13 July 6-12, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents London Calling English scones, teas and coffees finds a new home in Lewisville. BY NICK REYNOLDS T he London Baker is an English- influenced bakery that recently opened a new location in The Realm in Lewisville. This spot serves the full slate of coffees, teas and pastries we’d expect in any Dallas cafe, along with British favorites, which is what attracted us. Google on June 10 cele- brated scones, the classic British afternoon tea treat, so, naturally, we went hunting. Piloting this concept is baker Elizabeth Rowe, a wedding cake designer whom you may know from the Food Network show Cake Wars. Rowe opened the first London Baker location in Lewisville in 2018 at Cas- tle Hills. The large cafe has high ceilings, big plush booths and lounge seating centered on a faux (but cute) fireplace. Walls are bathed in a trendy bluish-gray hue illumi- nated by a mix of gold chandeliers, strad- dling the line between posh and classy. Lattes are served in All Hail the Queen mugs (we won’t tell them if you don’t), and pastries are served on real plates, not just shoved in a paper sleeve. All very proper. The craft espresso menu uses beans from Dallas’ own Cultivar. The caffeinated op- tions here are extensive. From lattes (such as the crème bru-latte and butterbeer latte) to mochas, cappuccinos and macchiatos, we counted 17 different options, flavored with from-scratch syrups. All are served hot or iced, your choice. Frappes? Check. English teas? Of course. Our heads spinning with the plethora of choices, we finally settled on the nonalco- holic vanilla whiskey latte ($6), honey laven- der latte ($4.70) and honey rosemary latte ($4.70). All were iced, and all had varying degrees of flavor. The whiskey latte had a subtle hint of whiskey, the rosemary latte was even more subtle, and the honey laven- der was the most noticeably flavored of the three. But we enjoyed them all. We tried three of the six scones available: the bacon and cheddar ($4), sun-dried to- mato and Parmesan ($4) and, for a sweet touch, the lemon blueberry ($3.75). Also of- fered are the classic English, strawberry and cream, and Earl Grey and lavender. The sa- vory sun-dried tomato and Parmesan scone was the biggest crowd-pleaser at the table. But the show-stealer this afternoon was the country sausage pasty pillow ($4). Flaky dough encases a warm center of sausage gravy. This creation had us right back in line, where we promptly wiped out the last three in the case, getting them to go so we could have them for breakfast the next day. We also recommend the croissant-wrapped sau- sage roll ($4.50) and spinach and feta Dan- ish ($3.85), but truth be told, everything in the case was enticing. Like the drink menu, the snack options here are plentiful. Artisan deep dish cook- ies, cupcakes, cake truffles and brownies are available, as are breakfast items like a bacon, egg and cheese muffin sandwich topped with poppy seed glaze and West- minster waffle cakes served with a house- made syrup. The London Baker, 4440 State Highway 121, No. 60, Lewisville. Tuesday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Sun- day, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Closed Monday. ▼ EAT THIS ALL RIBBING ASIDE WE TRY THE SMOKY AND TENDER HICKORY GRILLED PORK RIBS AT LAS PALMAS TEX-MEX. BY CHRIS WOLFGANG B efore I became the Observer’s food critic, my beat was barbecue. I’d oc- casionally cover other cuisines, but if a restaurant smoked protein over fire, chances are I would write about it. Even though my food coverage has ex- panded since taking over the food critic’s chair, I still have a fondness for all things barbecue. But recently my colleague Hank Vaughn put me on blast for not trying H-E- B’s barbecue offerings. As a Chicagoan, Vaughn longs for hot dogs topped with salad at every turn, so writing a barbecue story probably puts him out of his comfort zone. Joking aside (I enjoyed Vaughn’s take on H-E-B) I did have another barbecue find in my hip pocket that I had been meaning to check out. Las Palmas has been cranking out some solid Tex-Mex for the last four years; in fact, it was the 2022 Reader’s Choice pick for best all-around restaurant in Uptown. The votes poured in for good reason: the restaurant nails the classic dishes and serves them up in a classy dining room that mixes Dallas with a splash of Hollywood. But via Instagram, we learned that Las Palmas also serves some fan- tastic-looking ribs, so we made a point to hop in for lunch to get the scoop. Just because we came for the ribs doesn’t mean we can’t partake of some of Las Pal- mas’ more traditional hits. And any meal you enjoy here that doesn’t start with a bowl of queso blanco ($12) is a misstep you should correct. Las Palmas’ take is fantastically creamy, not too thick and not too thin. There are slivers of garlic and jalapeño, and the bowl is topped with fresh herbs as it leaves the kitchen. Las Palmas’ chips come fresh out of the fryer and pair perfectly with the cheese and with the verde or roja salsas that arrive on your table just after you’re seated. A half-rack of the hickory-grilled ribs, served on a bed of fries with a side of charro beans, will set you back $28. Our waiter tried to upsell me to a full rack for just six bucks more, but after gorging ourselves on chips and queso, a half-rack was plenty. The ribs are sauced with a tangy and slightly spicy sauce, and we barely had to nudge a bone before it let go from the juicy pork. Overly tender ribs like this may not win barbecue competitions, but in the mainstream, people judge ribs by their abil- ity to “fall off the bone,” and Las Palmas wins in that regard. In fact, we did most of the eating with a fork, because we could pick up a bite of fries at the same time and multi-task while enjoy- ing lunch. The fries are a thinner shoestring variety, whose only fault is that they are served under a hot rack of ribs, causing them to lose their crispiness rather quickly. The charro beans are a great tie-in to Tex Mex, with a savory broth and fresh cilantro brightness. As my friends sipped margaritas and nib- bled their way through plates of spinach en- chiladas and shrimp tacos, I was lost in my own barbecue world. Las Palmas does Tex- Mex well, but these ribs are a welcome di- version from the norm, sprinkled with a dash of Uptown flair. Las Palmas, 2708 Routh St. Sunday – Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Thursday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. ▼ FIRST LOOK MAXED IN MESQUITE BURGER MAX IS THE NEWEST ENTRY INTO THE NEVER-ENDING (THANK GOD) HAMBURGER SCENE IN NORTH TEXAS. BY HANK VAUGHN I s there room for yet another hamburger joint in North Texas? Of course, there is, and Burger Max in Mesquite is perfectly willing to add to the mix. Along with options to sate one’s burger cravings, this small spot offers sandwiches, wings, salads and sides. The dining area is very small with just two tables and several chairs for those waiting to pick up orders to go. The menu is simple enough, consisting of several types of ham- burgers, wings with options (boneless, boned, various sauces) and a few sandwiches. What struck us right away is how inex- pensive everything was, relatively speaking. Burgers start at $6, and all are under $10, and this is for a half-pound patty to boot. Now, they don’t come with any sides, but for $4 extra you can combo it up with the addi- tion of a drink and fries. So, if you insist on all of that you can still get out of here for $10. Not bad … not bad at all. We started off with an order of fried pick- les, which the menu says come six to an or- der. They were sliced so it was hard to tell how many there were. Let’s not quibble. They came with the requisite ranch-style dipping sauce. We went with a Maxima Burger, an un- fortunate name for us due to a bad experi- ence with a former Nissan model of the same name a few years ago. Alas, Camry Burger doesn’t have the same ring to it. This burger comes loaded with sautéed onions, mushrooms, jalapeños, bell peppers, Ameri- can and Swiss cheese, mayo, hickory sauce, lettuce, tomato, bacon and pickles for a mere $10. Sure, anything piled that high is a bit hard to eat without spilling half the | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish Loni Ealy The lounge area at The London Baker (above). Scones abound at The London Baker in Lewisville. >> p14
