“Zakti is not a concept, but rather a way of being,” says Janeil Engelstad, co-founder of Zakti, a Dallas-based specialty tea purveyor. The company’s name is a nod to the Sanskrit term that translates to “positive energy.” This ethos permeates every aspect of the brand’s culture. “Holding and projecting positive…
In spring of 2014, in a small, unassuming retail strip on West Davis Street in Oak Cliff, Cheesesteak House opened with little ado. After hearing tales of its birth, I cruised west down Jefferson, my eyes peeled, not knowing exactly where it was. As I passed Mary Cliff Road, I…
In 2013, Plano was introduced to specialty coffee when the doors opened at 1418 Coffeehouse, a homey hangout on K Avenue, and for years the cafe remained unchallenged in that market. Two weeks ago, that changed when XO Coffee Company opened nearby — 371 feet away, to be exact —…
From fast-food to fine dining, North Texas is a veritable coop of chicken restaurants. As far as most fast-casual poultry purveyors go, we all know the drill: barely seasoned fried chickens (the only moisture coming from fry grease) that get by solely on the merits of their crispy, salty skin…
In 1998, the movie Pi earned Daron Aronofsky the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival, and perhaps not since then has another pi(e) made as big an impression on the storied independent film festival. Until now. At this year’s Sundance, there was an unexpected breakout hero: a vegan chocolate…
In an unassuming office suite nestled into a field of tall grass, brambles and scraggly trees, there is a room with a table. Wooden, bar-height and with a shiny varnish, the table is surrounded by eight tall metal chairs. You can see all this for yourself, but what you can’t…
Cruise the various neighborhoods of Dallas and something becomes clear: There are a lot of burgers in this town. From timeless classics like Dairy-Ette and Off-Site Kitchen to trendier meat-slingers like Rodeo Goat, when a carnivorous craving kicks in, a plethora of bovine-and-bun-based options are at our fingertips. With so…
Around five years ago, food trucks were rare novelties in the DFW food scene. Since then, they have become familiar staples of our fast-casual dining culture. In the few years since The Truck Yard opened on Lower Greenville, permanent food truck parks have slowly been popping up throughout the suburbs…
If you live in Texas, the extent of your familiarity with Hurts Donut probably amounts to a degree of schoolyard nostalgia for a joke that gave you an excuse to punch your lesser friends. If you live in the Midwest, however, you may be familiar with the growing small doughnut…
Lake Ray Hubbard is a popular destination for DFW fishing enthusiasts, yet most Dallasites rarely find themselves very far east of it. If you’ve ever made a destination trip to Rockwall, chances are it wasn’t for food, but 8020 Hospitality — the group behind HG Sply Co. and Remedy (RIP) — plans to change…
From leading Uchi to a brief stint as executive chef at FT33, chef Nilton “Junior” Borges has earned his place among the upper echelon of the Dallas dining scene. In May, Borges joined the Joule team as executive chef for the luxury hotel and its various restaurant concepts, including CBD…
If you have an internet connection or eat out at least once a decade, you realize food trends change frequently. On top of that, people in the U.S. care about what they’re consuming in terms of quality and health more now than at possibly any point in history. It’s easy…
Coffee is a ritualistic beast. While they’re often subconscious, we all have our own coffee ceremonies — the places where we drink it, what we dress it with, the brands we are loyal to — and for many, straying from these comfortable regularities can range from a minor frustration to rendering oneself literally unable…
Coffee shops are many things to many people — but for the most part, they usually stick to coffee, food and perhaps a little booze. But in recent years, we’ve seen the rise of the hybrid cafe, a place where coffee is still a central focus but where you can…
Whether or not you’re intimately familiar with the glory that is ’70s disco and R&B, you’ve undoubtedly heard “Car Wash” before. While I’m not sure exactly what type of car washes Rose Royce was frequenting — they sound like a hell of a lot more fun than the ones I’m…
If Frisco isn’t the first place you think of when you think about good coffee, it would be hard to blame you. The specialty coffee scene in Dallas proper has enjoyed a rapid explosion over the last several years, and while consumers throughout the DFW are increasingly focusing on local,…
The holiday season manifests itself in a variety of ways in the coffee world. There’s the endless, inescapable Christmas music in cafes, Starbucks’ annual war on Christmas and a concerning absence of Festivus poles. Perhaps you’ve noticed that many local coffee roasters are also offering limited, holiday-oriented coffee blends. While…
In a world where the specialty segment of the coffee industry is growing at an unprecedented pace and there’s more access than ever to great coffee, instant coffee isn’t exactly a buzzword, and for good reason. Consider your experiences with instant coffee and associated memories, connotations and flavors. Most instant…
