13 April 13–19, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Of Mice and Tacos A new taqueria brings locals back to Bishop Arts. BY E.MAYNE I t can be a sad sight when mom-and- pop-owned establishments that were once considered integral to a neigh- borhood begin to get pushed out to make room for newer, trendier bou- tiques. It’s perplexing how quickly areas around Dallas can get an ultimate makeover that renders them completely unrecogniz- able and void of soul. The dynamic of gentrification is reminis- cent of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men charac- ter Lennie and his ultimately fatal mishaps. The things Lennie loves the most eventually get smothered until they become still and lifeless. His overwhelming need to interact with things he deemed desirable eventually led them to their demise. Despite all the swanky new pop-up restaurants with over- priced menus, a few places are trying to keep the real Oak Cliff thriving. In the heart of Bishop Arts, at the corner of Davis Street and N. Madison Avenue, sits Tacos y Chelas, a new Oak Cliff taqueria. Robert and Gracie Rodriguez, along with Nick and Olga Rodriguez, all from Oak Cliff, are the owners, and this is their first foray in into the service industry. Their restaurant is the exact opposite of pretentious. There are several tables for diners inside and two TVs mounted on the walls, which seem perfect for cramming tacos and watching another Dallas sports team’s disappointing season. There is no loud music or obnoxious décor. It’s just a simple family-friendly scene that breeds hometown neighborhood vibes. The menu is simple. Tacos, burritos, que- sadillas, tortas and bowls. Tacos are $3 to $4. The most expensive item is a birria plate that comes with three tacos with rice and beans for $14.95. We looked for items on the menu that may stand out over the standard taqueria mix of pork, chicken and beef. One thing that sang to us was the fact that they serve breakfast tacos all day every day. We went with a sausage and a bacon ($2.95 each). When the breakfast tacos came out, I had to confirm we had ordered the tacos and not the burritos because these were huge. We got ours on flour tortillas and decided to save the corn for our other tacos. Each taco was glee- fully packed with fluffy eggs, gooey cheese and a variety of savory minced meats. This massive breakfast wrap can easily have you skipping the rest of your meals for the day. Tacos y Chelas makes its own salsa, and if you don’t like heat, you may want to let them know. If they had a mild heat-level sauce, it must have gotten past us, because each sauce was delicious but hotter than the next. From salsa verde to flaming red, the salsa was a per- fect blend of heat and flavor. The sauces married well with the pastor, barbacoa and fajita tacos, but the shrimp ta- cos stole the show. House-made tortillas are stuffed with chopped jumbo shrimp drenched in a habanero sauce. This could easily be one of the best shrimp tacos in North Texas. Even though Tacos y Chelas is a new res- taurant on the block, the owners are not. The owners and their extended family all grew up in the area and understand what it means to call Oak Cliff Home. With the price of food and real estate in the area steadily increasing, the family-owned establishment wants to keep prices as low as possible. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, score free margaritas with all meals; all other days are BYOB. Tacos y Chelas, 244 W. Davis St. Monday – Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.; closed on Wednesday. ▼ FOOD NEWS HONEY-FRIED BIRDS WE RECENTLY VISITED ONE OF DALLAS’ ORIGINAL FRIED CHICKEN SPOTS. BY NICK REYNOLDS J ohn Hall was 7 when he began his life- long pursuit of perfecting the art of fried chicken. Hall learned the craft under his grandfather, Herman Henderson, who founded Henderson’s Chicken Shack in South Dallas in 1948. More than 70 years of juicy fried bird ex- perience later, Hall is still at it. Hall owns Hall’s Honey Fried Chicken, which has locations on Camp Wisdom Road in the shadows of Southwest Center Mall (forever Red Bird in our hearts) and another in the Medical District (1407 Medical Dis- trict Drive), run by his daughter Mackenzie. The original Henderson’s honey fried chicken recipe, inherited by Hall some 20 years ago, is the foundation upon which Hall’s Honey Fried Chicken is built. Hall has put his personal touch on the recipe since — a touch acquired through decades of experience. We visited the Camp Wisdom location to try for ourselves. The Hall’s on Camp Wisdom is a bright red-and-white brick, pickup-only storefront (you can dine in at the Medical District loca- tion). Chicken orders range from a two- piece to 10-piece family basket, with tenders, Cajun-sauced fried wings and “cris- pettes” (battered and fried flats and drums) in between. There’s also a hot link basket with a trio of links drizzled in BBQ sauce. All except the crispettes and Cajun wings come with fries, whole jalapeño peppers, pickles and slices of white bread. The Medical District location has chicken and waffles. We decided on a four-piece mixed basket and a basket of fried wings. With a bag full of piping hot chicken and the aroma wafting through the car’s interior, our patience get- ting home was tested. We briefly (but strongly) considered pulling into the park- ing lot of a CVS and eating right there. Home, finally, we made quick work of several pieces approximately 2.3 seconds af- ter walking through the door, bones picked clean and all. This chicken was crispy and juicy. Pulled from the fryer with optimal precision. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish EMayne Pastor, barbacoa and shrimp tacos at Tacos y Chelas >> p14 Nick Reynolds Fried wing basket
