Best Low-Key Pizza 2007 | Carmine's Pizzeria | Best of Dallas® 2020 | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Dallas | Dallas Observer
Navigation
Support Us
Search

Best Low-Key Pizza

Carmine's Pizzeria

There's nothing wrong with trendy upscale pizza restaurants, but sometimes all you want is a classic, simple slice that doesn't stray from its roots or require an hour-long wait and valet parking. Carmine's, like any self-respecting New York pizza joint, has red and white checkered tablecloths and pizzas displayed on those round silver platters by the register. Best of all, of course, is the pie itself—the crust is relatively thin but incredibly soft, with just the right quotient of chewiness. We recommend the cheese and pepperoni, which is flavorful, a little spicy and a lot garlicky. And since there's rarely a wait, you can grab a slice on the run.

Best Margarita

Stodgerita, Trece

Forty-five bucks worth of mindless tribute, that's what it is. Named after "famous for being famous" Dallas "barrister" Steve Stodghill—who gained fame partly by investing in Mark Cuban's Broadcast.com and partly by flaunting the demeanor of a cuddly pit bull of a lawyer—the Stodgerita is billed as the ultimate margarita experience. That isn't all bark. The Stodgerita is formulated with Herradura Seleccion Suprema, fresh lime juice, agave nectar and a touch of Red Bull. It's surprisingly silky and refreshing with remarkable balance. It goes down so smooth and easy, you'll find yourself ordering another just to make sure you're properly refreshed. But isn't that the idea in the rarefied world of billable hours?

Best Martini

Yutaka Sushi Bistro's Martini Sunomo Salad

There are innumerable ways to formulate a martini. Fuel it with vodka, gin or tequila. Treat it with green apple, cranberry, chocolate or whatever chick drink accoutrement you can dream up; or kick it with pickled okra and a Nicorette patch for the ultimate anti-Dean Martin refreshment. But to really finesse the martini, skip the hooch and go sunomo. Yutaka's martini sunomo salad arrives in billows of fog dissipating from the frosted martini glass. Underneath is a meticulously assembled medley of vegetables and fresh catch: octopus, shrimp and fish huddled in the cool fog with seaweed, daikon sprouts, pickled carrot, cucumber and crab. Real crab.

Best Mexican Restaurant

Trece Mexican Kitchen &Tequila Lounge

Chalk it up to climate change—everything else is—but it's getting increasingly difficult to stir up deft authentic Mexican cuisine in Dallas. Most of the stuff that tries passes muster, but it won't spark the Pavlov reflexes. That's why Trece—or thirteen—is just our luck. Here you can get the most virile tableside guacamole known this side of the Minute Men; at a place where haute Mexican regional cooking unfurls in fresh clear flavors, from the "mucho frio" grilled green tomato gazpacho, to the pepita-crusted Alaskan halibut in tangerine hoja santa sauce, to the shrimp, spinach and goat cheese stuffed chile rellenos in clean, refreshing tomato broth. Trece is where good Mexican lives in Dallas. Here's hoping the others catch up. And fast.

Best Midday Breakfast to Go

Tin Star

Our favorite foods include eggs, fried potatoes and bacon. Did we mention we love breakfast? And, yeah, we're from Texas, so all the better when you wrap up those breakfast classics in a flour tortilla. Sadly, many taquerias don't serve their breakfast tacos during the day, but Tin Star does. Whether you favor the traditional bacon, egg and cheese taco or you're craving a migas taco or Taco Blanco (egg whites, mashed black beans and pico de gallo), Tin Star has only one question: Do you want one taco or two?

Best Nachos

Fish City Grill

OK, so it's a chain, but Fish City has its roots in Dallas (originally called Shell's Oyster Bar) and it hasn't expanded past Oklahoma or Louisiana, keeping it unique enough to make our list. But even if Fish City were to expand to McDonald's-like proportions, there's no denying the mind-blowing goodness of the oyster nacho. We know, it doesn't sound good, but there's something entirely unexpected, yet delightful, about these nachos. It's tortilla chips topped with fried oysters, pico de gallo and chipotle tartar sauce. It's truly Texan and truly delicious.

Best New Restaurant

Bijoux

Words fail at Bijoux. Eat. Let little bites speak to you. Let thoughts go where they may. Observe how you feel, how your face sometimes vibrates and your toes curl. Notice how a gastrique tangos the sex out of foie gras. Revel in the caramelized surface of a seared scallop, how it is like leather if leather could be shaved into sheer lingerie. Mark how sweet and tender is the skate wing. Make note of the lush and rich pan-seared fillet and the chewy Kobe short rib marinated in wine and herbs and braised until it frays into silky fibers. Bijoux is the dream weave of chef Scott Gotlich, who composes these short concertos within the context of an eight-course tasting menu, a three-course prix fixe or in à la carte fragments from the menu. He does so with such garish impeccability, you go mute from the force of it. Don't speak. Eat.

Best Oil and Vinegar

Flavors From Afar

Unleash your inner gourmet with a trip to Flavors From Afar, an "interactive" food boutique where you'll learn from owners Gary and Nancy Krabill the arcane and complex art of making balsamic vinegar and quality olive oils. Did you know balsam has nothing to do with this incredible vinegar ("black gold") from Modena, Italy? The Krabills will lead you through a tasting of balsamics from the skinny 7-year-old variety to the thick and luscious 30-year-old vinegar that tastes heavenly enough to drizzle on ice cream. They'll show you how to anoint your pulse points with samples of olive oils from Tuscany, Portugal, Sicily and Napa Valley, and breathe in the aroma. Then toss back a tiny cup of the stuff and roll it around in your mouth. Hack! Hack! Astringent, a true two-cough oil. The store also stocks Italian ceramics, specialty pasta, bread dippers, pestos and grilling sauces. Don't leave before you check out the "salt bar," with smoky sea salt, Hawaiian pink, Bulgarian black and French fleur de sel. Go condiment crazy! Schedule your own tasting party. But be careful. The Krabills will tell you about their most unusual offering: a September food and wine trip to Tuscany, where you can eat and drink and harvest olives, returning home with oil made from your own efforts. That'll set you back a few bucks.

Best Onion Rings

Lee Harvey's

The best onion rings achieve a perfect harmony of onion, batter, grease and sauce, filling your mouth with the sweet, sweet flavor of short-order cook tears. It's almost as if you can taste the chef's hopes and dreams, and at Lee Harvey's, we taste the tears of a giver. Served thick and crunchy with a side of zesty chipotle aioli, these rings are top-notch grub, and most important, the batter holds fast to the onion, so you never end up slurping translucent cellulose and wondering what might have been. Hell, in a pinch, we'd even propose with one.

Best Out-of-the-Way Tex-Mex

Carmona's Tex-Mex Cantina

So you find yourself in Terrell. Maybe you're on your way back from First Mondays in Canton, or maybe you're on the long haul between El Paso and Longview. Either way, you're hungry and you don't want fast food. So sit down and cool your leadfoot at Carmona's Tex-Mex Cantina, right next to the Tanger Outlets. This place is famous among Terrell residents, and who doesn't want to eat where the locals eat? And there are good reasons they keep coming back: fast, friendly service; frequently replenished chips and salsa; solid Tex-Mex entrees and warm sopapillas dripping with honey.

Best Of Dallas®

Best Of

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy The Dallas Observer may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2024 Dallas Observer, LP. All rights reserved.
Do Not Sell or Share My Information
Powered By Foundation