18 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 | rolls of dried seaweed paper wrapped around a quick mix of sushi rice and fish, cucumbers or anything else. They’re a fast-casual version of sushi, basically, and handrolls are meant to be eaten almost as soon as the chef finishes making them. The most careful, considered handroll spot in town is Nori, where chef Jimmy Park builds tasting menus of four or five rolls with ul- tra-high-quality cuts of tuna belly, freshwater eel and more. Fresh, not prepackaged, wasabi is available. There’s also a kitchen in the back that can produce excellent cooked dishes like ta- koyaki, the fried dough balls filled with chunks of octopus. 2814 Elm St., 469-436-6674 Pangea RestauRant & BaR: Chef Kevin Ashade calls himself “globally trained,” and that edu- cation shows itself on a menu that hops across the world, with flavors of France, Jamaica, Asia, West Africa and the American South. Ashade became a champion on Beat Bobby Flay by topping the celebrity chef’s recipe for coq au vin, and Pangea’s recreation of that reality TV moment is a terrific order. But so are crab cakes with almost no filler, Nigerian grilled suya and Jamaican-style beef patty pastries. This restaurant in Garland takes advantage of that suburb’s ample extra space, with two pa- tios and a fabulous bar. 6309 N. President George Bush Highway No. 8101, 214-703-2222 PaRtenoPe RistoRante: It’s hard to argue with the Neapolitan pizza-making prowess of Dino Santonicola, the Naples-born chef who opened Partenope after years at the popular Cane Rosso chain. His pizza crusts have a sour- dough-type flavor, which underpins any combi- nation of toppings. But Partenope is a well-rounded Italian restaurant that also has terrific made-from-scratch pastas, unusually interesting salads and more. A must try is the monster-sized sandwiches, which use extraor- dinary pillowy loaves of bread made in-house. Grab the Super Jeff, with hot soppressata and a mayo that’s spiked with Calabrian chile pep- pers. 1903 Main St., 214-463-6222 Peak RestauRant and BaR: Irving’s first Nepal- ese sports bar was worth the wait, and it’s making the rest of the North Texas cities jeal- ous. Only at Peak Restaurant can you watch a football game with a pint of Dos Equis while devouring spiral-topped dumplings filled with chicken and slathered with spicy chile sauce, or a vegetarian thali based on the Himalayan spice mixes used in Nepal’s small Thakali cul- ture. If this is your first time trying Nepalese food, go for badel sadeko: thin, crisp slices of fried pork belly mixed with green and white onions and tossed in a gently spicy sauce. 3401 W. Airport Freeway, No. 110, 469-647-5500 Pecan Lodge: Probably the best-known barbe- cue restaurant in Dallas, Pecan Lodge started as a Dallas Farmers Market stall before finding a permanent home in Deep Ellum. The best meats here include fatty, fork-tender brisket and crisp burnt ends. Jalapeño-cheddar sau- sage, by contrast, is a tray-soaking grease bomb. Grab the Hot Mess, an enormous baked sweet potato topped with a tangle of barba- coa, a hidden layer of cheese and green on- ions. Using sweet, rather than regular, potatoes is an inspired move. 2702 Main St., 214- 748-8900 PetRa & the Beast: The Saturday night tasting menu we last had at Petra and the Beast was an astonishing and BYOB culinary fireworks show of charcuterie, pork dumplings, cured fish drizzled with paprika oil and charred leeks. At other times of the week, the restaurant acts as a market for house-made pantry ingredients like its spectacular spicy mustard, links of sau- sage and shelves full of pickled and preserved vegetables. It has the best charcuterie board in Dallas, period. Also, watch out for any time when Petra runs a home-style special from chef-owner Misti Norris’ Louisiana roots, like boudin or a bulk container of takeout gumbo. 601 N. Haskell Ave., 318-935-0906 Resident taqueRia: Chef Andrew Savoie’s tacos are straightforward delicious. Cauliflower, kale and other dutiful-sounding greens prove to be better taco fillings than one might suspect, and the braised beef short rib taco with chipotle crema is a delight. Resident’s creative specials — think birria, Philly cheesesteak, duck breast or crab cakes inside a taco — have grown in number, and have become fan favorites. This taco spot also has good local craft beer on draft. 9661 Audelia Road, 972-685-5280 RevoLveR taco Lounge: After the pandemic hit, chef and owner Regino Rojas completely rebuilt the dining room here, walling it off from the kitchen and replacing the huge communal din- ing space with four small, distanced tables. The old Purepecha tasting — at $130 a head — has been replaced by La Resistencia, a reservations- only dinner for half the old cost that focuses on spectacular specialty tacos built on fresh torti- llas made from colorful heirloom corn. Rojas’ fascination with Japanese cooking — much of the food is cooked on a yakitori grill — manifests in tempura-battered seafood and crudos. The bottom line: Before the pandemic, Revolver Taco Lounge was Dallas’ best restaurant, and now it’s even better than it was before. 2701 Main St., 214-272-7163 Roots southeRn taBLe: Chef Tiffany Derry’s triumphant Farmers Branch restaurant oozes joy. The customers are happy, the staff is en- thusiastic, the mood is like a family reunion and the food tastes like a celebration. Derry’s kitchen serves up Southern fare inspired by her Louisiana roots, and traditional and mod- ern takes are brilliantly blended together by Derry and her team. Derry may be the area’s biggest consumer of duck fat, using it for French fries, dirty rice, but most important, fried chicken. The poultry is brined to keep the meat tender and juicy, marinated to give it a gently spicy heat, fried until a deep, dark brown and served family-style on a heaping plate. 13050 Bee St., 214-346-4441 RoyaL china: You’d think Royal China, situated near Preston Hollow and catering to a mostly American clientele since 1974, would have been surpassed many times over by the new wave of Chinese restaurants in Plano, Richardson and other northern suburbs. But this Dallas institution is more than keeping up with the times. Chefs pull noodles and roll dumplings before customers’ eyes at a bar added in 2008, and the menu ex- pands well beyond Americanized favorites to in- clude specialties from Wuxi, Sichuan and Shanghai. Dan dan la mian noodles are one of the city’s most essential bowls, and many of the pork and seafood specialties, like slow-braised Wuxi pork ribs, are just as good. 6025 Royal Lane, 214-361-1771 sachet: Sachet’s vegetable-focused, elegant Medi- terranean plates of food start from impeccable in- gredients, and they’re served in portions small enough that we can try more. It’s possible to focus on a different aspect of this restaurant with each visit: Come once to sample Sachet’s seasonal house-made pastas then return to try a half-dozen or so of the vegetarian meze or to focus on the new lineup of swordfish kebabs and grilled octo- pus. The menu’s influences range from Spanish Iberico ham to Turkish-inspired lamb, with a detour at the end for Tunisian doughnuts, but pastas like green tortiglioni and lobster spaghetti just might be best of all. 4270 Oak Lawn Ave., 214-613-XXXX saigon BLock RestauRant: Many of the regulars at this Richardson institution come to share a bounteous portion of whole roasted catfish, priced by size and served with rice paper, sauces and herbs for make-them-yourself spring rolls. There are also roasted quail and buttery frog legs on the menu at Saigon Block, which specializes in the kind of banquet meals that might mark a Vietnamese special occa- sion. 2150 E. Arapaho Road, 214-575-6400 san PedRo’s: This effortlessly friendly, colorful spot is one of the best places in North Texas to enjoy Honduran food. That starts at breakfast, with San Pedro’s signature baleadas, flour torti- llas stuffed with beans and crumbled cheese. Honduran tortillas are different from the Mexi- can variety: fluffier, thicker and softer, they al- most resemble the batter used for sweet crepes. You can get a foil-wrapped couple of tortillas on the side of many of the main courses here, like grilled chicken or steak buried in a mound of sauteed onions and bell peppers. Want to try some of everything? Grab the San Pedro’s Pin- cho, grilled skewers of meat that come with rice, beans and fried plantains. 2445 W. Northwest Highway, No. 102, 972-807-9064 sandwich hag: Sandwich Hag is the little bánh mì shop that could. Its tiny building, which dates from 1964, has just a walk-up window for order- ing and a couple of picnic tables under a shaded canopy. Inside, a tiny staff led by chef Reyna Du- ong assembles perfect sandwiches built around pork, sausage patties or ginger tofu. 1902 Botham Jean Blvd., 214-484-5971 sichuan FoLk: This might just be the best Sichuan restaurant in the area, one that can dial up the numbing spice or showcase a more subtle side. Af- ter polishing off some superb spicy wontons, look for the dishes with Sichuan peppercorns, espe- cially if they involve seafood, like the spicy fish. If you don’t want peppercorns setting your tongue and lips tingling, they have plenty of milder op- tions, including simply prepared green veggies and a comforting bowl of noodle soup topped with pork and mustard greens. If you have a han- kering to eat frog, this is probably the best place in Dallas to reliably get it, and Sichuan spicy bullfrog, bones and all, will thrill your taste buds. 1201 E. Parker Rd., 972-516-8627 smokey Joe’s BBq: The regulars at Smokey Joe’s know that its bricks of fabulously tender and min- imally treated pork ribs are unbeatable. And owner Kris Manning’s personal passion happens to be brisket, which might be why his has be- come the best brisket between Cattleack and Waco. Its balance — not overly smoky, not harshly seasoned, fabulously tender and moist — is just right. There are some great barbecue sandwiches here, including the GF, with heaping brisket, pick- les and onion rings that stay crisp on the drive home. 6407 S. R L Thornton Freeway, 214-371-8081 sPice thai caFe: There’s really no doubt about who has the best Thai food in the Dallas area: It’s this tiny cafe in the suburb of Allen, mere feet from the new Watters Creek Convention Center. Ask for the “Thai menu,” a front-and-back sheet separate from the main menu that lists spectac- ular versions of dishes like tom sap (sour soup with pork intestines), pad cha (spicy stir fried seafood and vegetables), gra pow moo krob (crisply seared pork with green beans and enor- mous quantities of basil) and hoy tod (a pan- cake filled with mussels). Spice Thai Cafe is BYOB, too. If you can’t stand some extra heat, exercise more caution with spice levels here than you would elsewhere. The real star here is the ultra-herby, fresh-tasting Thai salad of grilled shrimp mixed with lemongrass, lime, ci- lantro and big thick wedges of chile pepper. 201 E. Bethany Drive, No. 10, 214-383-3366 sPicyZest RestauRant: As the only Sri Lankan restaurant in North Texas — and one of Alison McLean Peak Restaurant and Bar’ chili momos Top 100 from p16 >> p20
