16 OctOber 16 - 22, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents thing unique, try the seafood pizza with lump crab, shrimp, fresh mozzarella, ched- dar, fresh basil and parmesan. 3939 S. Polk St. #527, Oak Cliff Pizzana Pizzana is a collaboration originally from Los Angeles between Candace Nelson, for- mer owner of Sprinkles Cupcakes, and master pizza chef Daniele Uditi. Pizzana serves what they call neo-Neapolitan pizza: the dough is fermented for 48 hours, which gives it true Neapolitan pizza qualities, but with a firm, not floppy, base. One of their signature pizzas, the cacio e pepe, is a spec- tacular twist on the traditional pasta dish. One of the things we like most about Piz- zana is its ability to offer a heat and slice option for to-go orders, where they prepare the pizza to the point where you can bring it home and throw it in the oven at a high temperature for about five minutes and en- joy it as if it were just pulled out of the res- taurant’s pizza oven. 3219 Knox St., Knox-Henderson Cane Rosso Cane Rosso continues to master the alchemy of creating the perfect Neapolitan-style pie, and owner Jay Jerrier and his team have been delighting Dallas since 2009. At all nine locations throughout North Texas (in- cluding a new one in Sachse), the pizzas ad- here to the standards of the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, which means they are cooked at about 900 degrees for about 90 seconds. The most popular pie is the Honey Bastard (house-made mozzarella, hot soppressata, bacon marmalade and ha- banero honey), but we also recommend checking out the pizza of the month for new off-the-menu creations. Multiple locations Thunderbird Pies During COVID, the culinary team behind Cane Rosso and Zoli’s had time to experi- ment with a style of pizza that was not well known to Dallasites at the time. Detroit- style pizza has since become popular in this area, and Thunderbird Pies is doing it best. Our favorite is a toss-up between the Thun- der Mifflin (pepperoni cups, sausage, mush- rooms and tomato sauce) and the Drip Pan (hot soppressata, sausage, roasted mush- rooms, caramelized onions, roasted peppers and tomato sauce). If you prefer your pizza with a crunchy base, they also offer tavern- style crust now. 7328 Gaston Ave. Zoli’s (Yes, this makes a trifecta for Jay Jerrier and his PILF empire. He’s locked in.) Zo- li’s New York-style pizza can’t be beat. It’s popped up in our best-of issues for numer- ous years and we always rave about, like in 2023 when we said:: “It captures the es- sence of traditional New York-style pizza, with a masterpiece crust that stays firm despite hefty toppings while the edges re- main light and airy.” Just like at Cane Rosso, the most popular pie is the sweet- heat Honey Bastard, but we recommend checking out the pizza of the month for new off-the-menu creations. 14910 Mid- way Road, Addison ▼ BARBECUE LANDMAN-APPROVED BARBECUE SPOT FIRES UP NEW LOCATION AT A POPULAR NORTH TEXAS BREWERY. BY TYLER DANIELS N orth Texas staple Hurtado Barbecue has opened a new location and is hit- ting the big screen this fall. The Hurtado Barbecue empire is con- tinuing to grow in North Texas. What started as a pop-up taco shop in 2018 now has four brick-and-mortar locations across North Texas in Arlington, Dallas, Mansfield and Fort Worth. All serve a Tex- Mex blend that landed them on Texas Monthly’s prestigious top 50 barbecue list. The spot also recently ranked No. 46 in Southern Living’s Top 50 BBQ Joints of the South. Staples inlcude brisket, pulled pork and spare ribs, along with unique Mexican-in- spired meals like elotes, birria tacos and Mexican cornbread. Landman In other news, The Dallas Morning News re- ported Hurtados is featured in the second season of Landman. Brandon Hurtado and three of his pitmasters spent a day on the set of Landman acting as extras. The filming took place in Fort Worth, and all they had to do was be themselves, just serving barbecue to oilmen at an oil convention. Hurtado’s was an obvious choice for Sheridan as well, as they already cater to private events for Sheridan and his TV crews. Hurtado told The Dallas Morning News that while the filming was fun, he doesn’t want to pursue a career in acting. “There were a lot of takes … we were out there in the heat for quite some time,” Hurtado told the DMN. The newest season of Landman premieres on Nov. 16, so keep an eye out for the Hurtado logo and barbecue sauce bottles that appear on the show. As the accolades, awards, and locations keep rolling in for Hurtados, we’re here for all of it. It’s one of our favorite North Texas spots. ▼ FIRST LOOK DUCK-DUCK GO DRAGON CASA IN FAR NORTH DALLAS IS A CHINESE-MEXICAN FUSION SPOT WITH TASTY PEKING DUCK TACOS. BY HANK VAUGHN D ragon Casa is a new spot in Far North Dallas with a grand opening scheduled for Oct. 10, one of the many recent restaurant openings we’re excited about. In the meantime, they had a soft opening last week. The brainchild of Southlake’s venerable Dragon House, this new place telegraphs its Chinese-Mexican fusion focus right there in the name: clever and direct. One of the menu items that grabbed our attention was the Peking duck tacos. We love all things duck, so intrigued, we stopped in for dinner and tried them out. Of course, traditional Peking duck, at least as it’s served here in the U.S., is al- ready sort of taco-ish: roasted crispy- skinned slices of duck served with spring onions, cucumber and sauce, eaten with thin little pancakes providing an easy con- duit to the mouth, so creating an Asian- Mexican taco mashup wouldn’t seem to be that big of a culinary stretch. The tacos arrive three to an order in a bamboo steamer, and they are full of chunks and slices of aromatic duck—al- most too much duck, if such a thing is pos- sible. They are sauced slightly heavier than we’d normally prefer and accompa- nied by the traditional thin slices of spring onion and cucumber along with lime wedges, in your choice of corn or flour tortillas. We, of course, chose corn; we’re not animals. The verdict? Pretty good. Sure, more crispy skin would have made us even hap- pier, but at least you don’t have to order 24 hours in advance. 3355 E Trinity Mills Road, Suite 213; Monday–Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; 5 –9:30 p.m. Hurtado Barbecue Hurtado Barbecue is mandatory while in Arlington. Plan ahead and arrive early. City of Ate from p15 SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS
