22 OctOber 17 - 23, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Fine Haitian Fare Kavin Adisson noticed a dearth of Haitian food options in North Texas and decided to rectify that. BY HANK VAUGHN N ot everything should be politi- cal, but let’s not kid ourselves: it is. So when Haitian immi- grants were in the news re- cently, yet another hit-and-run victim of the increasingly common mean- spirited politicized election cycle we find ourselves seemingly permanently trapped in, we decided to do something about it. The “something” in this case was to seek out some Haitian food, to find a Haitian restau- rant that was serving up food from the island nation on Hispaniola. The goal was to cleanse both our palates and our souls in a show of what little solidarity is possible. This was easier said than done, our crack research assistant having scoured the inter- webs for Haitian food in North Texas before finding just a single example: a food truck called Sophia’s Haitian Cuisine. It’s based primarily around Celina and environs, but on this day it was parked outside a fitness center in Plano. Kavin Adisson is the owner and operator of this family-run business named after his wife; he’s assisted occasionally by his teen- age son. Adisson is from Haiti by way of New Jersey. Settling in the Dallas area in 2017, he first dipped his toes in the creation and de- livery of comfort food from his homeland in 2020 after noticing the same dearth of Hai- tian food that we did. He started by catering events and festivals before finally going all- in with a food truck. The truck serves seasonal favorites such as joumou soup at New Year’s as well as a hot dog that receives good reviews on social media. But the bread and butter is the pikliz, plantains and meat platters that are perma- nent fixtures on the menu. Pikliz is as Haitian as you can get (Adisson sported a black tee that said “Got Pikliz?” on the day we visited). It serves as both a condi- ment and a salad, and it’s made with pickled cabbage, carrots and hot peppers such as Scotch bonnet. It’s delightfully piquant, and Haitians put it on everything. The previously mentioned hot dog, for example, is slathered in this slaw, and it’s also one of the toppings on the loaded plantains we ordered. The healthy portion of deep-fried plan- tains was topped, in this case, by moist and tender seasoned shredded chicken, special sauce and the ubiquitous pikliz. It was a hot mess in the best possible way and very filling. You can go with fried pork chunks instead, and substitute fries for the plantains as well. We also ordered another traditional Hai- tian snack, the pâté, sort of a Caribbean take on an empanada or an Indian samosa. A thin layer of dough surrounds the stuffing, which can be either beef, chicken or veggies (pota- toes, onions, mushrooms and sweet pep- pers), and then it’s deep-fried. We opted for the beef version. It had a much more com- plex flavor than expected, much more than deep-fried ground beef. Our final item was a griot platter: tender and marbled chunks of pork lightly fried that fell apart in the mouth in a melting of rich flavor and texture. It was one of our bet- ter bites this year. The platter comes with plantains, sauce and, of course, pikliz, along with the rice of the day, or in this case sea- food pasta. We would have preferred rice, but on this day it was pasta as a side. Other platter protein choices include goat, poulet (chicken drumsticks) and vegan (pota- toes, onions, mushroom and sweet peppers). We highly recommend checking out this food. The current month’s schedule of loca- tions and times is usually posted to their Ins- tagram or Facebook page. Make the effort to search Sophia’s out; you’ll be glad you did, whether it’s your palate or your soul that needs cleansing. Sophia’s Haitian Cuisine, 469-492-6224. Check Insta and Facebook for locations and times. ▼ FIRST LOOK A TWO-DO NEW FAST-CASUAL ITALIAN RESTAURANT DUE’ CUCINA IS GOOD FOR A QUICK TO-GO MEAL OR A CASUAL BOWL OF PASTA. BY NICK REYNOLDS D ue’ Cucina, a Seattle-based Italian pasta house, has opened in Dallas’ Lakewood Shopping Center. The company has four other locations, all in the Seattle area. We’re not sure how Due’ Cucina’s lone non-Washington state location found itself in Dallas, but we’re glad it did — we like this place a lot. The founders, Filippo Fiori and Davide Macchi, both originally from Italy, say they’re “armed with a passion for pasta and a desire to share the delish secrets of our nonnas and nonnos in every bite.” Fiori and Macchi curated the menu. Due’ Cucina is a counter service-only op- eration. The space is small but has a decent amount of seating, and grabbing takeout or- ders here is a breeze. At the front counter, you’ll find touchscreen kiosks where you can customize and pay for your order. You’ll choose a sauce and then a pasta (casarecce, spaghetti, paccheri, campanelle, bucatini). Some of the sauces include pomo- doro (tomatoes, baby spinach, salted ricotta), kale pesto, carbonara (egg yolk, pecorino romano, cured pork cheek, black pepper), wild-caught smoked salmon, cacio e pepe, and short rib ragu made with chianti. You can add extras such as sourdough bread, homemade pork sausage, poached egg, burrata, and ghost chili oil. We opened with mushroom and white truffle oil over campanelle ($13.90) and added a shot of ghost chili oil for 50 cents. The campanelle was a proper al dente, and the mushrooms and white truffle oil are a match made in heaven. We highly recom- mend the ghost chili oil for anyone who wants to kick their pasta up a notch. Next was an order of eggplant parmigiana ($11.90). In addition to sauces and pasta op- tions, you can also find dishes like the afore- mentioned eggplant parm, lasagna alla Bolognese, homemade ravioli, bell pepper br- uschetta and wings alla cacciatora (chicken wings in tomato sauce, veggies, herbs and ol- ives). There’s also a marinated eggplant salad (grilled eggplant, mixed greens, smoked ricotta). The eggplant parm was nicely lay- ered with fried eggplant, tomato, cacioca- vallo, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Our dining partner ordered the lasagna ($14.90) and gave it high marks. The lasagna at Due’ Cucina is made of egg-dough pasta, Bolognese sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano and bechamel. For dessert, we tried a slice of Torta Della Nonna ($6.70). That translates to “Grandmother’s cake,” a rich custardy pastry topped with pine nuts. It was good – not overly sweet, but just enough. We were impressed with Due’ Cucina as a fast-casual spot. We loved the breezy ordering process; everything was simple. And the prices weren’t bad either. It’s a place we can see our- selves returning to for future takeouts when the mood for pasta strikes, which is often. Outdoor seating is also available, as well as wine, beer, cider and a couple of house cocktails (spritz and negroni). And for those of us requiring gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and vegetarian options – Due’ Cucina has you covered on all fronts. Due’ Cucina, 1900 Abrams Parkway. Daily, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. ▼ Q&A SEEING STARS AT MONARCH CHEF DANNY GRANT OF MONARCH AND KESSAKU IN DOWNTOWN DALLAS TALKS ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE EFFECT OF THE MICHELIN GUIDE COMING TO TEXAS. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS C hef Danny Grant was in Dallas re- cently, highlighting the arrival of the Michelin Guide to Texas. The inau- gural stars for Texas restaurants will be an- nounced on Nov. 11, adding some excitement to the local dining scene. Grant hosted a special dinner at his res- taurant, Monarch, reprising a menu from his past: RIA in Chicago, which was awarded two Michelin stars in 2011 and 2012 before closing in 2012. The Long Island native is the youngest chef at a U.S. restaurant to earn two Michelin stars. Monarch in Dallas is a modern Italian steakhouse on the 49th floor of the Thompson Hotel downtown. According to TABSReport, which tracks alcohol sales in the state, it is one of the top-earning restaurants in Dallas. In Au- gust, it served over $250,000 in wine alone. Reserving a window seat for the great views will set you back $125 (applied to din- ner), but the bar is a great budget option (and there are windows, too, no extra charge). No open-toed shoes or T-shirts though. You’ll need to class it up a bit. Up a set of stairs just off the main bar is Kessaku, a swanky sushi and cocktail lounge. In addition to Monarch and Kessaku in Dallas, Grant also owns and manages Maple & Ash in Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona. We caught up with Grant as he was visit- ing tables at Kasseku between shifts in the kitchen at Monarch. Wearing a crisp white chef’s coat, white sneakers and a boyish af- fability, he answered a few questions about dining in Dallas and the impending guide. What effect does the Michelin Guide have on restaurants? It ignites a new level of focus and excite- ment in the community because now all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Oh cool, there’s this world-renowned rating system that’s been going on for hundreds of years that’s coming to where you live, where you run your res- taurant,’ and it kind of puts you on a world stage. So something that you were doing that was maybe mostly focused right here is now on a world stage. And I think the first thing that kind of happened, at least in my experi- ence, was it ignites competition. And I think people are going to strive to get this. It ig- nites anxiety too. I think looking back at my experience once you get it, it’s exciting, but then you have to keep it; you can lose it. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish Hank Vaughn Kavin Adisson is the owner of Sophia’s Haitian Cuisine food truck.
