Best Cuppa Yo' 2010 | Yumilicious | Best of Dallas® 2020 | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Dallas | Dallas Observer
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Best Cuppa Yo'

Yumilicious

By now we know this new-wave frozen yogurt is healthier for you than ice cream—low-calorie, non-fat, good for your complexion. We've heard all that before, but this new-wave yogurt explosion continues to leave a lasting mark on the face of Dallas. Beyond the novelty of the fro-yo trend, though, there's room to appreciate the yogurt ritual's finer points: a firm pour, a tart plain base, seasonal flavors and late-night Wii on a big TV. Yumilicious has it all. It's not the most efficient setup, but they trust you enough to fill your own cup, which counts for plenty these days. On a Friday night, the place could outdraw the Loon—the line stretches out the door, while 'gurters rightly labor over their choice of flavors. You've got your chocolate, your vanilla, but it's the less common tastes that stand out: avocado, taro, coconut and—God willing, come October—pumpkin.

Best Sandwich

Meatball Sub

Northeasterners, as a general rule, like to complain that there's no good pizza—and no good Italian food as a whole—to be found south or west of Pennsylvania. But while Greenville Avenue Pizza Company's pizza capably shuts the haters up, offering them delectable pies with crispy crusts and a wide array of fresh toppings, the restaurant's real treat comes with its other piece of Italian perfection. Really: You've got to try this place's meatball sub—like, yesterday. The meatballs on their own are to die for, made from a passed-down-in-the-family recipe, but when smacked within the confines of a lightly toasted roll and topped off with a healthy dose of smoky marinara sauce and gobs of melted cheese, this sucker is last-meal-on-death-row good. Your doctor probably won't recommend it, but we wholeheartedly do. And for an added artery-clogging delight, we suggest you get yours with a side of Alfredo sauce to dip it in.

Best Cheese Board

The Libertine Bar

As skilled as the cooks are at this pub, sometimes it's nice to just order a big, shareable platter of cheese that you can leave at the table and eat at your leisure. It's easy to customize and choices change weekly as new artisan meats and cheeses are available. The servers are knowledgeable about suggesting something to go with whatever you're drinking, and the savories come with nuts (we especially love the glazed almonds), fruits and vegetables that complement and contrast whatever cheeses you choose.

Best Seafood Restaurant

Oceanaire Seafood Room

Where to begin? There is so much to love at Oceanaire, the debonair seafood restaurant that makes you feel you are eating on a 1930s luxury ocean liner in the Mediterranean at the behest of Conrad Hilton—OK, maybe his great-granddaughter Paris. Take the crab cakes, for example—no heavily breaded microscopic crab meat these, but chunks so large you can almost make out the outline of the crab. The seafood hails from every port imaginable; the raw oyster selection alone contains 12 different seafaring mollusks, from such faraway places as Prince Edward Island; Wallace Bay, Nova Scotia; and Taunton Bay, Maine. Yet Oceanaire wouldn't dream of forsaking localism. Its black and blue Texas redfish is a regional favorite. And don't get us started on the matchstick fries or the fried calamari or the iceberg lettuce wedge and clam chowder soup, for starters, which is probably where we should have begun in the first place. We should also have mentioned the fact that the national chain has filed for bankruptcy in Dallas federal court. We can only hope, as has been stated in press releases, that the Galleria location will remain open and viable.

Best Bloody Mary

Smoke

Barbecue joints aren't frequently known for their cocktail prowess, but pseudo-posh meat-house Smoke isn't exactly your typical barbecue joint, anyway. Yeah, they serve cold draft beer and potato salad, but alongside their unrivaled brunch offerings, the Oak Cliff hilltop restaurant serves the finest Bloody Mary in Dallas, possibly in the entire land. Thick and tomatoey, Smoke's homemade Bloody Mary mixer soothes a hungover stomach while more substantial sustenance is on the way, though spears of bread-and-butter pickles, in-house pickled carrots, green beans and jalapeños turn a good drink into a salad in a glass. The seasoned-salted rim spices up each sip, right down to the last—at which point the only polite thing to do for your accommodating stomach is to order up one more.

READERS' PICK BEST MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT

Ali Baba Cafe

Taryn Walker
Ali Baba Cafe

READERS' PICK BEST SOUP

La Madeleine

La Madeleine

READERS' PICK BEST CAJUN RESTAURANT

The Alligator Cafe

The Alligator Cafe

READERS' PICK BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT

India Palace

India Palace

Best Home-Style Restaurant

Norma's Cafe

Norma's Cafe

When you consider "home-style" food, it can be blue-plate or family-style, but something about it has to place you back in Mom's/Granny's kitchen (not the other rooms where there were creepy paintings and random chores to be done), strategizing how best to eat another roll, another spoonful of starchy side and still have room for pie. Norma's has been around since 1956, and the recipes taste as though they haven't much changed. The open-faced roast beef sandwich is slow-cooked like it would be at home on an old Hotpoint and the meatloaf is made with an original tomato sauce that, as a child, you probably wished they'd bottle and sell instead of ketchup. Value a good turnip green or pinto bean just as much as a mashed potato? So does Norma's. Now, as far as desserts, there is really nothing that Norma's makes that isn't incredibly familiar—in a good way. "Mile High" cream pies, fruit pies, cobblers and cakes all exceed expectations in size and that throwback flavor. You wouldn't necessarily want to go home again, but you definitely want to go to Norma's

Best Of Dallas®

Best Of

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