For most Chicagoans, the real go-to Chicago-style pizza is not that thick overly sauced 5-pound slab of overpriced dough called "deep dish" but rather the thin, crispy perfectly topped tavern-style pizza so prevalent in local corner bars. Thankfully, the Dallas area has a few spots serving pizza in this manner, and Louie's is perhaps the oldest and most beloved of the bunch, and understandably so. The pizza bears a rich and complex sauce that you know has been simmering slowly for hours on the back stove. It sits atop a crust that is thin but not overly cooked, with plump, fresh toppings.

Chicago Style Dog's in Garland offers a great dog for those who prefer it to be dragged through the garden and recognize that there is no place for ketchup on a hot dog in polite society. The owners hail from the Chicago area and know how to create a proper dog, starting with Vienna beef and including a poppy seed bun, sport peppers, neon relish, onion, mustard, tomato, pickle and celery salt. It's a handful, it's messy, and includes most of the food pyramid that you can hold in your hands. What more do you want? (Don't say ketchup.)

"As close to a Philly cheesesteak you will find outside Philly" is a common statement on Tripadvisor and Yelp about Steak Me Home Tonight Kitchen, one of the permanent fixtures at the Truck Yard, off Greenville Ave., and we agree. The cheesesteak will set you back about $12 and comes with chips, though we're usually too full to eat those: The Philly is substantial. You can choose from rib-eye, chicken or veggies, and cheese options include provolone, American or Cheese Whiz. If you want the true experience, get rib-eye and Cheese Whiz. Don't try to reinvent the wheel but stock up on plenty of napkins.

Komodo in Dallas offers a Peking duck for $105, but for those wishing to sate a duck craving without having to cash in a savings bond first, we suggest the duck-fried rice at Tomyumkung Thai Café. On the menu it's listed under "Chef specials," and rightfully so. A mere $18 will get you a large plate of perfectly seasoned Thai fried rice topped with what seems like at least half a duck, juicy and tender with wonderfully crispy skin. It is not a skimpy duck serving, and you'll find yourself gnawing on the bones to get every last delectable morsel of meat. Then, with the $80 you saved, go fill up your gas tank or something. You're welcome.

Dallas may not be New York City, but at least we finally have a really good downtown bagel stand. Starship Bagel's first location opened in Lewisville, and now there's a second version on Elm Street, right next to the Eye sculpture, in what was once a newsstand. There are usually lines (they open at 7 a.m.) and they often run out of certain bagel varieties (the egg bagel is especially popular), so plan accordingly. You will be rewarded with a bagel that achieves what the best New York bagels offer: a slightly crisp outside and a wonderfully chewy center. The fermented jalapeño schmear is not to be missed, either.

The newest Fortune House location recently opened on Lower Greenville, bringing its well-regarded dumplings to the area along with other Asian fare. A good bet for those wanting an introduction to their dumplings is the dumpling sampler, which includes some of Fortune House's most popular and can be ordered steamed or fried. It also offers chao nian gao on the menu under the "Shanghai sticky rice cake" moniker; these stir-fried rice cakes are hard to find in the Dallas area. This version is flavorful, perfectly sauced and presented beautifully. Oh, and the Greenville location is open until 2 a.m. Win-win.

If you don't mind a restaurant that greets you with a list of rules you must follow to dine there (no speakerphones, keep your party to no more than four people, etc.), then you get to enjoy some outstanding ramen. The broths are cooked for more than eight hours and the noodles are made in house. The pork shio, a umami tonkotsu base created with vegetable and scallop extract, is highly recommended and brings a rich, deep flavor profile to the bowl. One can also choose pork shoyu or chicken as bases. Just don't break any of the house rules.

In 2020, COVID-19 wrought destruction on the restaurant industry. But just as a forest fire can reinvigorate a landscape over time, even the carnage of the pandemic managed to sprout new seeds. One of those seeds: Lubellas Patisserie in East Dallas. After the highly acclaimed Bullion shuttered its doors during the pandemic, Maria Becerra, a pastry chef at Bullion, opened Lubellas. Here you can find an array of handcrafted pastries, bread, Instagram-worthy cakes, quiches and sandwiches. All are made with locally sourced ingredients and baked fresh daily. The sinfully buttery and flaky blueberry Danish, centered with still-melting cream cheese, buckled our knees. And the meat-lover's quiche was so good it forever ruined quiche for us from anywhere else.

Detroit-style pizza is carving out its place on the national pizza scene. Leading the charge on that forefront in the Dallas area is Lewisville's Motor City Pizza. Owner Greg Tierney, who hails from the Motor City, started with a pop-up to test the waters. The venture was a success. In late 2021, he debuted the brick-and-mortar version of Motor City Pizza. Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular deep dish with a lighter and airier dough than Chicago-style. And the cheese must be Wisconsin brick cheese spread all the way to the edges, where it melts down the sides of the pan, caramelizing and crisping the crust. Yes, it's as game-changing as it sounds.

In the bustling Lower Greenville neighborhood, you'll find the Belgian-influenced pub Meyboom Brasserie. On tap are select beers and draughts spanning Western Europe, along with top-flight cocktails and Belgian-inspired bar bites. Owners April Segovia and Jeff Karetnick were inspired to open their own pub after a trip to Belgium in 2019. Karetnick is behind the bar, and he is, for our money, one of the more underrated bartenders in all of Dallas. Meyboom's espresso martini, made of Sobieski vodka, Kamora coffee liqueur, simple syrup, egg and Window Seat espresso, is in a league of its own.