22 December 12 - 18, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents pechuga de brisket mezcal. Do any of the other bars on this list get involved with international barbecue smuggling? We doubt it. Their tacos come four to a plate and are all swaddled in Mo- lina Oloyo Heritage corn tortillas. We’re partial to the chicken tinga - chipotle and tomato stewed chicken - and the roasted carrots and cauliflower vegetable options. The chicharrones con cholula is a perfect bar snack. 3615 Parry Ave., Dallas, 972-685-5666, lasalmasrotas.com. Limon’s: The Limon family’s Veracruzan kitchen sits well outside the spotlight with locations in the west side of Oak Cliff and Grand Prairie, which means Dallas at large is still hearing the good news about their exceptional garnachas, mole veracruzano and picadas. Be careful with the enchiladas verdes: There are habanero pep- pers in the salsa, and a lot of them, which makes probably the spiciest salsa verde we’ve tasted anywhere in town. 3105 W. Davis St., Dallas, 214- 330-0947, www.limonsrestauranttx.com. Loro: Texans certainly hold their barbecue opin- ions close to their hearts, and it’s risky business to attempt to fuse barbecue with Asian fare and not upset fans of either cuisine. Under the guid- ance of Uchi’s Tyson Cole and Franklin Barbe- cue’s Aaron Franklin, the food at Loro soars. Menu options hopscotch between Asian influ- ences like Karaage chicken and char siew pork belly to more traditional barbecue hits like suc- culent brisket or smoked turkey breast. For those who have never stood in line at Franklin’s in Austin or lack the financial wherewithal to spring for dinner at Uchi, Loro’s resplendent fare is the ideal alternative. 1812 N Haskell Ave., Dallas, 214-833-4983, www.loroeats.com. Lucia: Walking into Lucia is much like walking into a home. The hostess (who is the chef’s wife) is genuinely gleeful you’ve arrived; perhaps that makes it better than home. Anyhoo. You’ll defi- nitely want to make reservation. And if the long wait seems daunting, click that box for alerts, which will notify you when there’s a cancellation and you’ll likely get a notification within a week. Be sure to start your visit with a brown butter Old Fashioned, one of the best drinks we’ve ever had. Then consider chef David Uygur’s prized salumi board, which is blessed with house-cured meats, pates and mousse along with house-baked bread. Beyond that, the menu changes season- ally and while it is Italian at its core, this isn’t your typical romp through fettuccine and red sauce. Try dishes like bucatini with mussels or Amish chicken with marinated greens and toasted pe- cans and croutons. Just know, there are no misses here - it’s all hits. 287 N. Bishop Ave., Dallas, 214- 948-4998, www.luciadallas.com. Ly Food Market: An Oak Cliff hole-in-the-wall situated behind a potholed strip-mall parking lot is the source of some of Dallas’ best Thai and Lao food, including superbly fiery drunken noo- dles that might be among the best, and most basil-packed, in the whole state of Texas. If you’re tired of sweet, samey-tasting pad Thai and mild-mannered curries, the Southamma- vong’s family recipes are a hugely flavorful, bril- liantly balanced antidote. Dishes get served from a small window in the back of the market, but customers order at the cash register in the front grocery section. The family that runs Ly Food Market is Laotian, not Thai, in origin, which means menu items like larb have an extra spicy- sour kick. 4440 W. Illinois Ave., Suite 400a, Dal- las, 214-330-9616. Maskaras Mexican Grill: Some of the best Gua- dalajaran food in Dallas comes from this luchador-themed restaurant in the heart of Oak Cliff. Many first-timers come to Maskaras for its extraordinary collection of lucha libre masks, costumes and vintage posters, but they stay because of the awesome tacos ahogados (“drowned” tacos bathing in salsa), enormous tortas and rich carne en su jugo. The spicy shrimp burrito is more than a foot long, and the hospitality here is as big- hearted as the plates are, well, big. The sud- den internet popularity of birria, a Jalisco specialty, became a fan favorite at Maskaras, as the restaurant serves birria three ways: plated as a stew, in soft-tortilla “street” tacos or, most indulgently of all, in fried tacos that are also stuffed with gooey cheese. 2423 W. Kiest Blvd., Dallas, 469-466-9282, maskaras- mexicangrill.com. Milagro Taco Cantina: This second iteration of the once-popular taqueria, Tacos Mariachi, just a stone’s throw away from the original, reprised much of the menu along with a whole new slate of ceviche tostadas and a shrimp burger that comes topped with chicharron crumbles and a jalapeño glaze. The standards include a filet of smoked salmon wrapped in griddled cheese. The shrimp taco, or “taco gobernador” on the menu, is topped with a sweet-sour pickled red onions, pico and a punchy salsa. 440 Singleton Blvd., Ste. 100, Dallas, 469-872-0168, milagro- tacocantina.com. Mr. Max: Mr. Max himself, Hare Nakamura, died in 2013, but his namesake restaurant is still going strong in its third decade of business. A casual oasis of high-quality Japanese food in an Irving strip mall that also contains five hair salons, Mr. Max offers cold and hot appetizers, grilled seafood and irresistible fried snacks like takoyaki, the battered balls topped with dancing bonito flakes and concealing nuggets of octopus within. Half-sized bowls of ramen mean you can chow down on noodles and still have room for something else. 3028 N. Belt Line Road, Dallas, 972-255-8889, www. mrmaxrestaurant.com. National Anthem: Nick Badovinus has had plenty of restaurant success in Dallas. With Na- tional Anthem, he has created a mix-tape of the greatest hits from his other ventures and stuffed them onto one menu. It’s all then served up with a playful smirk for those who are in on the joke. The result is a competent blend of steaks, sea- food and sandwiches that will please all palates, served inside a dining room that instantly brightens your mood. Too often, we get trapped in the notion that well-executed dishes should always be taken seriously, but National Anthem is our reminder that it’s OK to smile and laugh when you enjoy a great meal. 2130 Commerce St., Dallas, 469-677-6166, www.nationalanthem- dtx.com. Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen: Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen has brought a delightful menu to Lower Greenville. Start with spring rolls, fried exteriors wrapping shrimp, pork and leafy springs. The broken rice plate offers tender rice, shrimp, cu- cumber, pickled veggies and a sunny-side 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 pate and plenty of pickled vege- tables and cilantro. A dish you shouldn’t skip is the bun bo Hue, with the bite of spice (as long as you put in all the chili oil) alongside the fra- grant lemongrass. As an added bonus, this res- taurant is women-led. 1907 Greenville Ave., Dallas, 469-250-7183, NgonVietKitchen.com. Niwa Japanese BBQ: Niwa gives Deep Ellum a proper Japanese grill-it-yourself experience, with excellent meat cuts (grab the hanger steak and short ribs), solid noodle bowl appe- tizers and a plentitude of dipping sauces. Your platter of meats comes with handy labels for each type. 2939 Main St., Dallas, 214-741-6492, www.niwabbq.com. Nonna: Nonna is one of the best Italian restau- rants in Dallas. The menu shifts constantly with the seasons, accommodating fresh produce, new cuts of meat or seafood and the culinary team’s latest pasta inspirations. Some of the pastas, made in-house, are unique to Dallas (no, cavateddhi is not a typo; it’s a smaller cavatelli from Calabria). A wood-fired oven is responsible for some of the biggest hits here, including roasted lamb, veal, quail or gulf snapper and the iconic white clam pizza. That pizza is one of just two menu items that never change, along with justly famous lobster ravioli served in a bowl of broth. 4115 Lomo Alto Drive, Dallas, 214-521- 1800, www.nonna-dallas.com. Pangea Restaurant & Bar: Chef Kevin Ashade calls himself “globally trained,” and that educa- tion 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 Pan- gea’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 patios and a fabulous bar. 6309 N. President George Bush Highway #8101, Gar- land, 214-703-2222, www.pangeadallas.com. Partenope Ristorante: It’s hard to argue with the Neapolitan pizza-making prowess of Dino San- tonicola, the Naples-born chef who opened Partenope after years at the popular Cane Rosso chain. His pizza crusts have a sourdough-type flavor, which underpins any combination of top- pings. 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 sand- wiches, which use extraordinary pillowy loaves of bread made in-house. The bread is our favor- ite part, to be honest, but if you want a spicy sandwich — truly spicy, not just a bit of flavor — grab the Super Jeff, with hot soppressata and a mayo that’s spiked with Calabrian chile peppers. 1903 Main St., Dallas, 214-463-6222, partenoped- allas.com. Peak Restaurant and Bar: Irving’s first Nepalese sports bar was worth the wait, and it’s making the rest of the North Texas cities jealous. 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 slath- ered with spicy chile sauce, or a vegetarian thali based on the Himalayan spice mixes used in Ne- pal’s small Thakali culture. 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 #110, Irving, 469-647-5500, peakirving.com. Top 100 Restaurants from p20 Alison McLean National Anthem’s Reuben riff and fries Alison McLean Steamed and chili momo at Peak Restaurant.
