Hungry? You will be eventually. And when those grinding stomach noises rise up from within, you'll have this list printed out at the ready.
Here are 10 restaurants that I've dined in, reviewed, or otherwise written about and enjoyed in recent months. Put them in your regular rotation, and never go hungry for great food again.
CBD Provisions (pictured above) This downtown ode to pig parts offers one of the best hunger busters in Dallas. Order the carnitas and receive half the face of a young pig, while the other half undoubtedly rests on nearby table. Both will be gone in a flash so grab a tortilla and tear in. This is uncommonly good and primal eating.
Village Kitchen Need to have your Louboutins re-soled? Craving a sloppy burger? Admittedly, those two events will likely never simultaneously occur, but if they do and you're in Highland Park Village, you're set. Whatever you're shopping for, when the need for a sloppy gut-bomb of a burger arises, Village Kitchen is your best bet.
Boulevardier Come to Boulevardier to get in touch with your inner Francophile. Sit at the bar, order some oysters and be sure to wash them down with a glass of something briny and white from the impressive wine list. The restaurant has become a bit of a neighborhood staple in the less than two years that it's been open.
And if your hunger is of the hangover variety, the brunch here is killer.
FT33 A meal at FT-33 speaks for itself. This is arguably the hottest reservation in Dallas right now. And it likely will be for some time. Vegetarians rejoice: Matt McCallister's treatment of produce can sway even the most devout of carnivores.
True Food Kitchen Too many Village Kitchen burgers, huh? Come to the other kitchen to feel better about your caloric transgressions. There's kale running through the juicer as you walk through the door, and if you weren't all that serious about taking it easy, there is beer and beef.
El Come Taco Meet your new favorite taqueria. Luis Villalva's simple restaurant straddles the gritty taquerias that have the best tacos, and the gringo taquerias that have the best dining rooms. Start with the suadero and the pastor. And don't stop till you're ready to bust.
Monkey King Noodle Co. Apparently winter in Texas is a thing. And when the weather is cold there's nothing like steaming broth to warm and comfort you. Get your soup in little dumpling purses or in a big cup with noodles and you won't be thinking about the mercury's decent for at least a little while.
Mesero Miguel Tired of enchiladas that land like a brick? Mesero Miguel isn't billed as a Tex-Mex restaurant but you'll find plenty of it on the menu. Grab a margarita and pretend it's Friday. It is Friday, isn't it?
Zoli's Zoli's is like a time machine that will take you back to the pizzerias of your youth. (Provided your parents weren't sadists with a penchant for grease and Pizza Hut.) Grab some friends, some cans of beer and order a pie cooked extra crispy. Get ready for bliss on a 20" round of well-blistered crust.
Chennai It's not just Dallas. Ethnic restaurants are chasing cheaper rent into the 'burbs all over the country -- even the really good ethnic restaurants. Chennai sits in a strip mall way up in Plano, and if you drive by with your windows down you can smell the earthy spice of curry. Follow the scent. It will lead you the best byriani within a few hours drive, inside the city or out.
