Best Frito Pie 2021 | Slow Bone BBQ | Best of Dallas® 2020 | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Dallas | Dallas Observer
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Best Frito Pie

Slow Bone BBQ

Beth Rankin

When our food critic Brian Reinhart polled 75 foodie insiders (chefs, restaurant owners, sommeliers, bartenders, etc.) in 2018, he surmised that Slow Bone BBQ was the most underrated restaurant in Dallas. That's not surprising given Slow Bone's tender brisket, flavorful ribs, out-of-this-world smoke-brined fried chicken and abundant assortment of succulent sides. With so much to recommend, you might never think to order the Frito pie. But if you want the best one around, it starts with chili made from Slow Bone's smoky brisket. That first-rate chili gets ladled onto a pile of corn chips and generously topped with cheddar and onions. For Frito pie fanatics, it's heaven in every bite.

Best Ice Cream Shop

Botolino Gelato Artigianale

Paige Weaver

Botolino is already becoming a local legend for its top-notch gelato, created by genuine Italian Carlo Gattini. The shop's big year this year includes a second location and a short documentary film called Gelato Man, which was submitted to the Dallas International Film Festival. All the hype is backed up by gelato flavors so intense that the tiny spoon makes sense. Eat too much at once, and your taste buds will be overwhelmed by goodness. Don't miss the scoop flavored with Sicilian pistachios, the coconut stracciatella or the gelato ribboned with mascarpone and chopped, caramelized figs. If those flavors sound too Mediterranean and you want a more all-American ice cream cone, a Texas pecan scoop beckons.

Best Rotating Menu

Detour Doughnuts and Coffee

Felicia Lopez

When you think of places with chef-driven, rotating menus, a doughnut shop is probably not the first spot that comes to mind. But Jinny Cho creates new doughnut flavors on the regular, and unlike doughnuts that are just prettied up basic flavors, these are worthy of being called gourmet. Think Key lime, which is a yeast doughnut filled with lime-infused cream and topped with graham-cracker coating and meringue. Other flavors have ranged from mango-basil shortcake to matcha sesame seed and a savory everything doughnut. Flavors rotate seasonally, and weekly doughnuts pop up frequently along with the shop's signature crème brûlée and cookies and cream flavors that are offered daily.

Best Pumpkin Pancakes

Maple Leaf Diner

Courtesy of Maple Leaf Diner

When late summer rolls around, some people can't wait for pumpkin spice season to arrive (while others wish it would never come). But the wise among us who love pumpkin flavor year-round know that we can satisfy our craving at Maple Leaf Diner. Order pumpkin pancakes on the diner special with all the meats, two eggs, breakfast bread of your choice and a signature cream puff. Breakfast is served all day here, along with several types of poutine and other homestyle dishes. Don't skip the baked in-house desserts; the cream puffs, Nanaimo bars and butter tarts are to die for, even after a sweet breakfast showcasing your favorite fall flavor.

Best Chicken-Fried Steak

Haywire

Alex Gonzalez

Here in Dallas, there's no shortage of restaurants that serve the iconic Texas dish, but Haywire's fresh, sourced-from-Texas ingredients pay off in a big way. Wagyu beef makes for a fork-tender steak, and jalapeño-sausage gravy heightens the flavor. Buttermilk chive mashed potatoes and so-fresh-they're-crunchy green beans round out the meal. It's one of a handful of signature dishes on Haywire's lunch, dinner and brunch menus, so you can order it any time the mood strikes. Dine-in for a Western vibe that's as strong as the drinks, which include specialty cocktails, Texas beers, a notable wine selection and rare whiskeys.

Best Chef

Reyna Duong

Beth Rankin

Sandwich Hag's food is delicious, but what really stands out about Duong, what's made her a role model for many younger chefs, is her restaurant's attitude. Anti-maskers and other pandemic malcontents tested Sandwich Hag's "No Assholes" policy this year, but the restaurant persevered, determined to serve a community of its own creation and choosing. There's a lesson here for everyone else in town: The customer is not always right, workers have dignity and sometimes doing the right thing means losing a potential sale. As the service industry deals with a labor crisis caused in part by low wages and customer disrespect, Sandwich Hag's willingness to charge a couple of bucks more for a good working environment is an example of the path forward. Chefs don't just make food; they're leaders, too.

Best Cocktail Bar

Jettison

During the pandemic, Jettison expanded into two cocktail bars. In the space Houndstooth Coffee occupies by day, the bar began offering classic cocktails and seasonal inventions (think light, shaken drinks with mint or citrus in summertime). In the dimly lit original room, with its soft jazz soundtrack and comfy seating, Jettison approaches the cocktail with a combination of craftsmanlike seriousness and winking self-awareness. This is the kind of bar where the bartenders serve a drink with a wild flourish like a quick blast of fire, but then chuckle about it afterward. Jettison's quiet, dark, but upscale vibe is perfect for date nights, and its cocktails range from classics done properly to avant-garde creations like a Parmesan sour, a matcha-based drink and the Tom Kha Gai Guys, which uncannily mimics Thai curry but in shockingly delicious alcohol form. There's nowhere else like this.

Best Indian Restaurant

Desi District

Brian Reinhart

Part of a new wave of younger-generation Indian restaurants across the Dallas area serving fusion foods and street snacks, Desi District is enjoying a booming run of success. The original Irving location expanded into two storefronts, one for its grocery and butcher shop, and then expanded to a second location farther north. More locations are in the works across Dallas' northern suburbs, from Flower Mound to McKinney. That's good news for folks who like crispy fried veggies, including mirchi bhaji (stuffed and deep-fried hot peppers), along with "taco-dosas," Nepalese momos, super flavorful paneer-centric sandwich wraps and the rest of Desi District's eclectic menu. If you have a sweet tooth, don't miss the gulab jamun cupcakes.

Best Korean Restaurant

Arirang Korean Kitchen

Kathy Tran

This is always a hard category because the Dallas area, with something like 100 Korean restaurants, offers a wide variety of options. Do you want all-you-can-grill barbecue bulgogi and galbi? Do you prefer a lively late-night bar with stacks of fried chicken and karaoke booths? What about fusion spots with fabulous kimchi cheeseburgers? Arirang is none of those things; instead, it's as traditional as restaurants get, speaking in a language of universal comfort food. Walk up to the counter and order plump kimchi dumplings or the kitchen's house-made noodles, which come with a dazzling variety of sauces and broths. Be careful, because if a dish says it's spicy, it is not lying. If you can't decide between dumplings, noodles or soup, just go for Arirang's dumpling noodle soup, one of the most comforting, belly-warming winter dishes in Texas.

Best Mediterranean Restaurant

Yia Yia's House of Gyros

Since Vasili "Bill" Kaprantzas came to the United States and opened Yia Yia's House of Gyros in Mesquite, he's been filling it with his idiosyncratic Greek decorations. There's art drawn on paper towels and thumbtacked to the wall. There are sayings and quotes like "Mikrowave oven is forbiten in this restaurant" (sic). No matter what you order, you'll need to read the menu's description of lamb chops. And no matter what you order, you'll probably be happy with the grill's tender meats, terrific gyros, generous portions and crispy steak fries. Bring a date and try skordalia, the garlickiest condiment in existence, but save room, because everyone gets a free dessert.

Best Of Dallas®

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