12 February 2-8, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Malai Kitchen Uptown, Preston Center, Southlake and Fort Worth Not only does Malai Kitchen have happy hour food bites during the week from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., it also offers the same deal all day on Sundays (excluding holidays). You can enjoy $6 bites of grilled satay, fried imperial rolls, spicy edamame, Vietnamese meatballs or cu- cumber salad. You can also get any two for $10. Weekday Happy Hour Delucca Gaucho Pizza & Wine Design District, Plano, Southlake and Fort Worth If you haven’t yet been to Delucca, it is quite an experience. For $24.95 per person, you can stuff your pie hole with 14 different kinds of pizza plus salad, soup, meatballs and dessert pizza. However, if you prefer to forgo the whole gaucho experience, check out happy hour during the week from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., when you can get an entire pizza for $9. Lobster bisque and kobe meat- balls are $8 each in the bar area only. Douglas Bar and Grill 6818 Snider Plaza (Park Cities) Douglas Bar and Grill is the place to be on weekdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. All bites are $10 each and include options such as pi- mento cheese, brisket bullets, little leaguers, truffle fries, jumbo shrimp, sausage and a house burger. This is a savings of $5 to $10.. Eddie V’s Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano Eddie V’s likes to tease. On Sunday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. get oysters Rockefeller ($8 for two), black truffle tartare ($8), mini filet sandwiches ($9 for two), prime steak tataki ($10) and South African lobster tempura bites ($16 for five) during happy hour. You’ll have a hard time not indulging in the regular dinner menu af- ter sampling these delicious bites. The Finch 5307 E. Mockingbird Lane (Mockingbird Sta- tion) The Finch recently opened in Mocking- bird Station in the old Café Express location. One of the most intriguing menu items is the Japanese A-5 Katsu sandwich, which is usu- ally $49. But visit on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., when you can nab this sandwich for $39. There are also half-priced starters. Harwood Arms 2823 McKinnon St. (Uptown) If British pubs are your scene and you’re craving some tasty bites, Harwood Arms has great deals. Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., you can get small bites for $5 and $6 including choices like white bean dip, scotch egg, mini Reuben fries, Guinness- braised short rib sliders and mini twice- baked potatoes. We can attest to the Reuben fries: there’s nothing small about them. Hudson House Highland Park, Addison, Lakewood and Las Colinas For one of the best cheeseburgers in Dal- las, block your work calendar and head to Hudson House from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Mon- day through Friday, when you can indulge in a cheeseburger for only $10. Loro 1812 N. Haskell Ave. (East Dallas) and 14999 Montfort Drive, Addison From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays enjoy several items from Loro’s menu for $9 or less, including smoked salmon dip, beer-bat- tered cod, the Loro cheeseburger, chicken karaage and more. Olivella’s Pizza & Wine Lakewood, SMU and Fort Worth If you’re craving pizza and don’t mind eat- ing early, you may enjoy the BOGO pizza spe- cial at Olivella’s Pizza & Wine Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Buy one metro pizza and get a second one of equal or lesser value for free. The same special is available on Fridays but ends at 4:30 p.m. Everyday Happy Hour Uchi 2817 Maple Ave. (Uptown) One of the best sushi restaurants in Dal- las, Uchi offers happy hour every day (in- cluding weekends) from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Get sushi, maki and small tastings, all priced between $2 and $12.50. Sister restaurant, Uchiba, located upstairs, offers a similar happy hour with nigiri, maki and hand rolls, and everything priced between $2 and $15. ▼ RESTAURANT NEWS OUR PLATES RUNNETH OVER MERIDIAN, JOSE, REVOLVER AND LA CASITA ARE A FEW OF THE NORTH TEXAS RESTAURANTS IN THE SEMIFINALS FOR THE JAMES BEARD AWARDS. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS T he James Beard Awards semifinalists have been announced, and both Dal- las and Fort Worth have a good show- ing — a token of our flourishing local food scene. The James Beard Foundation Awards recognize superior cuisine, hospitality, emerging chefs, all of those rolled into one (best restaurant), plus pastries and booze. This is just the semis. Nominees will be announced on March 29, then winners on June 5. The restaurant and chef awards al- low for an open call of recommendations, which ran Oct. 4 through Nov. 30. Those were then viewed and considered by a sub- committee for this list. New this year is Outstanding Bakery, which has two local spots, including La Ca- sita Bakeshop; last year baker Marisca Trejo was nominated as Outstanding Baker, and the cottage baker Kuluntu Bakery was also on the Outstanding Bakery list. The local semifinalists: Outstanding Chef Chef Junior Borges Meridian 5650 Village Glen Drive Chef Junior Borges opened this fine-din- ing ode to his native Brazil in 2021. Meridian recently moved to a new four-course prix fixe menu that offers a quasi-guided tour through the kitchen. Outstanding Restaurant Lucia 287 N. Bishop Ave. Well, of course. Lucia is not a restaurant — it’s the chef’s home, and if you haven’t snagged reservations yet, put that at the top of your to-do list. This modern Italian res- taurant is a ballad. And don’t miss the brown butter old fashioned, while you’re at it. Best New Restaurant Don Artemio 3268 W. Seventh St., Fort Worth Don Artemio of Fort Worth was a favorite of Texas Monthly’s longtime food writer Pa- tricia Sharpe, who called chef Juan Ramon Cardenas the “king of cabrito.” Restaurant Beatrice 1111 N. Beckley Ave. Beatrice is in the old Jonathan’s Diner spot where chef Michelle Carpenter serves, per the Beatrice website, “contemporary Cajun classics.” Tatsu 3309 Elm St. (Deep Ellum) This small omakase, in The Continental Gin building just outside of Deep Ellum, serves no more than 20 diners a night any- where from 15 to 18 courses. Party note: they “kindly ask” guests not to wear perfumes, co- lognes or body lotions. It’s that intimate. Yum. Outstanding Bakery La Casita Bakeshop 3837 Main St., Rowlett and 580 W. Arapaho Road, Richardson This a new category this year; last year the baker Maricsa Trejo was nominated for best baker. It fills us with warm, buttery flakes to see her here again. And La Casita just opened a new coffee shop in Rowlett. Kuluntu Bakery Online Only Kuluntu Bakery is a nonprofit cottage bakery in Oak Cliff near Bishop Arts, where everything is preordered. The goal is to build strong communities through baking and bread. Alison McLean Meridian chef Junior Borges City of Ate from p11 >> p14 NY delicatessaN RestaURaNt & BaKeRY 4 dFW locatioNs cRitics choice Best deli ReadeRs choice Best BReaKFast RestaURaNt Best comFoRt Food Best saNdWich ciNdisNYdeli.com taKe YoUR valeNtiNe to
