WISE UP, EAT AT PETE’S SINCE 1994 Come where everybody knows your name! A DALLAS LANDMARK! Come where everybody knows your name! ST. PETE’S DANCING MARLIN Bar & Grill Deep Ellum • 2730 Commerce • 214-698-1511 www.stpetesdancingmarlin.com City of Ate from p13 rant in Seattle after they visited a Chinese sauerkraut fish restaurant in Guangzhou, China. They knew fresh fish tastes better than frozen fish and spent almost a year try- ing to find the right supplier in the U.S. They landed on Dutchboy Farm in Idaho, which is a hatchery and fish farm situated on a geothermal spring, so they’re able to farm warm-water fish such as tilapia year- round. The live fish are flown in weekly and kept in a tank until they are ready to be served. They are then placed in the spicy and sour broth where the fish meat cooks to the perfect temperature. There are four locations of B2J Suancai Fish, two in Seattle, one in Houston and one in Plano. The Plano restaurant is in a strip center on Spring Creek Parkway, close to Central Expressway. The sign on the build- ing is unassuming; under the Mandarin, it simply says “Chinese Sauerkraut Fish.” For cold appetizers, a popular choice is Contemporary Indian Food WE’RE OPEN FOR DINE IN, TO-GO, CURBSIDE AND DELIVERY! the spicy and sour fern starch noodles ($6.99). It looks like squid-ink noodles and is topped with chiles, sesame seeds and their signature sour sauce. The portion is large, so be careful not to fill up on it before your en- trée arrives. Other popular cold appetizers are the sweet rice stuffed lotus root ($7.99) and the century egg with fried jalapeño and Chinese vinaigrette ($7.99). The century eggs look like they’ve been fermenting for at least 100 years, but don’t judge this egg by its yolk. They are delicious and are a perfect accom- paniment to the soup. Take a slice of egg with the rice and broth from the fish soup and prepare for your head to nod in agree- ment. For hot appetizers, you can’t go wrong 12817 Preston Road, Suite 105 972-392-0190 indiapalacedallas.com INTRODUCE YOUR DALLAS FORK with the fried Chinese doughnuts ($6.99), fried milk custard ($6.99) or fried chicken wings ($8.99). The fried Chinese doughnuts are like unsweetened churros and are great to dunk in the soup broth. For some, their signature sauerkraut fish may not sound the least bit appetizing, but trust us when we say this rich, sour, oily, vel- vety and spicy dish is nothing short of spec- tacular. The broth is full of ribbons of pickled mustard greens, which is their version of sauerkraut. There’s also loads of ginger, dried chilies and Szechuan peppercorns. Delicious fresh chunks of fish or beef rise to the top of the broth. The fish is fresh, firm, and holds together when plucked out with chopsticks. To order, first choose the flavor of the soup: the classic spicy sour, spicy or vine pepper numb. Next, you choose a size (small, medium or large) and your main in- gredient: tilapia, largemouth bass, wagyu beef or a combination of tilapia and beef. Next pick the add-ons, which include op- TO THE TASTE OF NEW YORK! NY DELICATESSEN RESTAURANT & BAKERY 14 5 DFW LOCATIONS • CINDISNYDELI.COM 2 tions like tofu, potato slices, enoki mush- rooms, lotus root, rice noodles, luncheon meat, bean curd sticks and chewy cello- phane noodles. Wait about five minutes and the party starts arriving at your table. The presentation is spectacular. These enormous bowls are served with a side of rice. Spoon the soup on top of the rice and enjoy. We ordered the small tilapia combo for two and went with the classic spicy-sour flavor. We added tofu and enoki mush- rooms, which were great, but next time we would try it with the cellophane noodles as that seemed to be a popular add-on at other tables. This soup wasn’t too spicy, although we used extra napkins to wipe our foreheads. The table next to us got spicy and while their mouths were on fire, they loved every bite of it. We didn’t see anyone order the vine pepper numb flavor; it sounds like a death wish or at least something that should require you to sign a waiver of liability be- fore eating. They say the small soup is enough to feed one or two people, but the bowl is 18-inches wide. We say more like four people. The small soup ranges from $28.99 to $49.99 de- pending on your choice of protein. Large soups range from $56.99 to $89.99. The best deal is one of their special com- bos, which serves either two, three or four people. In addition to the soup, you get add- ons, fried Chinese doughnuts, appetizers and rice ($48.99 to $96.99). That sounds pricy on the surface but considering the amount of food you get and the number of people it serves, it equals about $12 per per- son with leftovers. The place has only 10 tables. If you get there during prime dining hours, expect a wait. However, you can save yourself having to stand in line for very long by joining their waitlist via Google. B2J Suancai Soup, 151 West Spring Creek Parkway, Ste. 517 (Plano), 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5-8:30 p.m. Monday - Sunday. ▼ BURGERS SMUSHIN’ IT Y BURGER SCHMURGER SMASHES THE BACKYARD BURGER GAME. BY SEAN WELCH ou should do burgers, his friends ex- claimed. Meh, burger schmurger, he responded sarcastically. For Dave Culwell, burgers were never in the equation, but maybe his math was never right. His friends and his 13-year-old daugh- ter kept the pressure on. Every backyard cookout they would say, “How about a Sean Welch Burger Schmurger’s smashed burger burger schmurger?” He wanted to do tacos or a backyard barbecue but gathering after gathering, the term was thrown around until he had no choice. A logo was quick to follow, and Burger Schmurger became a smushed re- ality. The question is how did these smashed L.A.-style burgers make their way here to Dallas? Well, that’s more a story about Cul- well than it is about a burger. Culwell was born and raised in Los Ange- les and spent most of his 20s and 30s in Port- land where he played jazz. After bouncing around a bit, he found himself in the same sit- uation many have; he fell in love with a Texas girl, an East Dallas one to be more precise. After a few years of selling real estate, opening brokerages and starting his own coaching and consulting business, Culwell followed his wife back home to East Dallas, which is where his daughter talked him into Burger Schmurger. From the start, his backyard griddle stayed hot. Soon pop-ups ensued, then pri- vate parties and eventually he landed a per- manent spot at Oak Highlands Brewery in North Dallas. Culwell uses an 80/20 mix of ground beef and mashes his patties thin on the griddle. Cheese is laid on the patty while still on the grill where it melts. It’s then placed on the crisp and luscious buttered and grilled bun. The finishing touch is a mix of his house- brined pickles and onions. After trying our first Burger Schu- murger at a pop-up, we decided to go back to check him out at the brewery. The day after Christmas he was debuting his “Box- ing Day” burger that’s a spin on his name- sake Schmurger, but topped with grilled onions and pickles, burger sauce, crum- bled bacon and inverted buns. It was oddly similar to a grilled cheese but clearly on steroids. The texture of the bun and the copious amount of cheese make it one of the best things we tried in 2021 and look forward to what’s in store for Burger Schmurger in 2022. Follow the schmurgers on Instagram @ burger_schmurger. JANUARY 20–26, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.com MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | dallasobserver.com
