ST. PETE’S DANCING MARLIN Bar & Grill SINCE 1994 EAT AT PETE’S A DALLAS LANDMARK! WISE UP, WE’RE OPEN FOR DINE IN, to-go & CurbSIDE! City of Ate from p13 cent pair of pants, you’ll be rewarded with great views and even better food and drink. Be sure to check out their spin on classic cocktails such as the Manhattan or Collins. The Green Room 2715 Elm St. (Deep Ellum) The Green Room offers their own take on clas- sic pub food. Standouts include short-rib Texas poutine (house-made fries topped with short rib, queso, Dr Pepper gravy, Oaxaca cheese and chives), and the Metalachi Burger, which has a nice tequila lime sauce and Oax- aca cheese along with grilled onions and jala- peños. Views of downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum await while you sip $3 domestic beers and watch the weekend throng of revelers. stpetesdancingmarlin.com Deep Ellum • 2730 Commerce 214-698-1511 Contemporary Indian Food Vidorra 2642 Main St. (Deep Ellum) While really good Tex-Mex and strong cock- tails are the main draw of this popular roof- top destination, Vidorra in Deep Ellum has a beautiful rooftop space. Try the pomegran- ate mimosas and fried avocado tacos. The trompo beef is a solid selection as well. They have a 5-pound taco, but go with caution. Happy hour is every weekend from 3 - 6 p.m. and includes half off select appetizers and a $30 Vidorrarita for you and seven of your germ-sharing besties to imbibe in. ▼ OPENING AND CLOSINGS SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER 12817 Preston Road, Suite 105 972-392-0190 indiapalacedallas.com INTRODUCE YOUR DALLAS FORK AN ODE TO TEN BELLS TAVERN. BY ERIC MAYNE N othing is permanent. Your childhood TV shows, your favorite college T- shirt, leftover fast food from a night of binge drinking, none of it gets out alive. We all know that things we grow to love and depend on eventually get torn away from our lives, yet we still allow open invitations to our hearts as if this time somehow it’ll be different. In Oak Cliff, first, developers came for 72-year-old El Fenix restaurant on Colorado. Then they came for Local Oak in its 100-year-old building. Now they are coming for Ten Bells Tavern. Ten Bells was known for many things, but one of the most notable was its Sunday brunch. They hosted misfits, yuppies, hip- sters, nerds, bros, divas and every clique in between to some of the most memorable brunch dishes this side of the Trinity River. The menu often rotated, so one week you could enjoy a classic eggs Benedict or chicken and waffles and the following week you could try an S.B.L.T. (shrimp, bacon, let- tuce and tomatoes) sandwich. The fact that Ten Bells is closing its door TO THE TASTE OF NEW YORK! NY DELICATESSEN RESTAURANT & BAKERY 14 4 DFW LOCATIONS • CINDISNYDELI.COM 2 is not breaking news. Owners and custom- ers of one of the most popular bars in Bishop Arts District were all aware that the real es- tate firm Alamo Manhattan had their mind set on changing a close-knit family commu- nity into a money-making development. Bishop Arts will soon be vacant of the gen- erations of folks it attracted and who breathed life into this neighborhood in ex- change for a sector of people who can afford the changes. Both Deep Ellum, Uptown and West Dallas have gone through this transfor- mation in the past, starting as a neighborhood that was solely populated by minorities who were forced to live there, then over time taken away because of the potential to make money for a few small groups. Ten Bells Tavern was more than just a bar where you could drink a beer and grab a bite to eat; it was also a community haven. When co-owner Meri Dahlke opened this estab- lishment in 2012, her goal was to create a safe space for all living in or near Oak Cliff to come to rewind or unwind. Over the years within the confines of Ten, friendships have been forged, those we’ve lost along the way have been memorialized, and I am pretty confident that a few relationships have been consummated there as well. Dahlke is also proud of the work she has done with the Spay Neuter Network. She be- gan a program at the bar in which anyone could get a cat spayed or neutered at no charge every Thursday. She also ran benefits to raise money for various animal charities that aided cats, dogs and even salamanders. She has raised more than $50,000 of charita- ble donations during her tenor at Ten Bells. It’s been said that when one door closes, another opens. Ten Bell has plans to open an- other bar on 8th Street right behind the loca- tion it’s in now. Originally, they were told they had until July 2022 to vacate the old bar, but Alamo Manhattan pulled an audible and de- cided to speed up the clock on redevelopment for a new shiny hollowed-out apartment com- plex catering to the new breed of people mi- grating to this part of the historical Oak Cliff. It’s sad to think that developers are eras- ing the genuine uniqueness that attracts peo- ple to this part of Dallas and are replacing them with things that look and feel like the rest of the city. The final day for Ten Bells Tavern was April 24. I hope that they can cap- ture lightning in a bottle with the new place in a new space and have a successful sequel. ▼ EAT THIS ON THE FLIP SIDE C CAJUN CORNER IS A VIETNAMESE- SEAFOOD SPEAKEASY. BY KATHARINE STEVENSON ajun Corner is one of a few Asian-run Louisiana-style seafood restaurants in North Texas. If you’re from Houston or from Louisiana, the combination of Cajun and Vietnamese food, in particular, is proba- bly familiar to you: the New Orleans area has a large Vietnamese population, and many Vietnamese families moved to the Houston area after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The two cuisines combine to great effect, both be- ing heavy on flavor and shellfish. Ten Bells Tavern in Oak Cliff is closing. Lauren Drewes Daniels At first glance, Cajun Corner’s storefront and menu look like a typical seafood joint: a stripped-down interior decorated with fish- ing nets and wall-mounted marlins, and a selection of basic items like friend catfish baskets, spicy shrimp boil and hush puppies. But turn to the Asian seafood menu, and you’ve entered a new realm of cuisine. The Cajun-style dishes here are good, but not fantastic. There are certainly better spots to get a catfish po’boy, gumbo or fried shrimp. One step away from those items are the fusion dishes, which include shrimp spa- ghetti served with garlic bread, crawfish fried rice and a variety of seafood “sacks” (boils) with both traditional and Vietnam- ese-inspired seasonings. Boils come in a va- riety of weights and spice levels, from completely mild to “XXX spicy.” The most popular version of the “sack” is crawfish boil with Cajun Corner’s “Fam Bam” sauce, a buttery, garlicky, slightly spicy mixture that permeates the crawfish, pota- toes and corn much more deeply than aver- age. When in season, the crawfish at Cajun Corner are perfect: a combination of huge and small bugs. Off-season, shrimp are an acceptable but less tasty substitute. Then there’s the Asian seafood menu, where Cajun Corner shines. Looking around at neighboring tables we saw diners enjoy- ing blood cockles, ark clams, various snails and even octopus and cuttlefish. But you don’t need to seek these more unusual items to enjoy this incredible menu. What makes these dishes so enjoyable is the variety of cooking styles and seasoning methods. Favorites were grilled skewered whole shrimp with chili salt, grilled scallops in the shell with green onion oil and cream cheese oysters. Talking to another couple in the res- taurant, we learned that many diners come to Cajun Corner for the tamarind stir-fried crab, coconut milk top snails and clam soup. Most seafood options are available grilled or stir-fried with either chili salt, fish sauce, ba- sil or garlic butter seasonings. Cajun Corner is a restaurant with a menu to explore as well as dishes to come back for over and over again (read: the Fam Bam craw- fish sack!). Prices are reasonable and there are options for kids and even those who don’t like seafood, but the best strategy is to order with a group and eat family-style so you can try sev- eral different shellfish and flavor options. Cajun Corner Seafood Kitchen, 1600 N. Plano Road, Suite 800 (Richardson), 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Monday - Thursday; 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Friday - Sunday APRIL 28–MAY 4, 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
