Turkey-and-dressing tamales, spicy Torchy’s taco fire up holidays

Turkey has gone Tex-Mex.

Mariposa’s turkey-and-dressing tamales and Torchy’s turkey-dinner tacos have all the flavor of Thanksgiving without dinnerware, and they’re available any day in November.

Mariposa’s tamales are a dinner-in-a-shuck. The boutique Latin-fusion cafe in west Fort Worth sells about 2,000 dozen every year, made with cornbread dressing and topped with giblet gravy and cranberry sauce.

In the restaurant, they’re served as a jumbo-size tamal platter with sweet potatoes plus a pear salad with a port wine vinaigrette ($15).

The regular-size turkey-and-dressing tamales sell for $25 a dozen, or choose from Mariposa’s other flavors for $20 a dozen.

Mariposa’s is open for lunch and dinner or tamale sales Wednesday through Saturday (closing this week on Thanksgiving Day) and also for brunch Sunday; 5724 Locke Ave., 817-570-9555, mariposaslatinkitchen.com.

Torchy turkey

Austin-based Torchy’s Tacos is serving a monthly turkey taco special called the Big Pilgrim.

It might even be an improvement over Thanksgiving dinner. Torchy’s combines Cajun-fried turkey in a flour tortilla with cornbread stuffing, sweet-potato jalapeño-cranberry relish, chipotle ranch sauce, cheese and cilantro.

The Cajun spice, jalapeño and chipotle help fire up more flavor. According to Torchy’s website, a Houston-area district manager came up with the idea of taking Thanksgiving dinner and Torchy-ing it up.

Torchy’s is open at 7 a.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. weekends for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily (closing only on Thanksgiving Day). The local Torchy’s are at 928 Northton St. (off West Rosedale Street), Fort Worth, 817-289-8226; 4000 Five Points Blvd. (at Curtis Mathes Way in the Highlands), Arlington, 817-466-7331; and 2175 E. Southlake Blvd., Southlake, 817-601-2880; torchystacos.com.

A buffet every day

The most popular holiday buffet in Dallas-Fort Worth begins Wednesday.

The annual Neiman Marcus holiday lunch buffet in the downtown Dallas store’s Zodiac restaurant launches Wednesday and continues daily — yes, every day — through New Year’s Eve.

For $42, shoppers can dine on roast turkey with cornbread dressing, prime rib, lamb, pot roast, roast pork, lemon-thyme salmon or ravioli.

Sides include potato latkes, truffled mac-and-cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts and daily specials. There’s also a choice of nine salads and a sprawling dessert bar.

Of course, it’s all served with the Zodiac’s signature popovers and strawberry butter.

It’s served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays, plus special Sunday openings Dec. 4, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18; 1618 Main St., Dallas, 214-573-5800, TheRestaurantsofNeimanMarcus.com.

Neiman’s Clearfork is near

The Neiman’s Zodiac in Fort Worth will move Feb. 10 to the new Clearfork store.

So the Zodiac is bidding farewell to Ridgmar Mall with its regular hours and menu weekdays and Saturdays through the holidays, plus special Sunday service Dec. 11 and Dec. 18; 2100 Green Oaks Blvd. in Ridgmar Mall, 817-989-4650.

The Fort Worth store also will host “breakfast with Santa” Dec. 10 and Dec. 17.

The Zodiac will end Ridgmar service Jan. 28 before the new Clearfork store opens Feb. 10.

This story was originally published November 21, 2016 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Turkey-and-dressing tamales, spicy Torchy’s taco fire up holidays."