16 July 20-26, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Pup Chow Ari District offers up Thai-inspired brunch street fare. BY HANK VAUGHN A ri District opened in 2020, serving Bangkok-style street food mixed with a bit of the small-town flavors found in Thailand, the native land of the chef and owner, Lilly Vichaichalerm- wong. Originally open for lunch and dinner, the spot changed its hours in May and is now open for breakfast and brunch. This schedule change came about so family could help out at the restaurant more often. This is a win-win for all because now they also serve delectable breakfast fare and home- made pastries prepared fresh daily. The counter displays the sweet and sa- vory pastries, which can change daily. Selec- tions may include spinach rolls, cookie butter cinnamon rolls, matcha cream cro- nuts and maple bacon cinnamon rolls, to name just a few. Perhaps the signature pas- try is the “pup” pie stuffed with pork and taro or curry, which often sell out before closing. (In fact, we had to make two trips so we could try one.) Upon entering the elegant and cozy din- ing area, we decided to try a few pastries, a breakfast sandwich, a brunch item, a lunch item and a dessert, because we’re nothing if not thorough. The black garlic cheesy spinach roll was warm and chewy, cheesy and flaky, with the perfect amount of caramelization and just the right amount of spinach, an ideal size for a perfect number of bites. We went with the pork and taro pup pie, a small, slightly sweet croissant-like flaky pastry filled with ground pork that can be accessed by lifting off the top that is the pup’s ears. Almost too cute to eat, but you’ll be glad you did. It’s easy to see why this is such a popular item. Next up, an egg sando, a sandwich of white bread filled with scrambled egg and dry shredded pork. It’s just the right size to eat on the go and priced right at under $4. The slightly sweet shredded pork worked wonderfully with the cooked-just-right egg. A bowl of garlic pepper pork and egg fol- lowed, which at first seemed to be on the small side but the richness of the grilled pork, fried egg and rice was such that it was just enough. If it left us wanting more, that just shows how good it was. Pad kee maow followed: You can choose the protein (we went with chicken) as well as the spice level (we opted for medium). A decent portion, noodles cooked correctly and a pleasant variety of vegetables, such as bright red bell peppers, bamboo shoot chunks, and enoki mushrooms, rounded out this dish. For dessert we had the banana rice pud- ding, which was a fitting finale to this brunch affair: not too sweet, with just-ripe bananas and dark-grained rice that made for an attractive display, all topped off with a scoop of a delectable homemade coconut ice cream, some of the best we’ve ever had. Yes, and thank you. There are so many other menu items we need to try, chief among them the souffle pancakes and chicken and coconut waffle, both of which sound intriguing. We’ll defi- nitely be coming back, and we’re interested to see what new pastries they may have to offer. It’s a shame Ari District is no longer open for dinner, but there are a plethora of Thai dinner spots. How many can say they offer a unique brunch experience like Ari District? Ari District, 2525 Inwood Road, No. 123; Tuesday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday. ▼ FIRST LOOK A-HA! SUSHI TACOS TEMAKERIA’S UNIQUE 2D-INSPIRED INTERIOR PROVIDES AN INTERESTING ENVIRONMENT TO SAMPLE SOME PRETTY GOOD JAPANESE FOOD. BY HANK VAUGHN T emakeria is a new Julian Rodarte venture in Trinity Groves that opened in May. Perched in the shadow of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, it promises Japanese food in a unique setting. The interior, a tour de force of design by lo- cal artist Jonathan Krown, is a monochro- matic black and white space that looks like one of those adult coloring books that has yet to be filled in. It’s a little bit of an a-ha video mixed with some Jean Dubuffet sculptures and combined into an eye-catch- ing 2D experience that even carries over to the restrooms and food prep area. Temakeria serves Japanese cuisine, and its name reflects the temaki portion of the menu; temaki is a variety of hand-rolled su- shi usually in cone form. But Temakeria serves the dish in what amounts to taco form, sitting in a 3D printed taco holder that carries over the 2D black and white theme as well. Thus, temaki + taqueria = Temake- ria, QED. So ends your math lesson for the day. On to the eats. We arrived with no reservations, but there was plenty of space in the enclosed, air-conditioned patio, so we grabbed a table there and ordered a couple of cocktails: a co- conut old fashioned and a Temakeria high- ball. The old fashioned was fine if a tad too sweet. It lacked any really noticeable coco- nut flavor, though there was perhaps a coco- nut note. We’d have preferred a complete melody. The Temakeria highball was mixed with Toki Japanese whisky, Jalisco orange liquor and soda. It was refreshing and ideal for res- taurant patio sipping. This is one more in a growing list of Dal- las restaurants that are trying to push the shared plate concept to diners, so we went with that and ordered several starters or small plates along with a temaki. First up was an order of spicy edamame, which was a larger-than-expected serving and a bit messy from an overabundance of sauce. You can also order it grilled or salty, and on future trips we’ll definitely go with one of those varieties instead. Next, some lobster gyoza, little dump- lings stuffed with lobster and ginger served with truffle sauce. It made for an eye-catch- ing presentation, about five dumplings at- tached to their own individual crispy cracker. Not too fishy as lobster-stuffed items can often be, and the sauce was not overpowering. Chicken karaage followed, and while perhaps not as good as Ramen Izakaya Aki- ra’s offering, it was right up there. A gener- ous portion came with a peanut-based aioli dipping sauce, and it had a delightfully crunchy exterior that yielded to a flavorful interior. Our last shared plate was the seasonal veggies with tempura dipping sauce. We are not 100% sure as to the identity of all the veggies, but they definitely included aspara- gus, some sort of squash and perhaps egg- plant. Either way, they were perfectly battered and cooked: al dente and not oily. Finally, we chose the spicy tuna temaki, which arrived in the handmade taco holder, crispy nori serving as the ersatz taco shell holding the rice and tuna topped with tem- pura flakes and spicy aioli. It was almost a shame to have to pick up and eat this pretty display, but we were glad we did. To sum it up, we enjoyed ourselves and will definitely pay another visit to Temake- ria. 3011 Gulden Lane, No. 102 (Trinity Groves). Tuesday – Thursday, 4–9 p.m.; Fri- day, 4–10 p.m.; Saturday, noon – 10 p.m.; Sun- day, noon – 9 p.m. ▼ STATE FAIR ALMOST FRYING TIME 36 STATE FAIR FRIED FOOD SEMI-FINALISTS NAMED; HERE ARE THE 10 MOST INTRIGUING. BY NICK REYNOLDS A s we slog through the dog days of another searing Texas summer, the countdown to the annual State Fair of Texas (starting September 29) has begun. Always fascinating is the fierce and hy- per-creative competition between conces- sionaires who aspire to attain (or retain) | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish Cindy Ju Vaughn Inside Temakeria. Hank Vaughn One of the savory pastries at Ari District.
