East Dallas' Middle Ground Celebrates A Trove of Local Businesses

East Dallas Middle Ground is a coffee shop that celebrates Lakewood and the surrounding communities. It opened in the spring of last year and is committed to using only local vendors to create its drinks, pastries and food.

This well-lit corner spot at the White Rock Center off N. Buckner and Northcliff Drive has a house full of locals: Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters, La Casita Bakeshop, Starship Bagel, Haute Sweets Patisserie, Stoke cold-pressed juice, Milk & Patience and Mill-King Creamery.
After many meetings and cupping sessions, Tiffani Kocsis, Middle Ground's owner, chose Oak Cliff Coffee as their roaster of choice. The Dallas-based roaster's commitment to small batches and brand values aligned closely with Kocisi. The rest is history.

Using these beans, the shop's menu starts with very traditional espresso drinks like cappuccinos and Americanos but then dives into more niche choices like doppios (a double shot made with double the beans) and a noisette (a shot of espresso with a dash of milk or cream).

Further down are specialty lattes like the white rose, cardamom orange and macadamia cookie, plus hot teas from Rishi, a variety of featured black-coffee options and caffeine-free staples like hot chocolate.
When we visited, the February menu was in full swing: a sweetheart matcha, sugar and spice shakerato, and a late-night latte, a traditional latte made with dark chocolate and spices.

Is a coffee shop only as strong as its cappuccino? We'd like to think so. This 1:5 ratio drink is the constant of choice if we are trying a place for the first time. It provides a solid baseline with a good milk-to-espresso ratio, but don't think for one second we didn't consider the macadamia cookie latte.

If you ever order a bad cappuccino using Oak Cliff Coffee beans, let us know. Like that one fish they just got rare video footage of, those two things are especially hard to find.
Initially, my pastry of choice was an oatmeal cream pie, but there was a mix-up and instead, I got a slice of the Earl Grey loaf. While not my first choice, it was still a sweet companion to the cappuccino. It's spongey and moist (sorry) with a good vanilla flavor and just a slight hint of the tea throughout. The outside has a creamy vanilla glaze, which is always the best part.

Once you have your order, not only is their cafe spacious, but they encourage you to linger awhile and get comfortable. If you're around, the occasional Sunday markets here are worth keeping your schedule open for. They're usually announced on Instagram and feature dozens of local vendors from the surrounding community.

East Dallas Middle Ground, 718 N Buckner Boulevard, Monday - Friday, 6:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Saturday/Sunday, 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.