $25 to $35, with optional wine pairings also available. One recent dinner began with pancetta- and basil-stuffed chicken wings, followed by grilled Gulf snapper with wild arugula and almond pesto, sweet and spicy slow-roasted pork and a pumpkin soufflé with brandied eggnog sabayon.

An outdoor indulgence

Fall may be in the air, but don't let a seasonal cold snap keep you from enjoying an alfresco evening at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. Its luxe restaurant now offers full-service dining on its chic outdoor terrace. Guests can cozy up in front of two new fireplaces (or wrap up in one of the pashminas offered to any guest underdressed for the night air) while indulging in chef John Tesar's new fall menu, with dishes ranging from vanilla-scented Hudson Valley foie gras with apples to grilled braised short ribs with truffle macaroni and cheese.

Feed your family

An upscale Mexican restaurant and tequila lounge may not be the first place that comes to mind for Sunday dinner with the family, but Trece aims to change that with its new "No Family Left Un-Full" promotion. Kids 15 and younger eat free all day (including brunch, served from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.), while adults can fill up on a three-course dinner for just $15.95 per person.

Putting on the Ritz

The Ritz-Carlton Dallas and its high-end restaurant, Fearing's, got an impressive nod from Zagat when the annual travel survey released its 2009 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts and Spas guide earlier this month. The Ritz was deemed the No. 1 large hotel in the country, while Fearing's took the top spot nationwide for hotel dining. The survey, based on rankings from more than 14,000 frequent travelers, meeting planners and travel agents, called Dean Fearing's "haute Texan" cuisine "last-meal worthy."

Latest closings

Recent weeks brought an end to restaurants all over the socioeconomic spectrum. Robert Colombo's high-end supper-club concept The Club closed earlier this month, as did casual burger joint Tilley's Grill and beloved fast-food eatery Brothers Chicken.

Kim Harwell is a Dallas food writer.