14 January 23 - 29, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents the big plates of traditional Mexican fare. We stopped by Remote Coffee on a cold, windy morning and started with a café de olla, a Mexican coffee traditionally made in a pot with cinnamon and raw dark sugar, pi- loncillo. They’re making it from scratch here and breathing in the steam is almost as satis- fying as the first sip. A small is $2.65, and we’d mainline this if we could. It’s the golden retriever puppies of cups of coffee — I don’t know who could not love this. This is worth the trip if nothing else (but wait, there is more). The drink menu has all the big hits found at most coffee shops: drip coffee, lattes, tea lattes, a nitro cold brew and hot tea. But some specialty drinks set it apart, like from-scratch agua frescas — and that aforementioned café de olla. They’re roast- ing their own Guatemalan beans. Many of the add-ins and juices, like horchata, are made in-house. The chef from Yellow Rosa created the taco menu and runs the kitchen. Every- thing is made to order here — nothing is prepackaged or premade. We love that they have a simple bean and cheese taco on the menu for $2.75, but we went with The Per- fect Passenger ($5.25). A warm tortilla is stuffed with scrambled eggs, crispy-on- the-outside tator tots, avocado, carne asada and shredded cheddar. Squeeze some house-made green salsa over the top for a perfect pop. This taco is a full meal. With a cup of coffee, it set us back less than 10 bucks. That’s winning. We also tried a horchata latte. As men- tioned, they’re making as much as they can in-house, which pays off here with this light and creamy drink; the flavor is subtle and pure. Lattes start at $5.05 and work up to $6.25. We’re excited about more left turns around Remote Coffee, especially when summer hits and we can start digging through the frozen menu. But no matter the season, the café de olla will have a vice- like grip. Remote Coffee, 10999 Garland Road. Daily 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. ▼ OPENINGS HUGO’S NEW PLACE WE VISIT A HISTORIC DALLAS RESTAURANT FROM A POPULAR LOCAL CHEF. BY AAREN PRODY O ne thing Dallas does well, unfortu- nately, is tear down old or historic buildings and replace them with something new or modern, or at its worst, ugly. Originally located at 2226 Elm St., cen- tury-old Liberty Bank was slated to be mowed down for the widening of Caesar Chavez Boulevard. Wildcat Management famously intervened, bought the building for $1 and worked with co-owner Mike Ruibal and architect Craig Melde to move the building brick by brick to its new ad- dress, where it sports the same look it had in 1899. Further back in history, the building housed four saloons and a bank. More re- cently, it was home to the beloved Green Door Public House for 10 years before it closed in August 2024. Today, it’s the loca- tion for chef Victor Hugo’s latest creation, Bucket & Rope. Chef Hugo is an acclaimed local chef who started his journey between Santa Bar- bara and Los Angeles before moving to Dal- las in 2008. He facilitated the early growth of Cheesecake Factory, managed beloved Al Biernat’s for five years, was the general man- ager for Lombardi’s Bistro 31 in Highland Park and ran his own place, Victor Hugo’s Dining & Bar, for seven years before closing its doors. That’s just the tip of the iceberg among his other accolades and experience in the food and beverage industry. Late last year he joined forces with Mike Ruibal, who owns Ruibal’s Plants of Texas just one street over, to create a gathering place for the community that felt like an ex- tension of their homes with great food: Bucket & Rope. The menu is New American with steak, seafood, soup, salads and pasta dishes. Standouts are the Rope in a Bucket ($14), which are crispy calamari strips served with a lemon caper aioli and Sriracha romesco; wagyu beef roast ($28), with cheddar grits, pickled red onions and root vegetables; and N’awlins barbecue shrimp ($18), with an ap- pple cider vinegar-based barbecue sauce and served with a grilled baguette and lemon. We started with the soup of the day, which was lobster bisque. Deeply flavorful broth and tender lobster meat are the pre- requisites, and here they nail it. For our main, we were tempted by the Wagyu beef roast, but ultimately we went with the blackened Texas redfish served on a bed of creamy parmesan risotto with a side of green beans and topped with a mango ha- banero salsa. When you stack your fork with all the el- ements, you get a nice balance of rich, fresh and savory. The fish was perfectly tender, and the risotto was creamy, nutty and had a nice al dente chew. Also, do not fear the habanero. The salsa is not hot at all. It’s not advertise, but there’s a rotating dessert menu. When we stopped in, they were serving coconut cream pie and warm pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Bucket & Rope has limited free parking next to the building and is open for brunch, lunch and dinner. There’s already a group of regulars who have become well acquainted with the bar and are excited to have chef Hugo in the neighborhood. We are too. When you open the door to walk in, be sure to look up. ▼ CLOSINGS/OPENINGS INN AND OUT (AND BACK INN) PIZZA INN GETS A LIFE LINE. BY SIMON PRUITT P izza Inn was founded in Dallas in 1958 by brothers Joe and R.L. Spill- man. At the time, they were SMU stu- dents and quickly made the chain their life’s work. Over the next 60 years, the brand ex- panded to have hundreds of locations across the Southeast. An offshoot called Pie Five launched in Fort Worth in 2011. As of June 2020, the Dallas-based chain had 151 loca- tions nationwide. Jan. 10, the only remaining location in Dallas proper on Live Oak Steet an- nounced it would be closing its doors after 25 years in the location. This franchise lo- cation is owned by the Hussain family, who made themselves well-acquainted with customers over the years in the loca- tion. “Dad’s 76, mom’s 73 and they are ready for retirement,” says Nicole Hussain, man- ager of the store. “Unfortunately, I can’t run it alone. Anyone who knows us knows us as Pops, Mom, Nicole and Brother.” The planned closure date was January 27. When we spoke to Nicole over the phone, we overheard her explaining the news to the dismay of a customer. “We’ve had birthday parties, funerals, anniversaries and reunions there,” she says. “We have made personal relation- ships with almost everyone that’s walked through the door.” After reports came out that the location would be closing, the store replied to a Face- book comment with surprising news. “The Pizza Inn in Dallas, TX on 4304 Live Oak Street is NOT CLOSING,” they wrote. “We repeat… the Pizza Inn on Live Oak is NOT CLOSING!” The comment explains that the family planned to sell the business to another Pizza Inn franchisee located in Duncanville. When we asked Nicole for details, she said that the sale was not confirmed, but only held up by minor details. If the location were to be bought, it would have to be made official by January 20, or else the location would close on January 27. The Duncanville franchisee, Alex Calde- ron, did not respond to multiple attempts for comment. In further confirmation, at 10:40 p.m. on January 13, the store posted again that the Duncanville franchisee would be taking over the location effective January 20. “For the past 25 years this place has been our second home,” Nicole says. “Anyone who comes in leaves as family.” City of Ate from p13 Aaren Prody Bucket & Rope replaces Green Door Public House. Lauren Drewes Daniels Remote Coffee is drive-thru only. Everything is fresh and hot.
