Best Chicken Two Ways 2009 | Pollo Campero | Best of Dallas® 2020 | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Dallas | Dallas Observer
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Best Chicken Two Ways

Pollo Campero

Catherine Downes

You'd be hard pressed to find better fast-food chicken than what they're serving up in the Dallas branches of this Guatemala-based chain. If you're used to KFC and Church's, the pressure-cooked fried chicken is a revelation, from the crispy, nearly greaseless batter to the juicy, tender meat within. Unlike many chicken chains, Campero also does rotisserie chicken well, with hints of citrus tang hinting at the restaurant's "secret formula" marinade. Served up with a couple tortillas and some Campero beans (pinto beans stewed with bacon, sausage, tomato and onion)—on real, actual dinner plates if you dine-in—this pollo is easily one of Big D's best fast-food offerings.

Best Chinese Restaurant

Shanghai Restaurant

If you like Shanghai cuisine (a little richer and more complex than other Chinese food), you will find what you're looking for at Shanghai Restaurant. Try the preserved duck, jellyfish with radishes, yellowfish soup or seafood in beer sauce casserole. Everything here is good, and a lot of the fare is excellent. This restaurant on the edge of the vast Dallas-area Asian community serves as a family gathering spot on weekend nights. It's mid-formal—white tablecloths beneath clear plastic. And, of course, the Asian-American children don't run around the restaurant screaming and throwing food, which makes them almost bearable. The waitstaff is happy to explain unfamiliar dishes to first-time visitors. It's a happy, open place with food you won't soon forget.

Best Cup of Coffee

The Bolsa Blend

Don't tell food critic Dave, but we stole the bag of Bolsa Blend that landed on his desk a few weeks back. Because, see, we finished ours in a week—should have gone much longer, damn our addictions! And, truth told, we'll drink any of the blends poured by Shannon and Jenni Neffendorf; we've had them all, in no small part due to the roasted-on date stamped on the back. (So sorry, Central Market, and your big barrels of who-knows-how-old beans.) But something about the Bolsa blend—available, um, at Bolsa, natch—hits us just right: smells like cocoa, tastes like blueberries, but it's never so overpowering that you're thinking, "This is way too sweet." A drop of milk, a hint of sugar and it's like caffeinated candy best served before breakfast or after dinner or any other time you're awake and alive and...really need to stop drinking this.

Best Cupcakes

Tart Pastry Boutique

Each cupcake is a sugared jewel that's so beautiful it's almost a shame to take a bite. Until you do. And then you quickly have no problem gobbling down the rest. Try the vanilla stuffed cupcake with Key lime filling for $3.25 each (or a non-stuffed cupcake for $2.50). The 9-inch red velvet cake for $43 feeds 12 to 15 friends and makes a gorgeous display at the table after dinner. The two locations of this dessert shop and paper boutique are owned by two adorable sisters, chef Kristen Rahal and graphic designer Stephanie Weibring, who opened the first candy land in 2004.

Best Fancy Restaurant

Five-Sixty

When Wolfgang Puck came to Dallas, he did so in a big way—erect, throbbing with passion and...OK, he put Five-Sixty in Reunion Tower and we can't resist the phallic commentary. Whatever you think about celebrity chefs overseeing from a distance, this rotating restaurant is impressive. Sleek, modern décor? Check. Attention-grabbing view? Check. Spacious bathrooms of glazed tile? Um, no. There's hardly room in the tower for amenities other than a cool bar and solid kitchen staff serving dishes to match the glitter. The menu changes from time to time, but imagine suckling pig with a crispy skin and crackling citrus-sweet sauce. Or arctic char, impressive under a veneer of skin as light as a feather. Even cutesy items like General Tso's quail will leave you mesmerized.

Best Foie Gras

Suze

Some people won't touch the stuff. Cruelty to feathered things, they say. Fine—let them eat liver and the rest of us can dine luxuriously on the earthy, meaty, buttery delicacy that is foie gras. Or should be, anyway. Too often, kitchens push it too far, putting more effort into the sides and dressing than the liver itself. Or they fail to treat it with the care it deserves. But chefs Gilbert Garza and Jeffery Hobbs are old hands at this sort of thing. The last time we tried their foie gras, our friends couldn't stop talking about it. In fact, they called the next day to continue the conversation. It's that good.

Best French Fries

The Grape

Beth Rankin

When you really think about it, any one of chef-owner Brian Luscher's dishes could be up for an award. Hell, Texas Monthly awarded him best burger, and that was for the entire state. So why do we focus on his french fries? Because he's one of the few chefs in the city who bothers to do them right, that's why—taking the time to blanch them, letting the batch sit, sometimes overnight, before dumping them back in the fryer. This creates that crisp, golden shell and fluffy inside that we dream about...when we dream about fries, that is. And it just adds to the experience when you chomp on those things with a bottle of wine in The Grape's country French dining room.

Best Fusion Idea

Soley!

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Chef-owners Jose and Norma Vasconcelos grew up in Mexico but trained for culinary careers in France. In fact, both ended up working for Michelin star restaurants in surrender-monkey country before heading for the swagger of Dallas. In an often overlooked storefront on Henderson, they've brought birth and training together in a fusion of French and Mexican traditions. That means poblano stuffed with duck confit, mixed greens with tortilla strips or their spectacular escargot on a bed of pureed tomatillos. Because Mexican cuisine was influenced by both Spanish and French techniques, the idea works. The intricate French and native Mexican flavors blend together into something, well, let's just say you wish someone had thought of this sooner. Fantastic stuff.

Best Greasy Spoon

Angry Dog

Patrick Williams

Please don't get mad, Angry Dog, if we call you a greasy spoon. We mean that in the best possible way. Oh, sure, we haven't stopped by as much as we used to—about three times a week—since the Observer's office moved away from downtown, but we still love you and your chili-smothered Angry Dogs, your hamburgers that taste like beef, not bun, your spicy fries and your club sandwiches that make us want to join whatever club created them. And did we mention your wide selection of draft and bottled beers? Oh, yes, we still feel the love. And so does our gallbladder.

Best Green Lunch

The Silver Bowl Salad at State & Allen Lounge

You know what our problem is? We can't make a decision when it comes to ordering food. We'd like some of this, some of that and a bite of what you're having, thanks. We want that salad, but could we please have a couple of dressings? Indecision is the bane of our servers' existence. And yet, at State & Allen Lounge, they feel us. Like, they really feel us. The Silver Bowl, or "The Original" as it's noted on the menu, is a hearty salad that looks rather modest at first glance. But its bowl holds magic within: romaine, bacon pieces, red grape halves, mandarin oranges, tiny diced red bell peppers, savory marinated chicken with a little kick, and—get this—two dressings. Two! A tart balsamic vinaigrette and a creamy Caesar that are drizzled separately but come together in perfect harmony. There's enough fruit and veg we feel like we're diet-right, and enough meat we can grunt a bit and protein up. Plus, since State & Allen is all up on the green scene, we can get that silver bowl in a corn-derivative biodegradable to-go container if we need lunch on the fly. Or, if we can't decide, we might eat half there, half back at the office.

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