With parties, haunted houses and trick-or-treating canceled or adapted for social distancing, Halloween is looking a little grim this year, but not all is lost. If you want to raise your spirits, so to speak, upgrading your candy game is a great option. Whether you’re looking for spooky-themed sweets or…
We might not be able to go out and about in the streets right now, but Crushcraft Thai Eats is still serving some tasty dishes. Plus, many of the items are under $10 and make for filling, comforting meals. Your safest bet is home delivery, but if you go to…
Hopefully, a year from now, we’ll be publishing a slideshow of the festive hullabaloo that was the State Fair of Texas. This year, the folks at the fair have wrapped up a season that succumbed to the coronavirus pandemic and pivoted with a drive-thru experience. For 15 days, fair-goers waited…
Chef Stephan Pyles has partnered with Fireside Pies to offer a special menu at select locations. The alliance came together in a Cambodian restaurant during a meeting between Mark Parmerlee, the owner of Fireside Pies, and Pyles. That restaurant had created a separate menu in collaboration with a local chef,…
It’s that time of year again when the leaves redden, the pumpkins sleep on the porches, and you, all besweatered, warm your hands by the box of klobasneks in your passenger seat. “Want them warmed?” is a question Texans should know already — it means your bouquet of sausage rolls,…
Some of Tokyo’s best sushi bars feel like secrets. They’re hidden away down alleys, inside multistory buildings or in bustling shopping centers. A few don’t have formal names. Only the most devoted sushi lovers know where to find them. It’s hard to get away with a nameless restaurant in the…
Dallas County Community College District brings together some of Dallas’ best chefs to fundraise for the district’s culinary, pastry and hospitality program. It’s the 12th year for the event, and it will look different thanks to COVID-19. (We’re working on finding new ways to word such news.) But it’s a…
It was just two months ago that we were talking with Chubby Dog Farm owners about how they were weathering the pandemic. Their pork is on menus all over Dallas, the quality is wonderful and chefs like them — for the product and the two people who own and run…
“I have all very yummy days,” is one of the first things Donna Collins told me about herself on the phone recently. It’s not a bad introduction. Collins is the jelly queen, even though she says there are many, all of whom she’s worked or cooked with over the years. It…
On a recent Sunday afternoon, volunteers gathered at Kirkwood Temple CME in the Wolf Creek neighborhood of southern Dallas. They were there with local nonprofit Services of Hope to help register people to vote and deliver 25-pound “Hope Community Food Boxes” filled with healthy food to families in need. Despite the…
Palmer’s Hot Chicken opens in the Hillside neighborhood of East Dallas Oct. 19, serving the spicy bird that continues its trend through Dallas. Observer writer Alex Gonzalez spoke with owner Palmer Fortune in June, when we got to learn a little more about what this Texas native, Nashville-bred restaurateur is…
There’s hardly ever a morning when a spicy guiso can’t hit the spot. One such place that accomplishes that is Morales Restaurant. Recent visits had us at the location on West Davis Street — on our latest stop, staff told us they’re closing this location and opening another on South…
A new spot for sweet goods is coming to West Lovers Lane this winter. J. Rae’s, a family-owned business out of Fort Worth, will serve cupcakes, cheesecakes, cake balls, cookies and seasonal desserts. Owner Audrey Dixon will open the bakery in the Pavilion on Lovers Lane, adjacent to the Devonshire…
Once upon a time, there was a tiny little taco stand in West Dallas called Taquero. Just a few steps away from the Singleton Avenue traffic, Taquero opened in 2017 with two outdoor tables and seven bar stools. Owner Fino Rodriguez served his food out of a tiny kitchen, passing…
This fall is different in so many ways, but one thing that’s making its usual return is Florida stone crab at Truluck’s. It’s a long season (and we’re thankful for that) running Oct. 17 through May 2. The restaurants work exclusively with their fisheries in South Florida to capture crab…
It was years ago when I wandered into my neighborhood library, the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, and stumbled upon a plethora of cookbooks on the shelves. It was overwhelming at the time: How would I ever have time to discover something I want to pursue, let alone cook my…
Yelp is issuing clear warnings when reports of restaurants displaying racist behavior pop up on the website. The platform for crowd-sourced reviews announced last week it has a new consumer alert for that purpose. When there’s a report of an incident involving racism, Yelp defaults to a general public attention…
The number of fried chicken restaurants in Dallas has grown, particularly those of the Nashville hot chicken variety. But if you thought Dallas didn’t need another fried chicken joint, you’re wrong. There’s no such thing as too many. To prove it, we tried out Gus’s World Famous Hot and Spicy…
The space that was once home to Bolsa is alive again, this time through the lens of Encina. Chef Matt Balke and co-owner Corey McCombs took inspiration from the former’s hometown of Uvalde for the restaurant. “Encina” is Spanish for “holm oak,” which is also the original name of Uvalde…
FestEvents Group (the people behind the upcoming pie auction) is hosting “Chef-ardy” events — virtual trivia nights with a guest chef — to raise money for workforce development programming. Asian Mint executive chef and founder Nikky Phinyawatana will guide competitors through three rounds of trivia with “chef entertainment” in between…
Take a drink to-go from La Viuda Negra, stay and enjoy bites at Sachet with a ginny cocktail, or rent out Midnight Rambler for a cocktail class.
There’s something nearly magical about the reliable neighborhood restaurant. You find yourself craving it, you have a favorite item — even though you tell yourself you should venture out and try a different dish — and you end the meal happy that you’ve returned here. That’s the case with TJ’s…
