116 September 21 - 27, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER contents | shopping & services | Arts & entertAinment | Food & drink | sports & recreAtion away with one of 3 Nations or Symbol Brewing’s excellent craft brews. 1033 Vandergriff Drive, Carrollton 469-289-6062, 3nationsbrewing.com Best Local Beer Honey Citrus Blonde, Community Beer Co. For us, the best beer is the closest beer, so we’ve found that lately we’ve been angling to get next to Community’s Honey Citrus Blonde. Don’t let the name fool you, this is a beer-flavored beer, even with the hint of orange peel and touch of honey sweetness lending their talents to the refreshing proceedings. With a bolder backbone than you might expect, the 6% ABV brew is as great a summer crusher as it is a fall sipper. 3110 Commonwealth Drive 214-751-7921, communitybeer.com Best Seafood restaurant Lover’s Seafood & Market Tracy Rathbun and Lynae Fearing’s neighborhood seafood market is everything you could ask for. Fresh fish arrives daily, and whether it’s oysters or poke from the raw bar, the delectable tempura fried lobster spoons or the shrimp and grits that speak fluent Cajun, there’s likely something for all palates. Try the pecan-crusted halibut served on a bed of cheesy green chile grits. The seafood classics are served up in a dining room that gives off beach house casual vibes, with service that makes you feel like part of the family. 5200 W. Lovers Lane 214-414-9880, loversseafoodmarket.com Best Tex-Mex Casa Rosa Restaurante Step inside the new Casa Rosa and find a brilliant homage to the Highland Park original. A large skylight shines down to create a courtyard feel, and colorful art adorns the pink walls and matching cloth napkins on each table. Casa Rosa’s menu offers all the Tex-Mex favorites with flavor and affordability. Fajitas were introduced to Dallas here, and they’re still a classic. Order the beef: tenderloin strips cloaked in steam and surrounded by a bed of onions and peppers. Pile forkfuls into the house-made tortillas, and each bite will have you reveling in the brilliance of some of Dallas’ most genuine Tex-Mex. 5622 Lemmon Ave. 214-484-2997, casarosatexmex.com Best Hidden GeM Café 43 Is it 43 types of pies? Perhaps 43 homing pigeons circling in the dining room? No, it’s the 43rd president of these humble United States. Café 43, part of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the SMU campus, is open for lunch every day but Sunday. Here, a stately yet casual dining room complemented by impeccable service offers a menu inspired in part by 43 and former first lady Laura Bush. Enjoy mimosas and a Southern Benedict made with pulled pork and an andouille gravy for brunch on Saturday. The chicken salad served with thick rustic bread is highly recommended too. 2943 SMU Blvd. 214-200-4302, bushcenter.org Best diner Norma’s Cafe Since 1956 Norma’s has kept the home fires burning, serving breakfast all day, along with Southern comfort food like chicken-fried steak, smothered pork chops and their trademarked Mile-High Pies. All five restaurants across North Texas have the proper kitschy American diner essentials, but one thing we love about Norma’s is they’re just good people. Every Thanksgiving at the original Oak Cliff location they offer free meals to those who might not otherwise be able to enjoy one. Here you’ll get good cooking and good pie served by good people with a slogan of “eat dessert first.” Multiple Locations 214-946-4711, normascafe.com Best kidS restaurant Hat Creek Burger Company Hat Creek Burger Company is a fast- casual restaurant out of Austin that offers fenced-in playgrounds for the kids and good food and booze for their adult keepers. The menu has gluten- free, vegan, vegetarian and dairy-free options, and any of the burgers can be made as a salad. There’s the requisite chicken nuggets on the menu and milkshakes that can make for good bribes. And wine. Did we mention that? So taking the kids out doesn’t feel so much like punishment. Multiple Locations Hatcreekburgers.com
