16 November 2 - 8, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents or go into business for himself. He called his uncle Jose Obregon and they decided to start a business together: Chiloso Mexican Bistro. The first restaurant opened in Rockwall in 2005, and this year they opened their 10th store, with No. 11 slated for Forney next year. Chiloso is a casual Mexican concept and a bit reminiscent of a Chipotle, with a build-your- own option for bowls. But the space has also developed a sort of cult following for a num- ber of items on its menu, particularly the jala- peño ranch dressing and some of the house-made sauces. But what’s set them apart from the large fast-casual Tex-Mex pack in North Texas is the simple and divine grilled avocado. “It started off as a daily special, but I’m telling you,” Balli says “we started having people coming in every day for it so we had to put it on the menu. And then we started doing a breakfast version.” This one dish is what really got the Chi- loso off the ground. Half an avocado is sprin- kled with spices and lime juice before hitting the grill, with a turn on each side. The outside is slightly charred, adding just a touch of texture to the soft fruit, which is plated on a pool of queso. Add any of the meats on offer: roasted pork, barbacoa, ground beef, rojo chicken, grilled steak or brisket. A bit of cilantro tops it off, along with a side of rice and beans. The allure is that it’s a simple dish; avo- cado, meat and queso. But the textures and flavors are all on point, and it comes to- gether flavorfully. We fell for the avocado originally at Tacolandia and Morning After Brunch. Chi- loso regularly attends these community events — Balli says that’s his preferred method of promotion over any other form of advertising. At Morning After when their breakfast avocado dish (scrambled eggs and queso over half an avocado) was announced as the winner of the People’s Choice Award, there was a collective cheer across the event. Everyone was talking about the grilled avo- cado all morning. We had to ask Balli how he keeps such a large avocado stash, especially with the in- consistencies in supply and price fluctua- tions over the past few years (in addition to that one cartel incident). “We buy a lot of avocados. We have a cou- ple different suppliers that we use, but we buy a lot,” he says. He keeps an eye on differ- ent regions of growers in different seasons but stresses they’re always bought fresh, never frozen — a tactic some use to extend the shelf life — and slices them open only when ordered. While Balli was happy to answer ques- tions about avocado supply, his feathers got a bit ruffled when we asked if his margaritas are wine-based or tequila-based. “Oh no, they’re 100% agave,” he said with a bit more passion than expected — a pas- sion that is respected. Some places use a wine base, I offered. Sometimes it’s hard to know by just looking. “I’m very aware of that,” he pointed out. “And we’ll get, ‘Man, can’t you do a cheaper margarita?’ And, my answer is always, ‘No.’” Balli is very specific about what goes into his margaritas, something that you don’t al- ways find at fast-casual spots, particularly when offered to go, as they are here. Balli uses strictly El Jimador silver. A house margarita on the rocks ($10.50) is made with El Jimador silver, Triple Sec and a housemade sweet and sour. Add a Chambord or Grand Marnier floater for $1.50. A $12 top-shelf margarita is still a good deal. You can check Chiloso out at Tacolandia on Nov. 4 (4–7 p.m.), where they will once again be set up in Energy Square Plaza along Greenville Avenue, with lots of avocados and queso. Tickets are $40, and get you unlim- ited taco samples, with the option to buy drinks from the bar. Or go VIP for $75 and get those same unlimited tacos, plus extra grub in the VIP area and three booze tickets. Each attendee also gets one token to vote for the People’s Choice Award. ▼ CLOSING OUTCLASSED COFFEE DALLAS’ ORIGINAL STARBUCKS WILL CLOSE NEXT YEAR AFTER A 30-YEAR RUN. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS I t says something about a patch of real es- tate when a Starbucks doesn’t turn enough profit. Alas, that’s the story at the free-standing coffee shop in Highland Park Village. First reported by The Dallas Morn- ing News, after nearly 30 years the shop didn’t get its lease renewed for next year. This was the first Starbucks location in the state and the city, arrivimng in 1994, about the same year the Dallas Stars moved to town. This caused some personal confusion: They were both green, both had “star” in the name, both were new to town. Maybe hockey and coffee go together? Alas, a million Americanos later, the Star- bucks at this upscale retail location has worn out its welcome. Founded in 1931, Highland Park Village, an open-air luxury shopping center, continues to be a beacon of wealth in its Park Cities neigh- borhood. Hermes, Chanel and a lot of other places we never shop at all have a home there. Last summer the shopping center announced a roster of new tenants: French luxury fashion brand Balmain; the first standalone Texas lo- cation for Italian menswear brand Brioni; Spanish fashion house LOEWE; and Los An- geles-based line SIMKHAI. Other HP Village stores that are exclusive in Texas include Alex- ander McQueen, Carolina Herrera, Celine and Goyard. Restaurants new to the complex include Sadelle’s, a New York-based bistro, and the Teak Room, a high-end tea room. While HP Village continues to pander to the wealthy, Starbucks’ growth plan has fo- cused on pushing people through faster. The coffee shop was founded as a commu- nity space for people to sip good coffee and cappuccino. Well, just like horse-drawn carriages and landlines, those days are gone. As a whole, Starbucks’ financial roadmap is focused on “purpose-built store concepts” that “enable increased throughput to support in- creasing customer demand.” Fewer tables and chairs, more pick-up windows and counters for all the shamalamadingdong frappucionos. Which makes its spacious Park Cities lo- cation problematic. Victoria Snee, the marketing director at Highland Park Village, points to this change as the reason the lease was not renewed. “In recent years, Starbucks has really changed its business model to more to-go and mobile orders, which isn’t conducive to our shopping environment and ability to provide the best possible customer service,” Snee told the Observer. The lease expires in February. As of now, there are no details on what is going in its place. Can’t you imagine it will always smell like coffee though? Lauren Drewes Daniels Chiloso’s popular grilled avocado dish City of Ate from p15 Lauren Drewes Daniels Starbucks is now focused on mobile orders. ENTER TO WIN TICKETS
