Last night’s Dallas Observer Iron Fork was the best one yet. There was a ton of creativity in the room, from Norma’s chicken-fried steak shooters to Hash House a Go Go’s meatloaf sliders to Fresh Art Foodie’s crazy sticky rice doughnuts with blood orange-pineapple chicken. Brisket seemed to be the…
Bulla Gastrobar (pronounced like the ’90s catch phrase “boo-yah”) opened in Plano’s Legacy West in February. The Miami-based chain emphasizes Spanish tapas and the inebriates traditionally served alongside them. Bulla, conceived by Carlos Centurion, president of Dallas-based prescriptive analytics company River Logic, opened its sixth location in Plano and has…
If there’s one industry that seems particularly beholden to the whims of Pinterest-y trends, it’s the world of cakes. From geode wedding cakes to “naked cakes,” once the internet falls in love with a style of cake, you can bet that your local baker is going to get some requests…
If it weren’t for the restaurants, there would be little reason for most of us to visit Highland Park Village. Hermes, Dior, Stella McCartney, Tom Ford, Christian Louboutin — this shopping development was built for the wealthy, and the poshly dressed clientele valeting luxury vehicles seems to reinforce that. Dining options at…
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. It has been a steep and heavy climb for Chuck Cole. He’s the sole owner of Corner…
Amid the Trader Joe’s and Lululemon and Apple stores that have come to define the area of Knox Street near U.S. 75, Wild About Harry’s remained one of the last bits of Dallas character in the increasingly homogeneous neighborhood. Now, that little bit of character is on its way out…
Tart-a-licious owner Uma Iyer and her exquisite creations are popping up at pop-ups all over town. One week, she’s collaborating with Joy Macarons, the next, she’s setting up shop at the McKinney Farmers Market. She does all this while catering gigs and running a thriving online ordering business — not bad for…
Cooper’s, a longtime San Antonio meat market, has opened next to Cox Farms, an organic market in Sylvan Thirty in West Dallas. But this isn’t just a meat shop — it’s also a steakhouse and bar. Owners Michael Johnson and Victoria Berezina brought in chef Kenny Mills (Capital Grille, Sullivan’s Steakhouse) to…
Pastry-making runs in Victor Rodrigez’s blood. He’s a third-generation pastelero (pastry maker) carrying on the tradition his grandparents started in Peru. Rodriguez owns Tineo Cafe in Richardson, where he’s been serving pastries and food from his homeland for the past eight years. If you didn’t know you were in a Peruvian…
Every neighborhood needs its spot. What is a neighborhood without a restaurant where you can feel totally at home with a plate of reliably good, unfussy food? A soulless collection of houses, that’s what it is. The corner of Hampton Road and Illinois Avenue, deep in the heart of Oak…
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. There are many categories of heat at Pepe’s & Mito’s. Depending on the Texas season and the…
In the burger capital of the U.S. of A. — at least that’s how it feels some days — there’s always a new burger around the bend. If you’re looking to try something you haven’t had before, check out one of these: Sky Rocket’s triple cheeseburger There are only four…
Botolino Gelato Artignale is a recent addition to Lowest Greenville. It opened late last summer and offers authentic, scratch-made gelato with an emphasis on using natural ingredients. Owner Carlo Gattini grew up in Tuscany, in the Chianti Hills. He learned to make gelato from his grandmother, Fernanda Gosetti, who owned…
Fuad Al Dawyma buzzes beef shawarma from the spinning grill with an electric shaver. It’s calming to watch. The meat cone twirls hypnotically, slowly. Dawyma shaves meat off into sheets, into his hand, then packs it into the pockets of soft Iraqi bread. The bread is piping steam into the…
There’s a newcomer to the Richardson Heights Shopping Center. Vegvana is a vegetarian and vegan Indian restaurant that serves a lunch buffet and regular menu in the evenings. It takes the place of Udipi Café, a vegetarian Indian chain based out of Houston. Karthik Gunasekaran opened Vegvana in February with…
Maybe we should have seen this coming. It’s been six months since Zoli’s Pizza resurrected in on Midway Road in Addison, and there has been plenty of creativity from owner Jay Jerrier, chef Lee Hunzinger and their team. The gang that once gave us a knock-off Pizza Hut hot dog…
Iron Fork, the Dallas Observer’s annual food event celebrating some of the city’s best food and drink, is just a week away. It has one of the best restaurant lineups ever, and there’s an even better reason not to miss this year: For the first time ever, two badass female…
When Aunt Stelle’s Sno-Cones didn’t open for the season last summer, Oak Cliff was despondent. The neighborhood snow cone shop’s annual opening, on the last weekend of every April, had long been considered the unofficial start to summer ever since Aunt Stelle’s first opened in 1962. Last summer, opening day…
Jon Alexis knows how to run a seafood restaurant. Now he hopes the chops he’s acquired since buying TJ’s Seafood Market and Grill helps put a unique stamp on a burgeoning poke market. Even though he purchased TJ’s from his parents in 2009, opening up Malibu Poke down the street…
Six years ago in April, Jason Boso found himself sweating away behind the kitchen of his burger joint, painstakingly separating meat from a beaver carcass. The process was arduous. He’d purchased around 60 pounds of the prehistoric rodents to grind into burger patties that he’d serve for $8 each. The…
After a long pause, Chili’s gazes deep in the centers of our eyes. Chili’s, after all, is Texas’ old friend. Chili’s whispers its big announcement in a primordial stirring, like wind jostling the canopy of a forest, swirling into a hushed chant that announces: “We have begun a New Chili.”…
Sixty Vines, the airy, modern Plano restaurant serving delightful Italian dishes with more than 40 wines on tap, is opening a gorgeous new restaurant at 5 p.m. Monday in the Crescent. Via a press release: It will feature an indoor/outdoor design that feels fresh, lush, and purposeful. Naturally placed grape…
