The owners of T. Blanco's Mexican Cantina, which opened last month on Addison Road, don't seem particularly worried. Looking to expand the original T. Blanco's in Longview, owner and patriarch Thomas White, his sons, Hunter and Mason, and partner Carson Sample, started scouting for a second location early last year.
"We searched all over, went and looked in Tyler," Sample says. Not finding what they wanted, they looked westward to DFW, and last fall, the group told Dallas CultureMap that they had settled on the former home of Sambuca and, most recently, Buttons in Addison. "We'd looked at a couple of places, but once the Sambuca building came up, we went from there," Mason White says.

Seafood stuffed jalapeños and a jicama slaw at T. Blanco's Mexican Cantina in Addison.
Chris Wolfgang
No Tex-Mex restaurant worth its salt-rimmed glass skimps on margaritas, and with 12 versions on the menu, plus several frozen alternatives, T. Blanco's doesn't disappoint. Neither does the tequila list: blancos, reposados, and añejos are well represented, and flights are available to broaden one's agave-based horizons. We noted several colorful cocktails passing around us at the bar but couldn't resist trying a frozen Crown and Coke, which we learned is a staple at the Longview location. It tastes just as you'd imagine, like a Coke Slurpee from 7-Eleven, if 7-Eleven's version came spiked with whiskey.

T. Blanco's margarita chicken salad is a lighter menu choice. Fewer calories means more room for margaritas.
Chris Wolfgang

We liked that T. Blanco's uses chicken thighs in their chicken mole. Elotes on the side makes everything better.
Chris Wolfgang
With more than 20 Mexican and Tex-Mex dining choices in the city limits, T. Blanco's joins an already-crowded Addison restaurant scene, but it does more than just the Tex-Mex basics in their efforts to stand apart, which is exactly what chef Villarreal is going for.
"I want to serve good Mexican food, but I want it to be a little different than everyone else," Villarreal says.
T. Blanco's Mexican Cantina, 15207 Addison Road, Addison