Hotel Dining News

Texas Live in Arlington adds swanky hotel with bourbon and 5 eateries

The hotel will join a lively sports and entertainment district.

Rendering courtesy of Loews

A new hotel is opening at the Texas Live complex in Arlington with lots of extras including five spots for dining and lounging.

Called Live! by Loews – Arlington, the hotel is a joint venture between Loews, The Cordish Companies, and the Texas Rangers and will open in late August.

A release promises that it will bring an "upscale hospitality experience" to the Arlington Entertainment District, which includes Texas Live! and Globe Life Field, the new home for The Texas Rangers due to open in 2020.

The 14-story hotel will have 300 guest rooms, including 23 suites. It'll also have meeting and event space, a Tower Terrace, a lawn for events, an outdoor infinity pool, and a private rooftop terrace.

There'll be a serious commitment to food and beverage, with five signature restaurants and bars for dining and lounging, as follows:

Cut & Bourbon. This will be a classic steakhouse featuring a variety of cuts of meat sourced from Texas, plus game and seafood.

Bar Bourbon. This lounge in the lobby will boast a "vast bourbon selection" plus also private bourbon lockers for aging.

Arlington Clover Club. Craft cocktails will be the thing at this outdoor mixology bar and restaurant, whose menu will be a mix of international and American cuisines.

Soak. The poolside bar and lounge will serve cocktails and light bites.

River Market. An in-house organic market will offer grab-and-go items including juices, sandwiches salads, pastries, and coffee drinks featuring Arlington's Salter Bros. Coffee.

Appointed as executive chef is Mouhssine "Moose" Benhamacht, who began his journey at Spice Market, the Southeast Asian-inspired eatery founded by acclaimed chef Jean George Vongerichten. Benhamacht has worked for Loews Hotels & Co for a decade, in hotels such as Loews Atlanta, Loews Don CeSar, and most recently Universal's Aventura Hotel.

The hotel restaurants will join a robust selection of restaurants at Texas Live! which opened in August 2018, including celebrity spots such as Troy Aikman's Troy's, Pudge Rodriguez' Pudge's Pizza, and Guy Fieri's Taco Joint.

supermarkets

Food Truck News

Ghost Food Park brings food truck fare and culture to Arlington

Instagram

Food spread at Ghost Food Truck Park

A food truck park is gaining traction in Arlington: Called Ghost Food Park, it's a venture owned by two brothers, located at 2601 W. Arkansas Ln., in the Dalworthington Gardens area.

The outdoor concept was founded in 2023 by Juan and Chris Labra, who are hosting it on the property of their print shop, New Gen Print and Designs. Juan handles the social media and marketing for the park; Chris handles the contracts for the trucks.

They feature six food truck vendors — the maximum number allowed by the City of Arlington — that operate on different schedules every day of the week.

“A popular BBQ truck called 225 BBQ first put us on the map," Juan says.

Dishes span several cuisines: from hibachi to Venezuelan to BBQ fusion. The main attractions include:

King Hibachi with steak and noodle plates and loaded fries
Autana Food & Catering with Venezuelan arepas and cheese-stuffed bread rolls
Karibou Coffees

Ghost Food ParkGhost Food Park

There’s also a local celebrity chef most weekends: Marc Fadel of Habibi Barbecue.

Fadel and his truck were featured on HBO MAX’s BBQ High, a show about several groups of high school culinary teams competing for a state BBQ championship. He whips up dishes that include brisket, pork ribs, and Lebanese sides like tabbouleh (a parsley salad) and batata kizbara (fried cubed potatoes).

“He’s this college kid, and as much as he would want to open more time, he’s focusing on school now, but he does open on weekends,” Juan says.

Prices range from $10 for a pulled pork sandwich at Habibi Barbecue to $30 for a hibachi combo plate at King Hibachi. Truck hours are daily, with Thursdays-Sundays from 11 am-9 pm the most active.

They’ve recently expanded out to hosting weekend markets as well — often with a theme such as Halloween, when they did a cute "truck or treat" theme. They open the park to other non-foodtruck vendors, crafters, and jewelry makers. There’s outdoor seating, with umbrella-shaded tables, and yard games with space to play pickleball.

It's still in test mode. “We’ve got a good sized waiting list since it’s been getting some good traction recently," Juan says.

food-trucks openings