Latest Stories

• 
  Come to Kendall Karsen’s in Oak Cliff for Refined Soul Food. Stay for the Hospitality.

  January 13 at 4 a.m.

  Even before you’ve had your first bite of food at Kendall Karsen’s Upscale Soul Food, you’re immersed in the family of its chef and owner, Kevin Winston. Look down at the tables. Into their tops, Winston carves names and numbers: the name of his grandmother, Aunt Lou, who in his...

• 
  A Small Kitchen Produces Huge Flavors at Ka-Tip Thai Street Food

  Monday, December 30, 2019 at 4 a.m.

  If there were a theme to Dallas restaurant openings in 2019, it was this: Good food comes in small dining rooms. Ka-Tip Thai Street Food seats barely more than 20 customers: There are three tables for four, two tables for two and a communal, picnic-style setup for a larger group...

• 
  Best Restaurants Where We Ate, 2019

  Monday, December 16, 2019 at 11:38 a.m.

  2019 was a banner year for the Dallas restaurant industry. Bars set records for sales. Restaurants raised the standard in our city by reaching new levels of, and varieties of, excellence. Unpretentious but delicious neighborhood restaurants, in particular, are on the rise.
  
  Even as Dallas saw an uptick in new openings that seem tailor-made for wealthy diners, the city enjoyed booming growth in every other food sector, too. Somehow we have more and better tacos than ever. A barbecue institution reopened after taking a year to repair devastating fire damage. Unfussy dining rooms began serving excellent sushi handrolls and ceviche.
  
  Irving’s Nepalese community made a big splash, including two of our favorite new restaurants of the year. Based on their extraordinary work at various pop-up events, Filipino American chefs might follow suit in 2020.
  
  And, at last, national recognition is arriving. Bon Appétit magazine named Dallas the restaurant city of the year, published a beautiful feature on sandwich master Reyna Duong and singled out Khao Noodle Shop as the second-best new restaurant in the United States. Photos by Alison McLean 

• 
  A Former Football Coach Serves Underrated, Ultra Traditional Japanese Fare at Wa Kubota in Plano

  Monday, November 25, 2019 at 4 a.m.

  Some stellar sushi is at this Plano spot.

• 
  Del Sur Is Oak Cliff’s New Destination for Great Tacos and Mulitas

  Monday, November 4, 2019 at 4 a.m.

  This is urgent, taco lovers. Start getting hungry now.

• 
  Nova: The Charming Restaurant in Oak Cliff

  Friday, October 25, 2019 at 2:31 p.m.

  Observer critic Brian Reinhart recently went back to a place many of us know, Nova. Not a lot has changed in the sense that this community restaurant still offers good bites of food with a warm welcome of community. Take a look at why this spot is one so many people love to visit. Photos by Alison McLean.