Best Restaurant with a Mission 2023 | Cafe Momentum | Best of Dallas® 2020 | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Dallas | Dallas Observer
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Kathy Tran

Café Momentum is a restaurant in downtown Dallas that offers an internship program that works in tandem with juvenile justice officials and community partners for young people who have been involved in the justice system. To date, this nonprofit restaurant, which is really more of a "program" than just a kitchen and dining room, has helped more than 1,200 participants turn their lives around by offering 24/7 case management, a full curriculum, a safe place to study and mental health services, and by pouring out basic love and respect. The concept has done so well, it's expanding to other cities. Don't know what to do for dinner tonight? Here. Go here. Oh, the food? It's phenomenal.

This Mediterranean restaurant on Oak Lawn Avenue has done something with its wine list that is rare enough that most restaurants its size don't even bother with. In other words, Sachet's wine menu is neither boring, trite nor cliched, and if it's a bit pricey, it's not silly pricey. How many restaurants forgo the same old half dozen bottles of California cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay in favor a Texas wine (Duchman), a Gascon white, a Sicilian red made with Nero d'Avola or a Provencal rosé that is one of the world's great values?

Lauren Drewes Daniels

This vibrant yet cozy bar is tucked away off Tyler Street in Oak Cliff, close to the Bishop Arts District. It's unpretentious and neighborly. The classic cocktail menu lists the dates the drinks first appeared on the map — 1850 Sazerac and 1902 daiquiri — with just eight drinks in all. Then there are future classics, too, including a Bidi Bidi Bom Bom with tequila, mint, hibiscus agave and lime. Check out happy hour, 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, for half-price cocktails, domestic beer and wine specials. Plus, any place with a Bob Ross shrine deserves our attention.

Sad because your weekly allowance doesn't understand your snobbish foodie side? Take heart at Uchiba, the lighthearted sibling of Uchi, the impeccable Japanese restaurant with a stellar sushi bar. Located one floor up from Uchi, Uchiba offers a happy-hour menu with dozens of options, only a few of which are priced north of $10. Wine, sake, cocktails and Japanese beer, along with a mini burger ($7.50), hot fried chicken bun ($6) and crispy duck ($10), are likely candidates. The nigiri menu comes with two pieces per order and includes Atlantic salmon, tuna and dayboat scallops, all priced less than $10. There's even a dessert on the happy hour menu: crispy bao with coconut semifreddo and koji shio caramel for $7.

Angie Quebedeaux

Spanish tapas fuse with Mediterranean-style food at Selda Mediterranean Grill. Indulge in fall-off-the-skewer tender kebabs, layered baklava that flakes to the bite and dates stuffed with a creamy feta-walnut mixture. Other traditional Mediterranean dishes include Turkish liver-and-onions and a beyti, ground beef rolled in flatbread. For dessert, enjoy the cheese pulls on Selda's specialty kunefe, which comes with a base of melted cheese in crunchy shredded wheat sticks. Most dishes arrive in shareable portions. Grab a couple of friends and seats on the patio, surrounded by fairy lights and fresh spearmint plants. Just make a reservation; it's a popular spot.

Lauren Drewes Daniels

This vibrant Deep Ellum hotspot is all about the vibes — good ones, that is. Since its opening in 2021, Neon Kitten's Asian-inspired small bites have already made near-permanent indents in our terminally famished hearts. But the lounge's memorable craft cocktails are the true stars of the show. Sip on the Osaka in a Hello Kitty-shaped glass, the Hiroshima in a Yoda vessel or the Kobe in a container that resembles a handstanding pink pig. It's just about all the deliciousness one can handle served in super adorable cups.

Oh, whiskey: best friend to some, worst enemy to others. But whatever your feelings about the amber-colored spirit, it is indisputable that Herman Marshall delivers some of the best around. This award-winning distillery recently relocated to Wylie from Garland. Go for the HM Texas Bourbon, which you'll see on many bar shelves around North Texas. This particular bourbon is based on a recipe from the 1800s and is what kickstarted this entire venture. Distilled with 77% Texas corn and 23% malted barley, it won silver at the American Distilling Institute's Craft Distilling Competition and was named "Best Small Batch Bourbon" at the International Whiskey Competition.

This otherworldly Deep Ellum watering hole transports you to a realm totally unlike that of your mundane 9-to-5 existence. Yes, Ruins is a great bar, restaurant and venue, but it also serves as a de facto art gallery packed with apocalyptic themes. Fantastical creatures, Our Lady of Guadalupe imagery and distorted demon masks adorn Ruins' walls., Ruins is where Dante Alighieri would go for literary inspiration — and to knock back a few tequila shots. When we die, we'll be first in line to haunt this joint for all of eternity.

Anisha Holla
One Night Stand Burger

With dishes bearing cheeky names like the "Hollywood Hooker" and "Fussy Hussy," it's no wonder that Slutty Vegan makes our mouths water like no other. Restaurateur Pinky Cole recently brought her magic to Big D following the success of her vegan burger chain in Atlanta. The Deep Ellum establishment serves up some seriously sinful plant-based burgers and sandwiches, and Cole's culinary finesse helped bring home VegOut Magazine's "Best Burger" award in 2022. The food here is so damn good that you won't even miss the meat.

Jacob Vaughn

If you're looking for something caffeinated and creamy, look no further than Summer Moon's Nitro White. All of the coffee shop's locations across DFW carry this drink: nitro cold brew coffee with half and half. Get the large and thank us later. As you sip this cool beverage, you'll feel electrified by caffeine and ready to take on the world.

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