The Spread.

Tacos and Tequila Get Paired Again, Dugg Burger Keeps Things Simple and Deep Ellum Swigs Some Gin.

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.

You know what this area could always use more of? Tacos. And tequila.

Or, well, at least that's what the owners behind Scotch & Sausage are inclined to think, as they expand their repertoire with their newest venture, S&S Tequileria. The new concept will be housed within the same Oak Lawn location, split up from its current shape, and sharing a same kitchen as its sausage-based counterpart. As the name suggests, the spot aims to highlight an ambitious tequila program alongside a menu of “straightforward taqueria fare.”

Adds Scotch & Sausage co-owner Dylan Elchami: “Staying true to brand, we like to educate our customers on spirits.”

The new liquor program will feature a selection of margaritas with flavors like cactus juice and creamed coconut, monthly rotating agave cocktails and small batch, rare tequila and mescal offerings. As for the menu: Think handmade beef and chicken tamales, house spiced picadillo, slow-roasted steak and, eventually, breakfast tacos made with the in-house sausage. Look for the venture to open sometime early next month.

Meanwhile, over on Garland Road, Dugg Burger is now officially serving up its scooped-out goods with what may be one of the simplest menus known to burgerhood. While the options for ordering are limited to your standard burgers, fries and a drink (which can be upgraded to a beer), the daily rotation of the toppings (read: the Dugg dozen) means you can customize your burger with options like hickory smoked bacon and crispy onion strings. Hours are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday until 10 p.m.

Closer to the action, a more mysterious new restaurant broke ground near the American Airlines Center this week, adding to the list of non-chain options available after a Mavs game. We know that the people behind Saint Ann and Mercat Bistro are behind it, but, for now, that's about it.

Farther south, Lee Harvey's is sticking to what we know by hosting a Texas-style chili cook-off with former Sundown and future 940's chef Patrick Stark on Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m. Entry is free, but contestants must cook on-site, with judging starting at 4 p.m.

Back Downtown, Cafe Momentum chef Chad Houser has been chosen as one of the United States Junior Chamber's Outstanding Young Americans for his community engagement, and is to be honored in a ceremony on Saturday, March 28, in Nashville.

Elsewhere, in craft beer news, Malai Kitchen is now serving beer flights. For $8, you can get five-ounce pours of all three house brews. And, on the cocktail side of things, chef David Anthony Temple's new Deep Ellum spot, Twenty-Seven, announced that it'll also open for late-night hours starting at 11:30 p.m. each night, at which point it'll transform into his new “gin joint,” XXVII Antique.

Scotch & Sausage cover photo by Scott Mitchell. Got a tip for The Spread? Email us!