Best Cup of Coffee 2010 | Danny's Motor Oil at Coffee Co. | Best of Dallas® 2020 | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Dallas | Dallas Observer
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Best Cup of Coffee

Danny's Motor Oil at Coffee Co.

When it comes to getting a major jolt from a single cup of straight, black coffee, there's really nothing around town that gives you a bigger caffeine bang for a buck than a 12-ounce Styrofoam cup of "Danny's Motor Oil." And the only place to get a cuppa the stuff is at Coffee Company Incorporated, a Lakewood-area coffee roaster and market that's been roasting coffee since 1971. Which, if you know your coffee history, means Coffee Co. has been browning beans for folks as long as Starbucks, but Coffee Co. isn't a "coffee shop" in the modern Starbucks sense of the word. With only a couple of chairs up front near the shop's fire-engine red Probat roaster, the closet-sized shop is more a coffee roaster and retailer than a hangout. And the shop's hours of operation (10 a.m. to 7 p.m. most days) mean that you'll have to grab your early morning fix elsewhere. Danny's Motor Oil is named for the shop's roaster and co-owner Danny Furr who—using the shop's fresh-roasted beans—brews the coffee up as black as night.

Best Use Of A Blowtorch

Blowtorch Salmon at Nova

Alison McLean
Chilaquiles rojo

This gastropub in Oak Cliff in the former Kavala location just opened its doors, and chef Kelly Hightower made a big impression on us on the first night of business. The blowtorch salmon with yuzu miso glaze on the "Small Plates" menu was a standout item. Fresh fish was coated with the sweet and savory Japanese sauce and torched to a perfect texture, with the tacky glaze clinging to the flaky exterior while the interior remained soft. We've heard of desserts being caramelized with a blowtorch, but now we're wondering if the tool is underutilized in most kitchens. As the salmon is served with a spinach salad, it would be tempting to just order two or three plates of it and call it a meal—if the hummus, pizzas and entrées weren't so tempting as well.

Best Salsa

Gun Barrel Hot Sauce

The folks at Gun Barrel Hot Sauce appear quite proud of their roots 60 miles southeast of Dallas, which would be Gun Barrel City, of course, where the company began in 1989. But we're most proud of Gun Barrel's move to Dallas, where it makes the best hot sauce you'll find in a city with no shortage of options. While a bit pricey at $4.99 per pound and only available at select grocers like Whole Foods, Gun Barrel's ingredients are straightforward and as fresh as you'll find. There are four varieties—mild, medium, X Hot and XXX Hot—but we've only tried one, the XXX. Perhaps it's our propensity to buy things that say "XXX Hot" no matter what they are, but we stumbled on the ideal blend of spices. No need to mess with perfection.

Best Place To Request A Craft Beer Or MD 20/20 Variety

Corner Stop

With its sign boasting "ATM Lotto Money Order Cigars" and rack of spank mags near the front door, it looks like just another crummy, run-down convenience store where you're more likely to find Steel Reserve malt liquor and thinly veiled drug paraphernalia than a decent beer. But check out the back cooler and you'll be surprised by the selection of microbrews and imports, including a few we've never seen elsewhere. Even better, the store keeps a list of customer stocking requests. In one memorable visit, we inked in an appeal for Ten FIDY, an expensive and difficult-to-find imperial stout, just below where a shaky hand had scrawled "Strawberry Banana MD 20/20." It was heartwarming to see that the place is willing to take care of you whether you want expensive craft beer or rotgut wine—or Steel Reserve, for that matter.

READERS' PICK BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT

Nonna

Nonna

READERS' PICK BEST BARBECUE

Dickey's Barbecue Pit

Dickey's Barbecue Pit

READERS' PICK BEST SUSHI

The Blue Fish

The Blue Fish

READERS' PICK BEST TAKE OUT

Quesa-D-Ya's

Quesa-D-Ya's

READERS' PICK BEST FANCY RESTAURANT

Morton's The Steakhouse

Morton's The Steakhouse

Best Dinner Masquerading As Lunch

Friday Pork Chops at Perry's Steakhouse & Grille

Brady Cole

Go to any farm within 100 miles of Dallas on any Friday before lunch and you will witness high anxiety stirring within the pig population. That's when Perry's begins serving its massive pork chop special, where men, mostly, even those who attempt to follow the dietary laws of their religion, can't resist the hot off the grill, cured, roasted and rubbed flavor of three or so huge hunks of pork flesh and bone. Each is big enough to choke a horse (sorry for the mixed husbandry metaphor). The pig comes with whipped potatoes and applesauce and can be bought every day, but only as a special on Pork Chop Fridays for the low, low price of $10.95. If you think we exaggerate the size of these chops, do a drive-by of Perry's each Friday on McKinney at say, 1:30 p.m., and see grown men standing in a valet line, waiting for their cars, each holding the same Perry's doggie bag filled with what they could not possibly consume in a single sitting. A late afternoon snack awaits them, not to mention a nap.

Best Of Dallas®

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