The Spread.

Taste of Dallas Aims To Satisfy and Lockhart Smokehouse Sets Its Sights On Plano.

Welcome to The Spread, our weekly feature that aims to share all the area restaurant, food and beverage industry news that's fit to print. Except this is the Internet, so space isn't a concern. Also: Good thing, because this is Dallas and this town always has breaking restaurant news going down like whoa.

Music royalty graced Oak Cliff with its presence this past Saturday, when, following her amazing concert, Beyonce and Jay-Z hit up Mesa for a late-night, romantic dinner, reports Culture Map.

The restaurant had already closed for service, but as Her Majesty commands, so shall it be. Apparently, the couple indulged in specialty cocktails and dined on lobster enchiladas in the empty restaurant, much to the glee and excitement of its staff.

More cause for excitement? Queenie's Steakhouse in Denton has expanded their hours. In addition to their regular hours, you can now also get your chicken-fried lobster fix during their Wednesday night dinner service, which runs from 4:30 p.m. to midnight.

Closer to home, it seems Downtown Dallas has been attracting a slew of new business investors in the area. To that end, we've gotten word of three new food and/or beverage spots that will be popping up in that area soon. As reported by the Dallas Morning News, organic grocer Urban Orchard Market, liquor store Urban Vineyard and sushi, taco and sandwich spot Bar None Cafe have all started construction near Jackson Street and should be opened for business by the end of the year.

Speaking of new restaurant locations: Beloved Dallas BBQ spot Lockhart Smokehouse is set to expand into Plano with its second location. According to Texas Monthly, who recently named the restaurant one of their top 50 barbecue joints in the state, the new Lockhart's will take over part of an old furniture store located just near the DART line in old downtown Plano. Only time will tell if this will perhaps encourage people to take the train back after eating coma-inducing portions of delicious smoked meats.

Can't wait until Lockhart opens its newest location? Fear not meat lover, for that establishment's pit masters will be in attendance at the 27th Annual Taste of Dallas going down this weekend at Fair Park, which kicks off at 4 p.m. on Friday. For the uninitiated: Taste of Dallas is the city's biggest annual culinary festival, with dozens of restaurants, food trucks and local chefs showing off Dallas' finest cuisine and cooking skills. It's quite the deal, too: Not only will tastings be offered, but there will also be a marketplace for purchases and live entertainment.

In this week's craft beer news, Community Beer Company recently took full advantage of new craft beer laws by expanding on their brewery with a taproom where customers can purchase beer by the pint. Meanwhile, Community and fellow local brewing entities Peticolas and Rahr & Sons each took home awards at this years' U.S. Open Beer Championship earlier this month. Community earned a silver medal in the Belgian Witbier portion for Community Witbier, silver in the ESBs for Public Ale, and bronze in Belgian Abbey Ale-Dubbel for their Inspiration Ale. Peticolas took home gold in the American Amber/Red portion for Velvet Hammer, bronze in the English Brown Ale category for their Alfred Brown, and bronze in both Strong Scottish Ale and Aged Beer categories for their Great Scot! brew. Meanwhile, Fort Worth's Rahr & Sons' Iron Thistle took home gold in the Strong Scottish Ale portion and nabbed a bronze medal for their Regulator brew in the Dopple/Strong Bock category.

Cover photo via Lockhart Smokehose's Facebook page. Got a tip for The Spread? Email us!