The 2020-21 school year looks different from anything we could’ve ever imagined, but several people are working behind the scenes to ensure the wellbeing of students. In Dallas ISD, chef Juanita Mejia has the role of bringing nutritious food to them. As a food specialist in the district, Mejia’s duties…
Café Momentum is expanding its efforts to help young people who have been caught up in the criminal justice system. The Dallas-based nonprofit/restaurant is partnering with Stand Together Foundation to launch Momentum Advisory Co. Stand Together has invested $1.9 million to support the effort, which will build programs to expand…
Good to Go is a column in which our food writers explore Dallas’ restaurant scene through takeout orders, delivery boxes and reheated leftovers. Weekday lunches these days can be great — I’ve perfectly cooked steak in the middle of a Wednesday and felt proud of myself. Other days, it’s tougher…
Encina has its planned opening date: As of Oct. 9 the North Oak Cliff spot by Matt Balke and Corey McCombs will be serving a menu with influences from Texas, California and the South. We’re particularly excited for the expanded, climate-controlled patio. Observer writer Alex Gonzalez has more to come…
If you’re one for ordering in, you may have noticed a new addition to on-demand apps in early January: Meatball Kitchen. You may have even tried its vegan Impossible meatball sub with polenta fries and arancini mozzarella tots. Or perhaps, more recently, you noticed the addition of Sweet Basil Thai…
Through an initiative with the city of Dallas and the CARES Act, Dallas City Council members have been providing some local restaurants with personal protective equipment. “I love our local restaurants,” District 6 City Council member Omar Narvaez says. “But even seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic, some people still…
If you have any extended dining history in Dallas, there’s a good chance you have been in the company of one or more Tarantino. Chris, Patrick and Matthew Tarantino are all trained chefs who in the late 1990s and early 2000s were creating food in the kitchens of The Mansion…
Good to Go is a column in which our food writers explore Dallas’ restaurant scene through takeout orders, delivery boxes and reheated leftovers. As critic Brian Reinhart reminded us last week, now is the perfect time to make your takeout meal a picnic, and a perfect choice for that is…
During the pandemic, we’re all trying to find ways to celebrate, and the upcoming National Taco Day is just another reason. There are countless national food holidays, but considering many of us like to eat tacos every day, we’ll go ahead and use this Oct. 4 “holiday” as an excuse…
First, Kelly Ball wowed us with baked goods at farmers markets, then we heard she would open up her own brick-and-mortar. Ball had just gotten the dining room of Leila Bakery and Cafe running, then the pandemic swept over Dallas. “I think, as a bakery, we’ve been fortunate we haven’t…
In a time when restaurants are pivoting, closing and opening, Dive Coastal Cuisine is getting by, marking 10 years of business. Originally from Southern California, Dive owner Franchesca Nor has traveled from Miami to Europe, exploring every nook and cranny of the culinary and hospitality industry, interning with chefs, running…
Whiskey Hatchet, a new ax-throwing bar in Deep Ellum, will open October 2.
Welcome to October. Opening Soon Basic Taco and Yellow Rosa cocktaileria will open Oct. 8 in Deep Ellum. This week’s release says these two concepts are “designed specifically with COVID safety guidelines and health protocols in mind” (which is nice when we see other restaurants opening with menus involving so…
Every day is a good day for a proper sandwich. No matter how complicated and soul-killing life can get, a sandwich … well, let’s just say sandwiches are super nice. Terry Duncan and Jonathan “Jono” Merrill are the duo behind The Colossal Sandwich Shop in Bedford. They were classmates at…
At last: It’s picnic weather again. I’ve been reacquainting myself with the joy of a good picnic this year since it gets me out of the house without encountering crowds, putting waitstaff at risk or getting grumpy about people wearing their masks incorrectly. Picnics have a way of making a…
Some of Dallas’ best chefs are focusing on pie this month. The FestEvents Foundation is putting together the Piehole Project, an online pie auction to support its culinary and hospitality scholarship program, Chefs of Tomorrow. With 25 chefs from North Texas participating, expect more than your regular flavors. While you…
Six months deep into this pandemic, there’s no question about it: In terms of economic fallout, bars have been among the hardest-hit businesses. Dive bars, specifically, are sorely missed because of their ability to offer the best boozy versions of ourselves. These gems all come with their own form of…
In the Before Times, a great special night out was sitting at the sushi bar of Uchiba, where chef Jon Griffiths would thoughtfully prepare sushi, handing over small plates of nigiri to be consumed as quickly as possible. He’s moved on to other things (more on that soon); the world…
The opening day of the State Fair of Texas is a big deal for my family and me. We plan days off work to attend every year. As the opening day gets closer, the anticipation and excitement build for all of us. We normally arrive, get scanned in and then…
The Streets had far more pickles than they could ever use. They tried frying the leftovers, offering them as a crunchy appetizer, but there were just so many pickles. They’d been testing brines for Roy G’s fried chicken sandwich (knowing full well that Chick-fil-A brines theirs in pickle juice) and…
The Texas Restaurant Association and the Texas Conference for Women announced they have donated $177,500 to 71 women-owned restaurants in Texas. Of the 71 restaurants, 10 are in North Texas with just one in Dallas — Asian Mint, which has four locations in the area. “As we have continuously stayed…
Thunderbird Station, a new restaurant by the owner behind sibling bars Double Wide and Single Wide, is finally open in Deep Ellum. After delays caused by the lockdown and shifting TABC regulations, Kim Finch, the brains behind the operation, was able to open Thunderbird last week, and she considers herself…
