WE ARE OPEN FOR DINE IN, TO-GO & DELIVERY! $1 OFF PER POUND MONDAY & TUESDAY CRAWFISH 7224 Independence Parkway • Plano 972.618.4542 • litasdallas.com Kathy Tran The packed lot of compact parking spots was brimming with trucks, SUVs and se- dans, as were both sides of the streets. The line for a table started inside and snaked out onto the patio. A server in a black Herrera’s T-shirt announced, “Anyone wanting to sit on the patio can grab a table.” At the host stand, another employee said because of the wait, people still needed to sign in. But it was too late, the line of about a dozen people jumped at the offer and darted to find available tables. Once settled on the patio, I went inside to ask Nora if it was all right to take a table. “Of course, I remember you,” Nora said with a pat on my arm and a smile. Living a block behind the Maple Ave- nue location for years was a siren call and on Friday it apparently paid off. Thankfully, the tortilla chips and pep- pery hot sauce landed at the table as fast as always, and our server quickly took our drink order while informing us, “We’re out of chicken now.” Mentioning that “anything with beef” was still available. “Even the No. 20?” I asked. “Yes,” she said. The margaritas, too, arrived just as fast as the chips and hot sauce. The iced tea was brewed as strong as ever. Our server asked if we were ready to order. We got a No. 13B, two beef enchiladas slathered in sour cream sauce with a side of rice and beans and a No. 2A for our 3-year-old, which includes one cheese en- chilada, a tamale and crispy beef taco with rice and beans. And at last, a No. 20: three beef (tender guiso slow-cooked for at least three hours) burritos smothered in sour cream sauce topped with cheese and jalapeños. Within a few minutes, our server brought out the crispy beef taco and then she brought a second one, on the house, because the kitchen put another one up for our table. Clearly, the kitchen was slammed. Then, she came back to inform me that they were out of the tender guiso for my No. 20, asking if their seasoned ground beef was an acceptable substitute. “Sure,” I said, begrudgingly. We were pri- marily there for the sour cream sauce any- way. A table next to us bluntly sent back a plate when the server brought it out with the guiso substituted. A chatty gentleman in an Oak Cliff T-shirt who said his daughter had worked there until Herrera’s Café had passionate customers. last week said he hopes an Ontiveros daugh- ter takes the recipes and opens another loca- tion soon. “At least we still have the one in Oak Cliff,” he says after wolfing down a plate of his go-to order of chilaquiles. As a 25-year Herrera’s diner, if there’s one thing to know: Dallas can’t keep Ame- lia’s recipes – nor her family – down. Bonifaz also opened a Café Herrera loca- tion in Mockingbird Station in early 2013, which was closed by October 2014, as well as a short-lived location on the Square in Denton in 2013-14. According to Bonifaz, he and his mother, Cynthia Bonifaz, ran the Herrera’s on Denton Drive for 12 years, after Amelia, Bonifaz’s great grandmother, opened the restaurant in 1981. We reached out to Bonifaz on Saturday for some history and his thoughts. “My mom and my grandma, Becky, waited tables at the original in 1971,” Bonifaz says. When asked about the origins of the recipes, he says, “The recipes were all in [Amelia’s] head at first, and then she wrote them on index cards. She was a home cook, so she was winging it a lot at first.” He adds that the chefs also had input and influence on her recipes over the years. “The cook that I have has been with us for nearly 40 years,” Bonifaz says of “Tacho” Garcia. “He’s the most loyal guy you’ll ever meet. … My mom and I joked that he’s a ‘floater’ chef because he floated from restau- rant to restaurant.” “Tacho” started at the Denton Drive lo- cation, opened by Amelia, where he learned from one of the original cooks, Pedro De- Lira, according to Bonifaz. “Every Herrera’s is a little bit different,” Bonifaz acknowledges. “But you have the same core menu items, and if people want to argue about which one is best, then that’s great. Come try all of them!” As we left Dallas Friday, we headed for home with a small bag of chips and hot sauce and our hodgepodge of leftovers, knowing that as sad as that last meal was, this won’t be our last meal with Amelia’s family. We reheated the leftovers as a late breakfast on Saturday, and we plan to head to the Addison location later this week. For more information on hosting an event at Ozona EMAIL US AT [email protected] BRUNCH SATURDAY & SUNDAY | 8AM to 2PM 4615 Greenville Ave. 214-265-9105 ozonagrill.com 15 SPECIAL EVENT Host your A T O Z ONA... THE COMF ORT Z ONE dallasobserver.com CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS DALLAS OBSERVER MAY 5–11, 2022
