14 December 8–14, 2022 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Month XX–Month XX, 2014 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER | Classified | MusiC | dish | Movies | Culture | Night+day | feature | sChutze | uNfair Park | CoNteNts | from Rosewood Ranch that makes for killer brisket tacos, or gulf-sourced shrimp in the shrimp tinga. Tex-Mex classics are well rep- resented, and Odelay’s Highland Park loca- tion is already popular every night of the week with the locals. Top Pick: Tenderloin tampiqueña is the beefy, cheesy and peppery smothered plate of your Tex-Mex dreams. Pile the house- made tortillas high as you wish, and the world is your cheese-covered oyster. RevolveR GasTRo CanTina 2646 Elm St., 214-258-5900 E arlier this year, owner and chef Gino Rojas told us that when he opened Re- volver Gastro Cantina in Deep Ellum he wanted a place where you can take your family during the day for tacos and go back and get “fucked up on margaritas at night.” As he sees it, a proper cantina serves that dual purpose. Like Rojas, this family-run space is a culinary gem with party vibes. The only seating is a long black bar spray painted with graffiti. Boozy overflowing frozen drinks are served in blender-like pitchers. Purists can choose from the wall of tequila and mezcal. This is his second restaurant on our Top 100 list, along with the original Revolver Taco Lounge, a casual taco spot. There’s also La Resistencia, which is a reservations-only tasting menu restaurant. At this spot you can still get the tacos that put Revolver on the map; other dishes include a tostada tower, fajita norteña, rellenos stuffed with cochinita and quail guisada enchiladas. Top Pick: One bite of the delicate cabrito wontons served over a salsa roja reduction and you realize Rojas is, in fact, as serious about his food as he is about having a good time. He told us those wontons are a “pretty presentation style of Michoacan birria cabrito,” an ode to his native western Mexican state. sisTeR 2808 Greenville Ave., 214-888-8660 W hen The Grape closed in 2019, the heartbreak that Dallasites felt was palpable. Sister, which opened in the same space in late 2021, has filled the role of lower Greenville’s neighborly bistro admi- rably. With its menu of “loose Italian” and Mediterranean-inspired dishes, a visit to Sister is a delightful journey of pastas, pro- teins and vegetables layered with imagina- tive flavor combinations. Culinary director J. Chastain says his team wants meals at Sister to truly make you feel at home. “We like to think of it as coming to a dinner party at our house,” Chastain says. “It’s food we want to cook, and it’s like you’re our friends.” Top Pick: Sister’s menu is designed for sharing among the table. Don’t miss the grilled focaccia with house-made mort- adella, and definitely save room for the ba- nana budino when it’s time to order dessert. souThside sTeaks and Cakes 3125 Al Lipscomb Way, 469-399-7644 S outhside Steaks and Cakes first popped up on many a radar last year when the family-owned restaurant in South Dallas — situated within 1,000 feet of Fair Park — was added as a concession- aire to the State Fair in 2021. Then, in 2022 fireworks went off when its prison-food- inspired Peanut Butter Paradise won a Big Tex Choice Award. The more we got to know the owners, Chris Easter and Nicole Sternes, the more we were enthralled by not only the food but also their enterpris- ing spirit and ambition. Southside has a big party vibe inside. The Philly cheesesteaks are two-handed sandwiches overflowing with meat and cheese. The wing menu has more than two dozen dry and wet rubs. For variety, get a Dime Bag, one of many menu items that play on cultural colloquialisms of a trap house, which the owners nick- name the spot. For $10 get six wings and “Steakchos,” which are Doritos topped with cheesesteak beef, peppers, onions and cheese. Top Pick: If you drove to Southside just for a honey bun, there’d be no judgment here. The Peanut Butter Paradise is worth the hype. It’s a honey bun injected with car- amel, then deep-fried and topped with pea- nut butter and candy. It just may be the best single bite we had all year. Still Great Al MArkAz: Al Markaz is an institution in the Dal- las-area Indian and Pakistani communities. Low prices are part of the restaurant’s appeal, but plenty of good dishes come out of the kitchen, including lentil stews and probably the best but- ter chicken within a dozen miles. It’s especially fun to visit in the evening during Ramadan and watch dozens of families arrive simultaneously to order mountainous, fast-breaking meals. 1205 W. Trinity Mills Road, No. 112, 972-245-9525 AllGood CAfe: If you designed the Texas diner of your dreams, the result would look a lot like AllGood Cafe. The food here adds gentle Texan touches to American classics, like the fat slices of roasted poblano pepper in the terrific grilled cheese sandwich. The chicken-fried steak is advertised as the “world’s best.” We don’t know if that’s true, but to find better, you’d probably have to drive to some tiny town in the Hill Country. 2934 Main St., 214-742-5362, www.allgoodcafe.com. ArMoury d.e.: When Armoury D.E. opened its doors in 2015, its mission was to offer some of the best cocktails, food and live music Deep El- lum had seen in years. Armoury has stuck to what it knows best, offering a casual dining ex- perience with a diverse selection of Hungarian comfort foods and other good stuff that doesn’t quite fit anywhere else. Venture out back to catch one of their free live shows, curated with a music taste as refined as the bar’s choice in booze. 2714 Elm St., 972-803-5151 BABy BACk ShAk: A half slab at this barbecue joint means seven baby back ribs kissed with smoke, spiced with pepper and just-right tender. It just narrowly beats out the boudin plate as our favorite order, but the boudin is top-notch. The small dining room pays loving tribute to great blues musicians and displays two decades’ worth of media praise. 1800 S. Akard St., 214-428-7427, babybackshak.com/ BBQ kinG: One of the best Pakistani restaurants in the Dallas area is this spot, which started in Richardson before moving to Garland in 2018. BBQ King serves some great naan — try it stuffed with spiced potatoes or topped with a showering of sesame seeds and cilantro. They’re accompaniments to dishes such as haleem, the porridge-like soul food of lentils, wheat, ground meat, ghee, ginger and fried onion. 3112 N. Jupiter Road, 972-807-6910 BilAd BAkery & reStAurAnt: This superb bak- ery got its start turning out excellent samoon bread from Iraq and trays of delightful desserts like pistachio puffs and baklava. Bilad has also had an excellent kitchen serving Iraqi specialties, including some of the region’s better shawarma and falafel, zhug (an acidic hot pepper sauce), fresh tabbouleh and garlicky hummus. 850 S. Greenville Ave., 972-744-9599 Billy CAn CAn: This fancified, all-frills saloon in Victory Park presents a dressed-up, Wild West atmosphere that verges on kitsch while serving up food and drink vastly better than the gim- mick might suggest. An adventurous, affordable selection of wines and cocktails backs up killer renditions of skillet cornbread, Texas red chili, hot fried quail and summer okra succotash. Some of the mains, such as the long-boned pork chop, are over-the-top in a good way. 2386 Victory Park Lane, 214-296-2610 BoMBAy ChowpAtty: One of Irving’s top places for chaat is Bombay Chowpatty, named after a beach lined with street food vendors. The dining room showcases some of that airy atmosphere, with seats arranged food-hall style around a central open kitchen and many of the walls plas- tered with beach photos and Bollywood post- ers. Pav bhaji is a superb order here, as are the bit-of-everything lunch combos. If you just need a snack, go for sabudana vada, deep-fried pat- ties of sago pearls, whole-seed spices and chives; they have the crisp bubbly texture of good tater tots. 825 W. Royal Lane, 972-677-7658 BoulevArdier: This French bistro in the Bishop Arts District has one of the best brunches in the city, a celebrated wine list, phenomenal French cuisine and a stellar oyster program. It almost feels arrogant of them to also have one of the best bars in the city. And, yet, here we are. Not a wine-drinker? No problem. Their hand-crafted classic cocktails will get you wherever you need to go. 408 N. Bishop Ave., No, 108, 214-942-1828 CABritoS loS CAvAzoS: Cabrito is the star at the only full-on Monterrey-style, goat-grilling spe- cialist in the Dallas area. Stare through the glass kitchen wall at the massive pit, above which goat legs, shoulders and ribcages stand like planted flags, then feast on one of the cuts alongside charro beans and the restaurant’s ex- cellent salsas. Few make-your-own-taco experi- ences in Dallas get as good as this. 10240 N. Walton Walker Blvd., 972-707-7020, cabritosloscavazos.com CAfe MoMentuM: Cafe Momentum is a nonprofit venture that employs juvenile offenders and pays them fair, living wages to help teach them life skills, leadership and, of course, how to work in a restaurant. It’s easy to praise the restaurant without ever mentioning food by dwelling on the life-changing effects it has on young people. But here’s the thing: Cafe Momentum is a genu- inely good restaurant, one that consistently manages to stand out from the glut of Southern kitchens around town. 1510 Pacific Ave., 214-303-1234 CAfeMAndu flAvorS of nepAl: Cafemandu boasts the biggest and deepest list of momos, Nepal’s beloved pleated dumplings. Cafemandu even has dessert momos, but it’s probably best to start with the classic steamed variety to ad- mire the thin, nearly translucent dough around the plump filling then work your way through spicy chili momos covered in hot sauce and sau- téed with peppers, jhol momos, served in a bowl of mildly spiced broth, and even dumplings bathed in cheese. 3711 N. Belt Line Rd., 469-647-5067 CAttleACk BArBeQue: In an industrial park in Farmers Branch, Cattleack Barbeque lives up to every bit of hype it’s received. Fabulous fatty brisket and extraordinary pulled whole hog are the stars of the show, as is a vinegar-based cole- slaw. Grab another bite of slaw and you’ll be prepared to tackle that next slice of Texas hot link. 13628 Gamma Road, 972-805-0999 the ChArleS: The Charles is a place to see and be seen, even on Monday nights. It’s all about the spectacle here — including cheetah-print booths and a memorably wallpapered bath- room. The menu is unlike any other Italian joint Alison McLean Billy Can Can’s long-boned pork chop Top 100 from p12
