Leading up to our annual Best of Dallas® issue, we're counting down the 50 most interesting restaurants in Dallas. These spots bring something unique or compelling to the city's dining scene, feeding both your appetite and soul. Find more interesting places on our all-new Best Of app for iTunes or Android.
Your first inclination, upon looking at the menu at Omi, will be to indulge in the all-you-can-eat-meat option. And why wouldn't you? All-you-can-eat anything promises significant value, and all-you-can-eat meat is like a forgiven bank loan.
The option certainly results in an endless procession of animal proteins. There's pork belly, fatty beef brisket, chicken and pork meat marinated in pureed fruit and seasoning, and it keeps coming till you cry meat-uncle or pass out. But ordering this way keeps you from other menu items that are much more interesting, and some of them are a significant upgrade.
Try the salted, grilled mackerel. It's not salty at all and it's grilled to a crisp, with tender flesh that's fun to pick apart with your chopsticks. Give the whole thing a shower of lime juice and dig in -- now that pork belly is looking bland. There's also so won gal-bi, or beef short ribs, that have significantly more flavor that the brisket that comes with the endless meat parade option. Spend some time with the menu before you commit.
All-you-can-eat-meat or not, every meal is served with an endless procession of banchan. The tiny snacks, salads and condiments accompany every Korean meal, but here the variety seems infinite. They arrive in little bowls that cover your table, allowing you to constantly steer your meal in new and interesting directions.
No two bites need be the same, no matter how much meat you've ordered, at Omi. The cooking doesn't stop until you set down your chopsticks.
No. 50: Joyce and Gigi's No. 49: East Hampton Sandwich Co.No. 48: 20 Feet Seafood Joint No. 47: Taj Chaat House No. 46: Mot Hai Ba No. 45: La Nueva Fresh and Hot No. 44: Pera Turkish Kitchen No. 43: Tom's Burgers and Grill No. 42: Mughlai No. 41: Russian Banya No. 40: Off-Site Kitchen No. 39: Bachman Lake Taqueria No. 38: Carbone's No. 37: Babe's No. 36: Barbacoa Estilo Hidalgo No. 35: Zaguan No. 34: Royal Sichuan No. 33: Spoon No. 32: Bambu No. 31: Pecan Lodge No. 30: FT33 No. 29: Keller's Drive-In No. 28: La Pasadita No. 27: Ten Bells Tavern No. 26: El Ranchito No. 25: Cafe Urbano No. 24: Nova No. 23: Jeng Chi
