18 December 11 -17, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents fried catfish, shrimp and grits, and crispy fried green tomatoes. But don’t ignore the lamb chops here, or the blackened-shrimp-topped deviled eggs, both of which are on a budget-friendly happy hour menu. There’s also an impressive cocktail game. On the weekends, they run a clinic: How to Brunch. Pull out those nice heels you’d been saving, make reservations and buckle up. The oxtail here is epic. Knox Bistro Knox-Henderson 3230 Knox St. knoxbistro.com TOO OFTEN, WE ASSOCIATE French cuisine with stuffiness, ar- rogance, overpriced fare or some combination of the three. Thank- fully, Dallas has Knox Bistro to showcase the best that French cui- sine has to offer in a much more ap- proachable fashion. The menu offers ingredients that aren’t at all complex but are so brilliantly exe- cuted that they taste like something new and fresh. There are delicate soufflés, naturally, seafood (try the branzino) and perfectly prepared vegetables. It’s all reminiscent of chef-partner Bruno Davaillon’s home in the Loire Valley. Mayor’s House by Selda Bishop Arts-Oak Cliff 635 Zang Blvd. themayorshousebyselda.com THE MAYOR’S HOUSE BY SELDA is an offshoot of North Dallas’ Selda Mediterranean Grill. At this second home near Oak Cliff’s Bishop Art’s District, it’s taken up residence in a two-story house built in the early 1900s that was at one-time home to Dallas’ mayor, George Sergeant. The space is both historical and modern with Turkish rugs and colorful pendant lights adding a Mediterranean flair. The menu is large, and things can get out of hand quickly, but just let that happen. You’ll want to get as many breads as you can (like the cheese pide) and don’t skip the halloumi cheese. Kebabs are a sig- nature dish: hand-chopped lamb and red peppers are cooked over charcoal. Then, there’s the dessert tray: everything is made in-house with some traditional desserts, in- cluding cheesecake and tres leches, with a Mediterranean spin. Mot Hai Ba East Dallas 6047 Lewis St. mothaibadallas.com CHEF PEJA KRSTIC’S EAST Dallas fusion restaurant is a local favorite. Over the past several years, Krstic has sharpened his fo- cus with notable results. Mot Hai Ba’s Vietnamese influences are still there, but the menu demon- strates Krstic’s global chops, with house-made pastas or seafood grilled over Japanese binchō-tan charcoal. Michelin took note and assigned it a Bib Gourmand dis- tinction for the past two years for its high-quality food at a reason- able price point. The kimchi and foie gras dumplings show off a medley of flavors and are adorned with caramelized pears and Wa- gyu ribeye. The blend of cuisines symbolizes everything Mot Hai Ba is about. Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen Lower Greenville 1907 Greenville Ave. ngonvietkitchen.com NGON VIETNAMESE Kitchen has brought a de- lightful menu to Lower Green- ville. Start with spring rolls, fried exteriors wrapping shrimp, pork and leafy springs. The bro- ken rice plate of- fers tender rice, shrimp, cucumber, pickled veggies and a sunny-side-up egg. Choose your protein, but you can’t go wrong with the lemongrass pork. The best part may be pouring over as much fish sauce as you like. The banh mi is welcoming and simple, with layers of meat, foie gras pâté and plenty of pickled vegetables and cilantro. A dish you shouldn’t skip is the bun bo Hue, with the bite of spice from chili oil along- side fragrant lemongrass. Ngon received a Bib Gourmand distinc- tion from Michelin in 2024 and 2025. Partenope Ristorante Downtown 1903 Main St. partenopedallas.com 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 popu- lar Cane Rosso chain. His pizza crusts have a sourdough-type fla- vor, which underpins any combina- tion of toppings. But Partenope is a well- rounded Italian restaurant that also has terrific made-from- scratch pas- tas, unusually interesting salads and more. A must- try is the mon- ster-sized sandwiches, which use extraor- dinary pillowy loaves of bread made in-house. The bread is our fa- vorite part, to be honest, but if you want a truly spicy sandwich, grab the Super Jeff, featuring hot sop- pressata and a mayo spiked with Calabrian chile peppers. There’s also a location in Richardson. Radici Farmers Branch 12990 Bee St. radiciwoodfiredgrill.com NEXT DOOR TO HER ALREADY lauded Roots Southern Table, Radici is chef Tiffany Derry’s homage to the Italian-style cook- ing with which she began her career. To de- velop Radici’s menu, Derry traveled to Italy for culinary and cultural inspira- tion, which is evi- dent in her interpretations of Italian classics. Pastas are on point, but Radici’s real work comes via the wood grill where gems like a roasted half chicken, striped bass or smoky eggplant come to life. Try the oniglio alla gricia: braised shredded rabbit blended into a pecorino and guan- ciale sauce, then tossed together with twisted pasta and a few bitter greens to contrast the richness. Southside Steaks and Cakes Fair Park 3125 Al Lipscomb Way southsidesteaksandcakes.com SOUTHSIDE STEAKS AND CAKES first popped up on radar when the family-owned restaurant in South Dallas — situated within 1,000 feet of Fair Park — was added as a concessionaire to the State Fair in 2021. Then, in 2022, fireworks went off when its Peanut Butter Paradise won a Big Tex Choice Award. The more we got to know the owners, Chris Easter and Ni- cole Sternes, the more we were en- thralled not only by the food but also by their infectious spirit and ambition. Southside has a big party vibe inside. The Philly cheesesteaks are two-handed sandwiches over- flowing 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 colloqui- alisms of a trap house, which the owners nickname the spot. And ab- solutely don’t skip dessert here. Turan Uyghur Kitchen Plano 2001 Coit Road turanuyghurkitchen.com AS ONE OF THE DALLAS AREA’S only Uyghur restaurants, Turan Uyghur Kitchen educates as well as nourishes. Uyghur cuisine promi- nently features roasted mutton and beef, rice dishes and kebabs. Since the majority of Uyghurs are Mus- lim, the food is predominantly ha- lal. Dishes like the big plate chicken are simply marvelous, and a small portion was huge, easily feeding two people. This is a braised bone- in chicken stew served on a bed of flat noo- dles and piled high with pota- toes, spring onions, gar- lic, and red and green bell peppers. Try the polow if it’s available, a slightly sweet pilaf- style rice cooked with onions and carrots and served with a lamb shank. We can’t say enough about the deep and savory flavors in the big plate chicken. Bone-in chicken and noodles are seasoned with star anise, cinnamon, clove, white and black pepper “and so on” (accord- ing to the menu). Via Triozzi Lower Greenville 1806 Greenville Ave. viatriozzi.com THERE’S A COMMON REFRAIN that, for all its talent, Dallas doesn’t have many real Italian restaurants. Via Triozzi aims to change our minds by checking many requisite Italian boxes: an exquisite lasagna, daily house-made pasta and several Alison McLean Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen offers a fresh Vietnamese menu in Lower Greenville. City of Ate from p16 Al is on M cL ea n Partenope’s Margherita pizza. Radici covers Italian classics. Alison McLean
