Dallas' Most Interesting Restaurants 2015

Leading up to our annual Best of Dallas® issue, we're counting down the 50 most interesting restaurants in Dallas. These spots bring something unique or compelling to the city's dining scene, feeding both your appetite and soul. Check back here as the list grows until Best of Dallas rolls out September 24.

DALLAS' 50 MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS, NO. 50: EVEREST RESTAURANT
When we go out to dine we expect the food will be good, otherwise we'd stay at home and throw another frozen pizza in the oven and call it a day. But sometimes good food is not enough, and when we're out searching for a meal, we hope to encounter dishes and ingredients that will teach us something new.
DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 49: LA HAN BAT
There are plenty of Korean restaurants in the Dallas area that serve shul lung tang, but none treat the boiled bone soup with the reverence that owner Don Lee does in the narrow kitchen of his soup-devoted restaurant LA Han Bat.
DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 48: PECAN LODGE
Hundreds of barbecue restaurants are strewn across Texas, and scores around the Dallas area, but that doesn't mean good brisket is easy to find. Most restaurants produce dry beef the color of wet newspaper, with little fat and little flavor. When you pick up a slice of great brisket, it feels soft and supple in your hand. The surface of each slice glistens with moisture and rendering fat, and both mean flavor
DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 47: GEMMA
If the evening is late and I crave something sweet, nine times out of 10 I head for Gemma. I love to order a pot of tea (they carry leaves from The Cultured Cup) and an elegantly plated dessert from a menu that's always changing. 

DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 46: EL COME TACO
There aren't many taquerias in Dallas that sell grasshopper tacos, but that is only one of many reasons to visit El Come Taco.  Dallas has lots of taquerias, sure, but finding ones that bring something new to the table is a whole different matter.
DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 45: OFF-SITE KITCHEN
Who knew fast food could taste this good. Off-Site Kitchen will make you wonder why you spent so much time at the other fast food restaurants.
DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 44: SHEBA'S ETHIOPIAN KITCHEN
If you're looking for a cheap meal that's loaded with personality and flavor, Dallas Ethiopian restaurants will always deliver. A great place to start is Sheeba's Ethiopian Kitchen.
DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 43: MOT HAI BA
Craving Vietnamese food? In the mood for a laid-back neighborhood restaurant with a quirky feel? Don't mind the lamps hanging upside down from the ceiling, just go with it and order a Vietnamese pancake for your table. Mot Hai Ba straddles authentic Vietnamese comfort food and modern cooking. DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 42: PALAPAS SEAFOOD BAR
A meal out on the thatch covered patio of Palapas Seafood bar is likely as close as you'll get to the Sinaloan for the next 1,200 miles.

DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 41: LUSCHER'S RED HOTS
Luscher's Red Hots offers the pedestrian fare of Chicago viewed through a Texas' chef lens. The results are as delicious as they are fattening. DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 40: SAN SALVAJE
Stephen Pyles newest restaurant offers dishes from nearly every country from Mexico all the way south to Argentina, including some island cuisine for some coastal flare. San Salvaje truly has something for everyone.

DALLAS' MOST INTERESTING RESTAURANTS NO. 39: CASA RUBIA
Omar Flores takes Spanish cuisine to new places at his Trinity Groves restaurant Casa Rubia.