The 10 Most Iconic Dishes in Dallas

In 1981, when former Mansion owner Caroline Rose Hunt asked chef Dean Fearing to recreate a tortilla soup recipe she had in San Antonio the day prior, he couldn’t have anticipated it would subtly transform his classic French training and establish him as the godfather of Southwestern cuisine.

At the time, Fearing and another chef in the Mansion kitchen, John Eschenfelder, led the charge for French fine-dining in Dallas. After Hunt’s request, they spent weeks testing recipes and ingredients to make the perfect tortilla soup, which Fearing says then involved a lot of Kraft yellow cheese.

One day, Eschefelder arrived at the kitchen early, and when Fearing arrived, Eschefelder told him he’d perfected it. Fearing tried it and agreed: it was perfect. They added it to the menu that night, and it was an instant success.

Five years after making that soup, Fearing started leaning into Southwestern cuisine. He was in Dallas, he thought, so why not celebrate the flavors of the region with a French technique? One humble bowl of soup helped launch Southwestern cuisine.

Years later, when Fearing broke away to open his eponymous restaurant, Fearing’s, the soup came with him, although over the years he’s dressed up this recipe (he now uses white cheese). To this day, it’s served at both restaurants.

For a dish to be iconic, it has to represent a particular time or serve as a symbol for something else. And even while Dallas is still trying to find its foothold in its own gastronomic landscape – apart from Tex-Mex and barbecue – these are the longstanding dishes that are more than a meal, rather a story.

Tortilla Soup

Fearing’s, 2121 McKinney Ave.Fearing’s silky, Southwestern soup is famously imitated but has never been duplicated. Since 1981, smoked chicken, radish, cabbage, jalapeño, white cheddar cheese and crispy tortilla strips have waited patiently at the bottom of a ceramic soup bowl for a server to pour the soup atop them generously, and that’s the way Dean’s famous soup has been served since its conception. Would anyone believe the original recipe called for Kraft yellow cheese and boiled chicken? Dallas, 40 years ago? Yes. Dallas now? That’s jail time. The tortilla soup is made in 60-gallon batches that typically last around 4-5 days, and for some of his diners, that soup could be its own one-item menu, and they’d still come in just to eat it.

Brisket Tacos

Mia’s Tex-Mex Restaurant, 4334 Lemmon Ave. It should have been foreshadowing when Mia’s owner, Ana, nicknamed Mama Mia, made Jerry Jones wait an hour to eat in her restaurant. On that day in 1989, Jerry Jones, as the new owner of the Dallas Cowboys, met with Jimmy Johnson, who would replace Tom Landry as the new head coach for America’s team. But we’re not here to reminisce about football deals, rather one of the most famous dishes in Dallas. Two toasted flour tortillas are side-by-side stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese, sautéed onions, poblano peppers and brisket bathed in its own gravy; framing them are refried beans, rice and a shredded lettuce salad. The famous brisket tacos started as a Wednesday-only off-menu item. As diners lined up for them, guaranteeing they sold out, they made their way onto the menu permanently and now serve as one’s gateway into the rest of Mia’s beloved Tex-Mex cuisine.

Meatball Sub

Jimmy’s Food Store, 4901 Bryan St.The DiCarlo family has been slinging and selling Italian goods in East Dallas since 1966. Initially, the market was the go-to for the diverse immigrants who populated the neighborhood. Still, word got out, and now the small local market has become an anchor point for the developing area. Until 1997, you could only get its Italian sausage and meatballs during the holidays, but now these passed-down recipes are the focal point of the shops’ takeaway sandwich counter. Grandmother Rosa created the recipe for the meatballs that are stuffed inside a 6-inch toasted bun along with marinara, mozzarella, sweet peppers and onion. A touch of parsley and garlic powder allegedly separates these meatballs from everyone else’s. The parking spaces outside the store along Bryan Street rotate like a revolving door, so they might be right.

Swiss Madrisa Cake

Henk’s European Deli & Black Forest Bakery, 5811 Blackwell St.If one dessert could single-handedly unite the city of Dallas, it would be the Swiss Madrisa cake, which has been the focal point of local graduations, birthdays, anniversaries and other celebrations since the early 1960s. Sales of this layered, whipped cream-covered sponge cake with a glossy crown of fresh fruit and a belt of sliced almonds have increased exponentially over the years, with no set demographic and no viral moment that catapulted it to fame. Any family with a memory of this cake has no idea how it ended up at each celebration year after year. It’s just always been there. The owners previously told us they sell over 30,000 cakes every year. Henk’s may be a hub for traditional German meals and goods, but in the process, it has woven its way into the city’s fabric.

Chocolate Glob Dessert

Parigi, 3311 Oak Lawn Ave. Call it an undercooked brownie, a monstrous runny glob or underbaked. Call it whatever you want. The Chocolate Glob from Parigi is an enduring dessert that an entire demographic of Dallas has sworn an oath to since 1984. Here, an 8-inch-square baking dish is stuffed with magic (basically brownie ingredients) and tucked into the 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the edges are cake-like and the middle is gooey. This ritual has been repeated in Parigi’s oven over 160,000 times over the last 40 years. Get it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you’ll understand the universe.

No. 5 Special Burger

Keller’s Drive-In, 6537 E. Northwest HighwayThe only thing that has changed between the time Keller’s opened in 1950 and today is a few dollars and cents added to the menu. But adding grilled onions to your burger is still free. This perfect old-school drive-in cooks everything to order,  and it never uses a microwave or a freezer. The No. 5 special is a trademark burger with a signature poppyseed bun, double meat patty glued together with American cheese, plus lettuce, tomato and special sauce. This classic burger takes the weekend troupe of bikers, classic car enthusiasts and generations of families back to an era when car ownership was becoming near-ubiquitous. Let’s not forget that Keller’s is the only place in Dallas where you order a cold beer at your car, thanks to a grandfathered-in liquor law. And, great news, they take debit and credit cards now.

Dumplings

Jeng Chi, 400 N. Greenville Ave. You only need to know three words when you walk into Jeng Chi: juicy, steamed or boiled? Make that five if you prefer your dumplings pan-fried. Jeng Chi has served its hand-shaped dumplings since 1990. More impressive, the Teng family has also sculpted and shaped its own space to maintain its mom-and-pop shop feel while catering to its growing clientele of Chinese and Taiwanese food lovers. When Mei “Mama” Teng came to America in 1985, she sold plastic bags of bao at the supermarket where she worked in what would eventually become Richardson’s Chinatown. Years later, Yuan “Papa” Teng immigrated to America, and they opened their first restaurant. They started with only four tables inside a 1,000-square-foot space, and now their 8,300-square-foot restaurant is recognized as one of Dallas’ oldest and longest-running Chinese restaurants. Papa Teng arrives at the restaurant as early as 1 a.m. to start working on the dough that forms the base of one of Dallas’ most cherished dumplings.

Midnight Corn Dog

Lakewood Landing, 5818 Live Oak St.There’s an unspoken late-night countdown at East Dallas’ resident dive bar every weekend. At midnight, the kitchen closes and everyone holding a beer suddenly has a paper boat cradling the Landing’s off-menu corn dog: a 100% beef hot dog from Rudolph’s dipped in fresh, house-made jalapeño cornmeal batter and fried until golden. This has been a nightly tradition since the late ’90s. If you visit Sunday through Thursday, your Cinderella moment comes an hour early at 11 p.m. They serve up to 50 a night, and the most eaten in one sitting is 14. And don’t even think about trying to order one at 10:59:59 or 11:59:59. It’s 11 p.m. or midnight. On the dot. It’s served with a small cup of mustard (order ketchup at your own risk).

Pulpo Al Pastor

Revolver Taco Lounge, 2646 Elm St.Dallas is awash in tacos, but when Revolver Taco Lounge opened in Deep Ellum in 2017, it changed the culinary landscape for this most humble of foods. While spots like El Si Hay will always have long lines and repeat customers, Regino Rojas at Revolver introduced North Texas diners to a new style of upscale tacos reflective of his deep Mexican roots. His sister-concept tasting room, Purepecha, is still the greatest embodiment of this refined appreciation of tacos. Still, the octopus tacos at the more casual Revolver Taco Lounge might be more popular. One of the pulpo options is served carnitas style with fried leek and a hot salsa verde. The other is served pastor style and comes with a whole tentacle lazing across a California-king-sized tortilla with grilled pineapple, scallion and cilantro. It’s so showy, it got its own spot on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles.

Frozen Margarita

Mariano’s Hacienda Ranch, 6300 Skillman St. Some people walk into 7-Eleven and leave with a 99-cent Big Gulp and a hot dog, but in 1971, Mariano Hernandez left the convenience store with an idea – and soon, a legacy. When the quality and process of making margaritas were hindered by high demand and the time it took to prepare each drink, he saw the gas station Slurpee machine and thought it to be a genius new way to serve premixed margaritas that were perfect every time. After tinkering with an old soft-serve ice cream maker, the modified machine served the first-ever frozen margarita at Mariano’s Hacienda Ranch at the start of the ’70s. Firsts can often be left up to interpretation, but Mariano’s first-ever frozen margarita machine is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. How’s that for some street cred?