113 September 21 - 27, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Contents | shopping & serviCes | Arts & entertAinment | Food & drink | sports & reCreAtion Best Distillery Herman Marshall Oh, whiskey: best friend to some, worst enemy to others. But whatever your feelings about the amber-colored spirit, it is indisputable that Herman Marshall delivers some of the best around. This award- winning distillery recently relocated to Wylie from Garland. Go for the HM Texas Bourbon, which you’ll see on many bar shelves around North Texas. This particular bourbon is based on a recipe from the 1800s and is what kickstarted this entire venture. Distilled with 77% Texas corn and 23% malted barley, it won silver at the American Distilling Institute’s Craft Distilling Competition and was named “Best Small Batch Bourbon” at the International Whiskey Competition. 121 N. Ballard Ave., Wylie 214-289-0723, hmwhiskey.com Best Bar ViBes Ruins This otherworldly Deep Ellum watering hole transports you to a realm unlike that of your mundane 9-to-5 existence. Yes, Ruins is a great bar, restaurant and venue, but it also serves as a de facto art gallery packed with apocalyptic themes. Fantastical creatures, Our Lady of Guadalupe imagery and distorted demon masks adorn Ruins’ walls. Ruins is where Dante Alighieri would go for literary inspiration — and to knock back a few tequila shots. When we die, we’ll be first in line to haunt this joint for all of eternity. 2653 Commerce St. 972-707-0607, ruinsdeepellum.com Best Vegan Fast FooD Slutty Vegan With dishes bearing cheeky names like the “Hollywood Hooker” and “Fussy Hussy,” it’s no wonder that Slutty Vegan makes our mouths water like no other. Restaurateur Pinky Cole recently brought her magic to Big D following the success of her vegan burger chain in Atlanta. The Deep Ellum establishment serves up some seriously sinful plant-based burgers and sandwiches, and Cole’s culinary finesse helped bring home VegOut Magazine’s “Best Burger” award in 2022. The food here is so damn good that you won’t even miss the meat. 2707 Main St. 214-396-5556, sluttyveganatl.com/dallas Best sushi Deep Sushi Deep Sushi touts itself as the first sushi restaurant to land in Deep Ellum. Opening in 1996, the place has spent decades serving up specialty rolls, fresh sushi and sashimi. There’s plenty to choose from on Deep Sushi’s menu, but you can’t go wrong starting with one of the lunch bento boxes served with rice, deep sushi salad, salmon and shrimp sushi, half a California roll and an orange. If you’re anything like us, that might not completely soothe your sushi cravings, so you’ll want to go ahead and throw a Deep Sushi combo on your tab. It comes with three different types of rolls: California, shrimp tempura and spider. Your last bite will be sad because the food is so good. 2624 Elm St. 469-530-0527, deepsushi.site Best Cold Brew Coffee Summer Moon Nitro White If you’re looking for something caffeinated and creamy, look no further than Summer Moon’s Nitro White. All of the coffee shop’s locations across DFW carry this drink: nitro cold brew coffee with half and half. Get the large and thank us later. As you sip this cool beverage, you’ll feel electrified by caffeine and ready to take on the world. 6943 Main St, Frisco 469-294-0117, summermooncoffee.com Best restaurant For a special occasion Crown Block Crown Block is a Las Vegas-based restaurant that moved into the ball atop Reunion Tower this year, after the space had sat empty for the past couple of years. Unfortunately, the revolving switch has been turned off, so to get the 360-degree view you’ll have to leg it around the restaurant. But the view of the Trinity River, canopies of trees to the south, eye-level skyscrapers and all the traffic along the highways that looks like ants marching in a line is whimsical. Plus, the macaroni and cheese waffle is itself worth the trip. 300 Reunion Blvd. E. 214-296-9950, crownblockdallas.com Best BlooDy Mary Armoury D.E. There’s a lot to choose from on Armoury D.E.’s standout menu of cocktails, but you won’t want to take a pass on the wild bloody mary. The Bloody Cthulhu is a monster of a cocktail made with gin, Ramazzotti and Armoury D.E.’s house- made bloody mary mix, and topped with a charred octopus tentacle. Served with a High Life pony back, this savory cocktail
