According to a sign posted to the front door, Alligator Cafe in East Dallas has, as of Nov. 8, been seized by the state of Texas for nonpayment of taxes. On Thursday morning, the long-running Cajun eatery in Casa Linda was dark, the sign taped to the door ominously warning,…
When we reviewed SpicyZest earlier this year, the Sri Lankan restaurant had been open for roughly one year. Now, just a few months shy of its two-year anniversary, this Farmers Branch establishment is introducing brunch. SpicyZest has proclaimed its brunch, featuring a bevy of Sri Lankan breakfast favorites, to be…
Downtown Dallas cocktail den, Midnight Rambler, is bringing back some old favorites from menus past and throwing in a soon-to-be fall favorite or two. One of their new tipples is the Hot Buttered Soul, a fall forward cocktail named for a Southern soul album by Isaac Hayes.
All-American is a series that looks at beloved, longstanding North Texas eateries and examines their histories while exploring how the food has changed — for the good or bad — over the years. A sailing ship is in the throes of invisible waves above the beer taps. There are surfboards…
There is a dearth of real street food in the one Dallas neighborhood where it would do best: Deep Ellum. Sure, you can get a burger after midnight and a bowl of ramen around 3 a.m., but in the neighborhood with some of the city’s heaviest foot traffic, it’s surprising…
There are all kinds of theories to explain helping behavior: We do it out of a sense of reciprocity. We do it because it makes us feel like good people. We do it because of cognitive dissonance. But if we are really honest with ourselves, then we can see that…
In the days before Amazon could put a book (or almost anything) on your doorstep mere hours after a few clicks from your smartphone, Barnes & Noble was the place for books and music. Depending on your point of view, B&N was either the perfect place to spend an evening perusing…
Jalisco Norte recently opened on the corner of a Turtle Creek shopping and eating complex, and the new restaurant seeks to remove the stigma of processed yellow cheese and deep-fried burritos popular with Tex-Mex fans. No one is saying Tex-Mex is bad. But Jalisco Norte asserts that if you think Tex-Mex is…
It’s a Monday afternoon at 3015 in Trinity Groves, and about 50 restaurant owners, managers and developers are pretending they just received a text message from an employee. Shooter in the restaurant, the text reads. Can’t call. He put us in the walk-in. Please help. Ed Bollen, a CIA veteran…
We’re walking through the Statler’s recently redesigned lobby when a lost-looking 20-something solicits our help. “Are you guys going to the bar?” he asks, looking flustered. “We can’t find it anywhere.” When you open a speakeasy in a hotel basement, you’re guaranteed to have a few lost souls. Wind your…
Two weeks ago, we published a review of pan-Asian restaurant Hot Joy, which had signed a two-year lease in an old Texas Land & Cattle building in Uptown. In the review, Observer food critic Brian Reinhart questioned the San Antonio-based restaurant’s decor and menu choices. He interviewed people like Andrew Ti,…
Inside Dallas’ Uptown Urban Market, tucked away in one of the back corners, lies a Japanese establishment no larger than the size of Harry Potter’s closet. Coming out of this tiny kitchen, though, are some serious flavors backed by some seriously big analytics. Totto Yama has been open for a…
Mario and Ivan Urtecho know and love the Mexican food industry. They’ve worked every possible role at a restaurant — from busing to serving to managing — since coming to the United States in the 1990s. With La Comida, they finally took on the role of owners. The Urtechos hail…
So you like cheese — really, really like cheese. Not only are you in good company there, but science might also explain why we love gooey, melty cheese the way we do. According to a Forbes piece called “This Is Your Brain On Cheese,” some proteins in cheese bind to…
elote, corn, tacos, pastor, oak cliff
In this week’s roundup of Dallas food news, an Allen restaurant provokes the internet’s ire, a new bakery opens downtown and an “authentic” Mexican restaurant opens in Turtle Creek Village: Dodie’s Place Cajun Bar & Grill in Allen has learned what it’s like to go viral, and it’s not because…
Jalisco Norte’s Crafty Paloma serves up an elevated take on a traditional cocktail.
It is 11 a.m. on a Sunday, and Oddfellows is reverberating with the energy of a hustling, bustling restaurant, much as it always does on weekends. This Bishop Arts District restaurant is a well-worn brunch spot, having earned its reputation by way of expertly brewed lattes, a pleasant atmosphere and…
At White Rock Lake’s newest Tex-Mex restaurant, culinary heritage runs in the family. El Vecino, on Buckner Boulevard just east of the lake’s sailing club, opened Oct. 16, but its heritage runs deeper than that. Owner John Michael McBride is a direct descendant of Miguel and Faustina Martinez, who founded…
There are only a few places left to get a real street dog. Dallas is a hot dog ghost town while major cities around the country have dogs pinned to sidewalks. There are carts that griddle in the open breeze, squiggle them with mustard and pile on butter-soft onions while…
This weekend welcomes the return of Chefs for Farmers, where chefs will celebrate the work of local farmers through dishes enjoyed by diners. It’s a weekend of good food, whether that’s a seated dinner or a night market-style of dining — another food-centered event that’s popular with people nowadays. It…
Settle Up is a column that critiques cocktail bars with the same gravitas that food critics apply to restaurants, exploring Dallas’ cocktail concepts, menus, execution and service and steering discerning imbibers toward all the booze that’s fit to drink. Have you seen the bar stools at Harlowe MXM? You should…
