15 November 7 - 13, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents All Sizzle, No Steak 8 most overrated Dallas restaurants ranked, according to readers. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS S urvey says! Before we start fighting, let’s define overrated. Overrated implies a highly re- garded spot but with questions surrounding the authenticity of that reputation. Add to that the idea of value, which is a sliding scale: Does the price match the experience? We at the Observer spend most of our time dishing on the Top 100 Restaurants, Top 100 Bars and an entire issue of Best of Dallas, not to mention our recent best chicken-fried steak list. But in our quest for thoroughness, we decided to look at places that get a lot of chatter but perhaps shouldn’t. We asked people on social media and, it turns out, they have opinions. Here are the eight most overhyped restaurants in Dallas according to Dallasites, starting with No. 8 and working our way to the winner-winner chicken dinner at the bottom. Which, be- lieve us, isn’t really losing at all. 8. Nusr-Et Remember this spot? Salt Bae? You can pay a bunch of money ($800 for a gold-wrapped whole rack of lamb) for the chef to come out and throw salt on your plate. Yeah, we’re here for this one, especially after Salt Bae touched the World Cup trophy in 2022 in the most cringe thing to ever happen in the name of salt, much less soccer. We still haven’t been to this restaurant. And a lot of others haven’t either. Proof? The restaurant sold $13,645 in liquor in August 2024 ac- cording to TABSReport, which tracks booze sales at restaurants across the state. The breakfast spot Snooze sold more alcohol than that. 7. Monarch Monarch has likely landed on this list be- cause of expectations. This restaurant saun- tered into Dallas with Michelin-anointed chef Danny Grant at the helm. Perched on the 49th floor of the Thompson Hotel, it of- fers a menu that highlights handmade pasta dishes and wood-fired proteins. Reserva- tions by the window require $125 upfront (applied to the bill). The dress code is “busi- ness casual or better,” but we’re not sure if they’re accounting for remote workers (looking good from the waist up). We might be asked to leave. The only gauge we have in terms of business volume is the alcohol sales from TABSReport: Monarch is consistently in the top 10 best-selling liquor restaurants in Dallas. People love it, but maybe not two- Michelin-stars love it. 6. Javier’s The margaritas, though! This Dallas staple near Highland Park pushed out almost $500,000 in booze in August. Is it the Joe T.’s of Dallas — all hat and no cattle? No. (We recently threw the Fort Worth icon under the wagon wheel for the bad food for which its amazing ambiance couldn’t cover.) Javi- er’s is just busy pouring margs as fast as pos- sible. Google’s AI Overview writes, “Javier’s is a popular spot for the rich, famous, and in- dustrious.” We’ll leave it at that. 5. Drake’s Hollywood This showy spot along Lovers Lane, with its old Hollywood energy, isn’t out to hurt anyone. Cold martinis, tavern-style pizzas and piano music are entertaining so long as you don’t take yourself — or bougie Dallas — too seriously. Perhaps that’s why Drake’s has found itself on this list; yes, it’s a bit highfalutin, but in a forgivable way. There might be a sparkler in a drink in the dining room, but a Bogart’s gimlet will squash that noise. 4. Carbone Not to be confused with locally owned red sauce Italian restaurant Barsotti’s, previ- ously named Carbone’s, this New York- based spot from Major Food Group was the focus of a recent New York Times’ review penned by Dallas-native Priya Krishna. She visited all three Carbone locations (New York, Las Vegas and Dallas) to learn whether the restaurant lives up to the hype, writing, “this red-sauce fantasia with its wisecrack- ing waiters, ‘Goodfellas’ décor and $91 veal Parmesan has been a sensation [since it opened]. Reservations are nearly impossible to secure. Regulars include Kim Kardashian and Rihanna.” She summed it up (sing along if you’d like): “When the food is so-so, but you go for the show? That’s Carbone.” 3. Paradiso I can’t say a lot about Paradiso because the one time I went, I left after being ignored at the bar for 10 minutes. I can pick up we’re- tired-of-people vibes as much as anyone. Fair enough. Other bars had drinks. But on any given beautiful day, the lush courtyard — with its flowing fountain, glossy decor and abundance of fauna — is packed. The menu is a mix of Italian and Mediterranean fare. Perusing reviews for red flags, service seems to be an ongoing issue. Moody service after finding parking in Bishop Arts District? No, thanks. 2. Nick and Sam’s Founded by longtime Dallas restaurateur Phil Romano, Nick and Sam’s opened in 1999 and has always been more of a place to be seen dropping off your Bentley at the va- let than to be seen eating. Romano has a long list of restaurants under his belt like Fud- druckers and Macaroni Grill and the offen- sively named Sum Dang Good Chinese (for which he had I-don’t-give-a-damn response in The Dallas Morning News). The steak- house in Uptown consistently ranks as one of the top-selling wine restaurants in Dallas: In August, it sold over $530,000 in booze, half of that in wine. 1. Mi Cocina The most overrated restaurant in Dallas is Mi Cocina, which surely isn’t a reflection on the Mambo Taxi, a frozen margarita with a swirl of sangria that could be picked out of a lineup by 9 out of 10 Dallas drinkers. Mi Co- cina ushered in a new style of Tex-Mex din- ing in the early ‘90s with a pristine-white modern ambiance and plates with tidy rows of enchiladas. Alas, in a city that embraces Tex-Mex with religious fervor, ambiance doesn’t go too far. In fact, we probably prefer a little grit and dazzle with our Tex-Mex. ▼ EAT THIS 5 BUCK BANH MI BA LEE SANDWICH SHOP IS A HOLE-IN-THE-WALL BANH MI SHOP AND DELI SELLING FRESH AND FLAVORFUL VIETNAMESE FARE FOR A BARGAIN PRICE. BY AAREN PRODY I t can be hard to admit that some of the best Asian cuisine in Dallas is ... actually not in the city at all. But the suburbs are an undeniable desti- nation for plates of international food. This time, Carrollton has a heavy hitter with Ba Lee Sandwich Shop and Deli, which sells banh mi for $5. The price is what draws you in, but the quality is what makes you stay (and keep coming back). Although it sits in an unsuspecting strip just off I-35, all of Ba Lee’s deli meats are pro- cessed in-house, which is an attention to de- tail that’s rare to find these days. So are all the other classic Viet ingredients: French bread, the pickled daikon radish and carrot blend, onion, cucumber, cilantro and jalapeño. It’s an economic wonder how they’re making any money given the time and effort that goes into these sandwiches. The pork is grilled fresh daily, and the staff arrives early in the morning to make sure all the | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish Which Dallas restaurants are all sizzle, no steak? >> p16 Lauren Drewes Daniels Ba Lee Sandwich Shop and Deli sells a delicious banh mi sandwich for $5. Aaren Prody
