Cris and John Offers a Fun Fair Food Menu Through October

It’s no secret that the State Fair of Texas and its patrons love fried foods. Each year there seems to be an ever-growing arms race toward that end with seemingly nothing out of bounds: If someone can drop something into a deep fryer’s basket, they’ll do it. This year’s winner for “Best Taste – Savory” was deep fried pho, which some thought was awfully similar to the phorrito, one of Cris and John’s signature dishes served at their Vietnamese/Mexican street food fusion restaurant. There was a bit of a brouhaha over this, articles appearing in D Magazine, The Dallas Morning News and social media, because everyone needs a hobby.

In the end, everyone seemed to move on with no ill will against any of the parties involved. This is fried food, after all, not something important like the propriety of adding beans to chili. Let’s keep our priorities straight.

In the meantime, Cris and John seem to have let this controversy spur their creativity. They’ve come up with a special fair foods menu for the month of October, offering four different fair-inspired dishes that are all fried in some manner: sugared birria bao buns, bo kho tacos, carne asada bao buns and a chicken mole ramen burrito. We’re sure all of this is being done in the spirit of culinary creativity and advancement and was in no way a subtle response to the fried pho rhubarb.

These dishes (and the regular menu) are proving to be popular, so it took us two trips before we were able to successfully try these treats. The first time, the line was out the door and snaked around the strip mall, leaving nowhere to park; the second try there was only a 15-minute wait in line and a single parking space that became available like manna from heaven. In other words, get there early (doors open at 11) and be prepared for a wait.

It was worth the wait, however: The dishes were all unique and a bit different (in a good way), though some succeeded more than others.

The bo kho tacos (three to an order) were canasta-style crunchy shells filled with braised beef and served with a side of stew consommé and topped with raw red onions and cilantro. They were extremely good and one of our favorites of the four. The consommé wasn’t even needed but was still a welcome addition.

The carne asada bao buns consisted of three fried bao filled with beef and topped with pico de gallo and cotija cheese. This was accompanied by a fried jalapeño and came with some green salsa. This was also one of our favorites, the savory meat and lightly fried bao buns a great combo.

The chicken mole ramen burrito consisted of a large fried burrito filled with ramen noodles, mole-coated fried chicken, kimchi, onion and mozzarella cheese, served with a side of mole sauce and conveniently cut in half for easy sharing. This perfectly showed off the Vietnamese and Mexican fusion that they strive for. It was good, but we’d probably rank it in fourth place on this special menu.

The sugared birria bao buns worked better than they should have: fried bao buns coated in cinnamon sugar, drizzled with condensed milk and filled with beef short rib and mozzarella cheese. This tasted better than it reads, though one of our party would have been perfectly content eating just the fried cinnamon bao solo.

Oh, we had leftovers. It was a lot of food, but we had to try all four before they leave the menu on Oct. 31, and we suggest you make the effort to get there before the end of the month. We should count ourselves lucky to be living in the days of both the deep fried pho and the phorrito; nobody likes a monopoly, deep-fried or otherwise.

Note: The restaurant will be closed Oct. 17-18) for maintenance. 

5555 Preston Oaks Road, No. 5. Tuesday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and 5-8 p.m.; closed Saturday and Monday.