16 June 6 - 12, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ▼ DRINKING DAMN GOOD BOOZE ESQUIRE HAS NAMED AYAHUASCA, THE SPEAKEASY IN OAK CLIFF, ONE OF THE BEST BARS IN THE COUNTRY. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS A yahuasca Cantina on Jefferson Bou- levard is a moody, mystical, inten- tionally curated bar and restaurant that earned a spot on our Top 100 Restau- rants list last year. Technically a speakeasy, it’s tucked away behind Xaman Cafe, with nary a sign nor a valet out front. It’s even hard to find online. And that’s the way owner Mauricio Gallego prefers it. As much as he may have liked keeping his bar only for those who seek it out, this cat is out of the bag. This morning Esquire pub- lished its annual list of the 42 Best Bars in America, and Ayahuasca is the lone water- ing hole in Dallas. Ayahuasca Cantina: At this bar hidden deep in the back of an all-day café in Dallas’s Oak Cliff, the move is to start off with a flight of the less popular sotol, the grassy-flavored distillate that comes from a plant in the Chi- huahuan Desert in Mexico. Though it’s not as ubiquitous as agave-based spirits, you can still taste the soul in every sip. Start here, then switch to one of the many seasonal cocktails. The blurb only scratches the surface here. It doesn’t touch on the fact that every bottle in the house is thoughtfully sourced from Mexico (even the red wine and gin), and that many of the cups are imported (sometimes via Gallego’s suitcases) from Oaxaca. Everything from the cocktails to the menu is homage to pre-Hispanic ingredi- ents and techniques that have been a part of Mexican culture for hundreds of years. Gallegos is honored to be included on Es- quire’s list. “Our commitment to showcasing and preserving our heritage remains stead- fast as we continue to grow both as a team and as a bar,” Gallegos told the Observer. At the bar specifically, the clarified mar- garita might be one of the best drinks we’ve had all year, but the Esquire article recom- mends a flight of sotol as equally mesmeriz- ing. Every server in the house will answer, at length, any questions you have about what’s set in front of you. The kitchen hones in on traditional pre- Hispanic dishes that might be unfamiliar to the uninitiated. The tuetano is a great place to start; two roasted half bones filled with marrow are topped with chimichurri and then placed over corn husks that are lit just before landing on the table. Spoon the mar- row out and spread inside house-made torti- llas. The servers will guide you through the rest of the menu. Be open-minded. The te- quila can guide you there. To find this spot, enter Xaman Cafe and head down the hallway on the left to the door at the back. The dining room and bar at Ayahuasca are dark, with an almost haunt- ing energy, heightened by the catrina art, candelabras and ofrendas, giving an air of Dia de Los Muertos every day of the year. Dallas should be proud to have a bar on Esquire’s list with such cultural relevance. Make reservations before heading over. Ayahuasca, 334 Jefferson Blvd., Tuesday – Saturday, 5 p.m. – midnight. ▼ OPENINGS SWEET ROLL MUMBAI-BASED MAYA CREAMERY JUST OPENED ITS FIRST LOCATION IN THE DALLAS AREA. INDIAN ROLLED ICE CREAMS, FALOODAS, WAFFLES AND CREPES ALL COME TOGETHER. BY ANISHA HOLLA M umbai-based ice cream spot Maya Creamery debuted in North Texas earlier this year, with the long- awaited opening of its first North Texas loca- tion in McKinney. The shop, which specializes in Indian-inspired rolled ice creams, is the creation of the Singh family, who opened their first location of Maya Creamery in 1979 in Mumbai, India. Genera- tions later, their grandson Sukhi Singh opened the its first U.S. locations in Arizona, and now — more recently — the suburbs of Dallas. And based on the line out the door on a weekday night, it’s receiving a warm welcome. The McKinney shop is small but inviting. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the front of the shop allow for a glimpse of the ice cream- making inside. Murals on the inside trace the shop’s history back to 1979 Mumbai to seven U.S. locations. But naturally, attention doesn’t take long to shift from the murals to the menus behind the counter. Bring a sweet tooth and a sense of adventure. An Indian- inspired sugar rush is a guarantee. Maya Creamery is best known for its rolled ice cream, a delicacy crafted on a cold plate with a thin sheet of condensed milk scraped into rolls once frozen then melts almost un- expectedly upon first bite. A safe option is the rolled gulab jamun ice cream, which comes dotted with small bites of gulab ja- mun, a popular South Asian doughnut. The motichoor is yet another experimen- tal flavor, crushed with pockets of motichoor ladoo, a traditional crunchy Indian sweet made of fried chickpea flour. Exotic fruit op- tions like the chikoo ice cream are mashed with slices of sapodilla fruit. A refreshing mango-lychee flavor hides pockets of tropi- cal lychee. The most exciting part is perhaps watching the ice cream get mashed, spread and rolled with two simple spatulas and a cold plate. But the selection ventures beyond just rolled ice cream. They have South Asian fa- looda, a drink that vaguely resembles an In- dian boba, filled with ice cream, nuts and condensed milk with chewy tapioca noodles and basil seeds for some texture at the end of each sip. Flavors like pistachio and rose both take a backseat to Maya Creamery’s most popular, the rabdi falooda. The cream-based drink is sprinkled with roasted almonds and layered with rabdi, a condensed milk-based drink infused with subtle notes of carda- mom. Falooda is served with both a spoon and straw for enjoying. Use both. Trust us: you’ll need them. Other options like boba, crepes and mac- arons also make an appearance, although not nearly as popular (by our observation) as the ice cream. Flavors like the sapodilla fruit, rose falooda and kesar pistachio are also available to go in quarts, for just under $12 each. Lines can get long, but there’s extra seating in the lounge area in the back. The kid-friendly space has a big TV screen and lots of LED lighting for extra ambiance. We suggest dine-in so that melting ice cream and sticky fingers aren’t a problem. And, of course, the vibey lounge-like seating space is a plus. Owner Sukhi Singh refers to the shop as a “family legacy,” a nod to his roots in India. “Growing up, ice cream and sweets were a big part of family tradition,” Singh says. “I had to bring some of that here when I moved to the U.S.” The family-owned ice cream parlor has plans to open more locations in Irving, Frisco, Plano, Dallas and Prosper in the coming months, Singh tells us, where the shop will sell a similar selection of Indian- inspired ice creams and sweets. If the line at their pioneer Texas location in McKinney is any indication, we anticipate a warm DFW welcome. Maya Creamery, 7650 W. Stacy Road, McKinney, Monday - Thursday Noon - 11 p.m.; Friday - Saturday noon - midnight Lauren Drewes Daniels Ayahuasca is one of the Best Bars in America, according to Esquire. City of Ate from p15 ENTER TO WIN TICKETS SEND YOUR RESUME TO TX-MARKETING @DALLASOBSERVER.COM D
