BEST FRIED CHICKEN > ROOTS SOUTHERN TABLE Alison McLean and char siu are great options, as is the crab-stuffed soup dumplings. The robots work quicker than their human counterparts, so pace your orders if you’re looking to relax for a bit. If you’re craving a larger portion than what dim sum offers, order the roasted duck or the Mapo tofu. 4930 Belt Line Road, Addison 972-677-7653, bushi4930.com Best Food Truck Easy Slider One can safely say that this popular food truck from Miley Holmes and Caroline Perini is royalty on the Dallas food truck scene. These sliders are as good as they are adorable. The Sweet & Lowdown is the queen of their menu with Angus beef, goat cheese, bacon and strawberry jam. The Nutty Pig, with Angus beef, bacon, creamy peanut butter, lettuce, tomatoes and red onions, is another popular choice. If you happen to catch them on the weekend, be sure to grab one of their Dazed & Confused sliders. And for the vegetarians in the house, the Baby Bella made with a baby portobello mushroom, fresh mozzarella, Roma tomato and pesto is a great choice. Easy Slider also has a brick-and-mortar location in Deep Ellum in the event you have a craving and their food truck isn’t nearby. 2711 Main St. 469-917-7111, easyslidertexas.com (Check website for truck locations and times.) Best Diner 76 The String Bean Restaurant The definition of diner is a little vague, but by our reckoning any place that describes its menu as home cooking and serves pot roast, meat loaf and a smothered chopped steak is in the ballpark. You know, it’s the sort of place you take grandma to on Mother’s Day. The String Bean in Richardson has hit all those marks since ’77 with its large menu of homestyle American favorites from burgers to soups to grilled salmon. It’s unabashed comfort food without any fussy touches trying to turn it into something … ugh … “elevated.” Fresh, hot, familiar, well-executed and it makes us think of Mom: that’s elevated enough for us, and The String Bean in Richardson hits all those marks. 1310 W. Campbell Road, Richardson 972-385-3287, thestringbean.com Best Fried Bologna Sandwich Hillside Tavern The fried bologna sandwich at Hillside Tavern is not the Oscar Mayer bologna sandwich you ate as a kid. And for that, we’re thankful. In this masterpiece, you will find thin layers of pecan smoked mortadella topped with melted American and provolone cheese, placed between two thick slices of grilled white bread and coated in a secret sauce with shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes and Zapp’s dill pickle kettle chips. It’s the closest Dallas will ever get to Turkey and the Wolf’s famed fried bologna sandwich in New Orleans. 6465 E. Mockingbird Lane 214-888-0152, dallashillsidetavern.com Best Fried Chicken Roots Southern Table Tiffany Derry is the James Beard- nominated chef responsible for Roots Southern Table, a Southern-inspired field-to-table. full-scale restaurant that wants to remind you of its homestyle roots. The menu boasts green tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, grits, gumbo and cornbread, but the crown jewel is the duck-fat-fried whole chicken that is brined and fried to a golden crust with a perfect level of crispness. It comes with biscuits and a bottle of hot sauce. Juicy, delicious, full of Southern love, this can feed two to four. 13050 Bee St., Farmers Branch 214-346-4441, rootssoutherntable.com SEPTEMBER 22-28, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER CONTENTS | SHOPPING & SERVICES | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | FOOD & DRINK | SPORTS & RECREATION dallasobserver.com
