15 August 10-16, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Una Vez Mas Casa Rosa brings its pink hued Tex-Mex dining room back to Dallas. BY CHRIS WOLFGANG C asa Rosa opened in 1981 and for more than two decades lorded over Tex-Mex in the Park Cit- ies. An offshoot of El Chico’s, Casa Rosa was an institution, churning out hearty Tex-Mex favorites in a dining room that felt like a Mexican haci- enda, replete with pink walls, Spanish mu- rals and a skylight over a giant planter in the middle of the space. El Chico and Casa Rosa also introduced Dallas to fajitas, which would go on to become a Tex-Mex standby across the country. Gilbert Cuellar Jr.’s family started El Chi- co’s in 1940, which now has locations in six states and the United Arab Emirates. The family sold the Casa Rosa location around the turn of the century, which was re- branded as Cantina Laredo in 2003, and closed in 2013 to make way for the Trader Joe’s on the eastern end of Inwood Village. Fast forward 20 years, and Cuellar has re- vived Casa Rosa in a new location down the road at Inwood and Lemmon Avenue. The space used to hold an El Fenix, but Cuellar has brought back much of what made the original Casa Rosa stand out. Step inside, and the boun- tiful planter is back, center stage, with a large skylight shining down to create a courtyard feel. Colorful art adorns the unabashedly pink walls, and matching cloth napkins on each ta- ble pop against black linens. Best of all, Casa Rosa’s menu offers all the Tex-Mex favorites that hit high marks for fla- vor and affordability. Our party of two opened with a pair of margaritas ($12), a classic house that’s not too sweet and a prickly pear that is Barbie pink with a dash of tart sweetness to match. House-made chips soon follow, along with a smoky salsa roja served in small nar- row-mouthed bottles. We also ordered a small serving of chili con queso ($5.95), dot- ted with bright red and green peppers in the creamy golden cheese. To be in the restaurant of the family that put fajitas on the map and not order a sizzling platter would border on sacrilege. We went with a regular order ($18.95), half beef and half chicken; it was plenty for two people to share. The cast iron plate arrived in short or- der, served with the usual accompaniments, a mix of house-made corn and flour tortillas and a cup of frijoles negro and a plate of rice. The beef fajitas use tenderloin and are imbued with grilled flavor in every tender bite. Chicken breast is equally tender and juicy, but less flavorful than the beef; next time we’ll stick with the bovine. The rest of the pan overflows with red and green bell peppers and caramelized red and white on- ions. It’s everything you expect fajitas to be. We wrapped up our meal with Mexican apple pie ($14.95). Our waitress soon ap- peared with another hot cast-iron dish, this one smaller but loaded with a flaky apple pie. Before setting the dish on the table, she plopped on a scoop of cinnamon ice cream and drizzled a brandy butter sauce over the works. We do wish the flavor of the apples popped a little more, but that didn’t stop us from grabbing the next spoonful of the but- tery, bubbly pastry. Dig carefully, as the dish is served blisteringly hot, but the cinnamon ice cream cools each bite admirably. Casa Rosa is everything you look for in Tex-Mex. It’s honest food that’s honestly good and served at a fair price. It doesn’t hurt that Casa Rosa is helmed by Cuellar, whose family holds near legendary status in Dallas’ Tex-Mex scene. Casa Rosa is the Tex- Mex many Dallasites grew up eating, and having it back in the neighborhood is a treat for the mouth and the soul. Casa Rosa, 5622 Lemmon Ave., Tuesday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. ▼ FOOD NEWS PICKING MELONS PAWPAW’S PRODUCE & CO. IS A ROADSIDE GARDEN IN A TRUCK BED. BY NICK REYNOLDS W illiam James Norman started his own produce business some 25 years ago. Norman, or “Mr. Nor- man” as he was known by customers, passed away in 2018. Today, Mr. Norman’s legacy carries on. His grandson, 34-year-old Christian Luck- ett-Palmer, carries that torch in the form of PawPaw’s Produce & Co. You can often find Christian with a truck bed crammed full of immaculate, freshly- picked watermelons, along with various other garden selections (primarily fruit), de- pending on the time of year. Aside from the freshest and juiciest wa- termelons you’d ever find, there may be peaches, plums, mangos, pineapples, canta- loupes – and even brightly colored Kool- Aid-brined pickles. Most of the produce is sourced straight from South Texas and East Texas, and all is 100% organic. Christian knows the sellers personally — nothing is bought from stores. In terms of freshness, anything offered out of Christian’s truck will be tough to beat. But the headliners are the red and yellow watermelons. Fresh loads of 150 watermel- ons are handpicked and driven into the city, often near the 2200 block of Ledbetter, where Christian parks his black pickup amidst the unforgiving Texas heat and awaits customers to swoop in (such as our- selves). And swoop in, they do. “I’ve probably sold anywhere from two to three thousand watermelons since the begin- ning of summer,” said Christian, who was born and raised in Dallas. “They go pretty fast.” When we asked the age-old question of how to best pick a ripe watermelon, Chris- tian gave us a tutorial. “The pat is everything. When patting a watermelon, is the sound hollow? Or is the sound flat? If the sound is flat, the melon is probably juicier. If it’s hollow, then it usually means a crispier, crunchier melon,” Christian told us. A trained eye like Christian’s can also tell by examining the watermelon’s stem. As for the difference between a yellow and traditional red watermelon, Christian notes that “yellow watermelons are milder, but a little sweeter with a more candied flavor.” We picked up one of each. And we can at- test that these melons, priced between $10 and $15 depending on the size, are legit. And they’ll run circles around any chain grocery store watermelon. One final question we had for Christian, who’s about as friendly a guy as you’d ever meet, was salt or no salt? “I prefer no salt. Just give me the water- melon as is. I want to taste the sweetness of it,” said Christian. We’re with him on that. But he followed that up with a pro tip to try that blew our minds: watermelon with a glaze of honey and lemon. Which we tried. Dude. GAME- CHANGER. PawPaw’s Produce & Co., 2206 E. Ledbet- ter Drive. Hours vary so check PawPaw’s Facebook page for updates. Chris Wolfgang Casa Rosa’s pink dining room is back, a homey spot for classic Tex-Mex. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish
