100 Favorite Dishes, No. 50: Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas at the Original Herrera's Cafe

Leading up to September's Best of Dallas® 2016 issue, we're sharing (in no particular order) our 100 Favorite Dishes, the Dallas entrées, appetizers and desserts that really stuck with us this year. Forty-five years is a long time in the restaurant business. For every Tex-Mex institution that’s been beloved for...

By Brian Reinhart

July 25, 2016

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Leading up to September's Best of Dallas® 2016 issue, we're sharing (in no particular order) our 100 Favorite Dishes, the Dallas entrées, appetizers and desserts that really stuck with us this year.

Forty-five years is a long time in the restaurant business. For every Tex-Mex institution that’s been beloved for decades, there are a hundred that close within a year. The Herrera family has been doing it right since 1971, and their sour cream chicken enchiladas are one of Dallas’ favorite comfort foods.

It’s a simple dish, but a satisfying one. Spiced, shredded chicken gets rolled into the enchiladas, then topped with a homemade sour cream sauce, a dash of cayenne and a couple of pepper slices. But something about the creamy sour cream and the firm kick of spice, singing in perfect harmony, warms the soul. These enchiladas are the essence of comfort food, and the sauce must be part of the magic. Trying to make them at home with plain old grocery sour cream would not end as well. On Sylvan Avenue, just south of the river, the Herrera family is still keeping things simple and serving up classics after all these years.

KEEP THE OBSERVER FREE... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Brian Reinhart has been the Dallas Observer's food critic since spring 2016. In addition, he writes baseball analysis for the Hardball Times and covers classical music for the Observer and MusicWeb International.

Contact: Brian Reinhart

Follow:

Twitter: @bgreinhart