Empire Baking Company

Odds are if you’re in a mid-range restaurant or in an eatery with aspirations above the middling range — even a food truck — you’re eating bread from Empire. This artisan bakery is the go-to bread and pastry joint in Big D. It has been so since owners Robert and Meaders Moore Ozarow opened it […]

Fireside Pies

While it bills itself as a neighborhood joint, Fireside Pies is still a chain, albeit a local one. It slings out crusty, pecan-wood-fired oven pizzas, like the fresh mozzarella (market tomatoes, hand-torn basil and balsamic vinegar) and the spicy Italian sausage with scamorza and roasted red onions. The rustic method of making pies is echoed […]

Fortune House

This is the second location for Fortune House – the original is in Irving. The menu is the same; go for any of the dumplings and you’ll leave happy. Aside from those little pillows of happiness, they serve fun cocktails (tiki and martini espresso) along with the Chinese standard hits like fried rice, orange chicken […]

Freebirds World Burrito

Freebirds World Burrito is a counter-service eatery with a sense of humor. From its décor (handmade aluminum foil figurines line one wall) to its menu (burritos come in sizes such as “monster” and “super monster”), Freebirds fosters an atmosphere of fun. And with all the options available, ordering a burrito at The Bird is like […]

Garden Cafe

This Old East Dallas cafe is exactly what you’d expect from a neighborhood restaurant. There are chicken-salad sandwiches, turkey melts and meatloaf. There are eggs and bacon and pancakes and other breakfast items, served all day like every good cafe should. They have fresh fruit, fresh drip coffee and fresh baked desserts too. What you […]

Gemma

When Gemma opened, it was a Dallas pioneer, bringing along the dressy-casual seasonal cuisine from co-owners Allison Yoder and Stephen Rogers’ last home in Napa. In 2023, they updated the space and refreshed the menu with American, French and Italian comfort foods, although they kept some of their best hits like the rabbit on pappardelle […]

The Girls Room

Have you ever had fantasies of becoming a stripper, except not really because you have children/want to run for office someday/can’t walk in 5-inch clear heels? Enter The Girls Room, a Lower Greenville studio where you can learn the fine art of pole dancing in a totally non-threatening environment. They even have “Booty Pop” classes […]

Gloria’s

While owner Gloria Rubio is Salvadoran, she certainly knows she’s in the Lone Star State and knows that most of us have a special place in our stomachs for Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes. That’s why the menu here is split pretty much down the middle between the foods of her Central American homeland and local […]

The Goat

There are so many places with “blues” in their names that look nothing like the music they proclaim to celebrate. No self-respecting blues establishment should be brighter than your average live K-pop experience. We’re not saying the place should look like a toxic waste site. It just needs a little weathering and history to fuel […]