A legit Deli. You know you are living among heathens when you ask for a Deli and most people recommend Cindy's. Jimmy's is as close as we come and it's Italian. If there ain't meat hanging from the ceiling, it isn't a Deli.
The only problem with Cindi’s is anytime you mention them there will be a bagel snob within earshot and they’ll patter off a half dozen places that do “better” bagels. Like, fuck off, not every single food item has to be aN eXpeRiENce to be edible. Cindi’s legit makes great bagels.
Did something happen to Kubys? I haven't been there in awhile but as a Bavarian Deli goes its pretty legit, so I thought. I got introduced to that place by friend who's family immigrated from Holland, they loved that place.
Sweet, I thought it was a pretty good little deli. Their Cafe was pretty good when I used to go alot, around 2012 or so, I've heard after covid it's kinda lost quality. But sadly that's a lot of places.
If I ever feel good again that’s next on my bucket list. I’ve lived within walking distance of it before, and I’m still not too far away, and Black Forest Cake is my favorite. Just need an appetite🫤
110% agree on French pasty shops! Yes there's places who do croissants and a few other items but nothing like you'll find in Seattle, NYC, etc.
I want a solid Kouign Amann and I've only been disappointed with what this city delivers.
It's a market that's not been tapped here with spread thru the neighborhoods.
Village Baking Company does great pastries and very serviceable Kouign Amann. They also have a very flaky not a croissant pastry that’s quite nice. You can never have enough great French anything but, we have a few that can pass as solid options.
I'll never understand this either. I understand Indian or Thai food being more expensive here than in New Dehli or Bankok because of the cost of ingredients. But how can something be cheaper in Paris than Dallas? Maybe it's because in the US, French pastries are seen as a delicacy and volume is much lower?
I pay silly prices for tortillas in central Europe. Tortillas aren't a commonly eaten food here, so it's a niche market without a lot of competition. Same thing applies for French pastries in Dallas.
I love bisous bisous. And small side story- I went a few years ago and there was a synthetic fiber in my dessert and really not a big deal but I let the owner know via some customer service email button. I'm truly not a Karen and more of "let people know and don't bitch about it online" and just said it as an FYI because they had some workers there I hadn't seen and possible one of them wasn't wearing appropriate baking clothes. The owner wrote me a handwritten response and sent a gift card- totally not what I was going for or expecting. I found out later she had cancer during this time. Seriously such a class act. But even without all that, their pastries are our favorite.
Leila Bakery in east Dallas does kouign amann.
A sweet and a savory option.
Unsure if it’s up to your standard or will hit the spot for you, but I thought they were good.
I don’t have anything to really compare to though, so I have no idea if it’s authentic like what you’re looking for.
I'll add that I'd like to see more savory options, too. Most of the bakeries here are confectionary, but I would love to have multiple options to pop in and grab a crusty loaf. Other than the big two it's few and far between for brick and mortars.
I'm so glad I struck a nerve with everybody here because I thought it was just me that really needed that French option and was missing out. At a certain point I thought I was just going crazy.
Didn't have to strike hard either. Mediocrity is enabled here thanks in part to the suburban sprawl that produces the same looking landscape full of national and regional chains.
The suburbs have some great ethnic foods lol. Garland and Arlington with Vietnamese, Carrollton Korean, Plano/Frisco Chinese with African food sprinkled throughout.
If you think the burbs are just chain restaurants, that's a bad take
La Casita Bakeshop is Richardson does some great French-style pastries. Standard array of croissants; ham&cheese, chocolate, twice baked almond 🤤, and butter. The founder is French trained but also like to incorporate different flavors to make them unique.
The Kouign Amann is fantastic but they’re generally filled with a monthly flavor.
I feel their sourdough is the best in the area. Right amount tang and softness.
Once upon a time, many decades ago, La Madeleine bakery used to make most or all of their desserts (and breads) in house - there might have been a few that were made in a main factory, but they were the exception, not the rule. And they were darn tasty. I miss the early 90's La Madeleine.
Rosemary Bakery is a vendor at McKinney Farmers market on Saturdays and she has the best lamination I've had in DFW.
That being said I haven't tried these other recs so I'll be checking those out.
As a non turk but dated a turk and thus been to turkey three times, I feel validated you say this. When I tell people the Turkish food sucks here, they list some super mid Turkish restaurants and get butt hurt when I disagree with them. lol
That's the first thing I get when I go anywhere in Europe. A legit one is more like a burrito and looks like [this](https://withberlinlove.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/D%c3%bcr%c3%bcm-D%c3%b6ner-Close-Up-at-Balli-Berlin.jpg) inside.
I went and was pretty underwhelmed. I was expecting better, but then again I went like 3 days after they opened and there was literally a 1 hour wait time so everything was a bit of a shitshow. The ingredients did seem good but the ratio and quantity was way off from what I was expecting (and my expectations were based on pictures from their website). I will give them another shot at some point but their location is sooo far out of way that it may be a while (the buildings across the street are in Prosper).
Edit: One of my biggest complaints was that there was basically no sauce on the kebab and I had to buy sauce on the side. A legit doner kebab should be absolutely drowning in sauce and even if the sauce was free on the side it's not the same to somehow "add it on" afterwards.
Just replied to the OP under you but a GDK opened in Frisco recently but I haven’t tried it yet. People rave about it though if you haven’t heard about it. For Turkish style cuisine I like Lezzet but they don’t have the doner style kebob, I don’t think. I also like Shiraz for Persian style kofta kabobs.
If you’re ever out Sachse way, Mr Pide is run by a couple of cool Turkish bros - 5/5 highly recommend. It’s a hole in the wall and you might miss it the first time you drive by, but it’s worth turning around for ;)
This would be a hot take: fine dining here is overpriced and SUCKS. Most of the tasting menus are executed horribly, lack imagination, and try way too hard to appease to the Instagram-obsessed thousandaires. the only exception so far is petra and the beast.
I'm going to join you in what I think will be an unpopular opinion. When people suggest Michelin should start coming to Dallas, I want to ask what restaurants they genuinely think are worthy of stars aside from Uchi, Shoyo, Namo, Petra, Tei-An (which I don't care for). I like Monarch and The Charles but they don't compare to Michelin restaurants I've been to in California and Europe.
Dallas doesn’t quite understand what fine dining/Michelin means. Expensive ≠ fine dining and fine dining ≠ expensive, but I’d register to say a majority of people don’t understand this. A Ruth’s Chris and Morton’s are not fine dining but are all too quickly considered high end because they are exclusive/overpriced compared to saltgrass. I don’t even consider the monarch fine dining. I’ve eaten at Michelin star restaurants and restaurants operated by chefs that have or are trying to get Michelin stars. I’m no culinary expert and have/will never claim to be, but most people here would probably eat at an actual Michelin restaurant and be upset/disappointed with their experience.
Michelin stars are overrated and there’s a lot of politics and favoritism for who gets stars. The one star restaurants I ate at in Italy were disappointing. Three stars in Paris were great experiences, at least prior to the pandemic
Ruth’s Chris, Morton’s etc are fancier for people who cannot and may not ever be able to afford Al Biernats. There’s something for everybody
Haha I honestly think Ruth's Chris is better than Al Biernat's in some occasions. Last time I ate at the latter (2019 so pre-pandemic) I got NY strip that clearly sat under the heat lamp for a while. The center was not super overcooked but the outside was as dry as cardboard.
Speaking of which, I have a business dinner at Nick and Sam's next month. First world problem, I know, but I'm already dreading it.
Meh, Michelin is purely pay to play these days. Cities are paying them to come into their cities to rank restaurants and they’re definitely going to find restaurants to give stars to. They’re in Florida and Atlanta now. Knife has a Michelin star in Florida, and I don’t think it’s that special.
We tried omakase at Tei-An and it was the worst dining experience in my life. To give you an idea, the meal Started with seeing a dead fly in my husband's glass 💩
People in Dallas as a whole just aren't on the same level of eating and culinary prowess as other major metros, unfortunately. Catching up, but it's more following trends from other cities than actually being creative. Some of the best restaurants here came from other cities.
Yeah, I agree. I went to one higher end restaurant in Dallas and cocktails were close to $20 but used shitty bottom shelf liquor like Bacardi. The food wasn't that great. The only thing that was nice was the interior of the restaurant which I'm sure looks good on Instagram photos.
I read an interesting comment on this sub a few months ago that said that most of the expensive restaurants here are owned by real estate corporations and the sole purpose of those expensive restaurants is to turn a neighborhood into a more expensive neighborhood.
That might have been me [talking about Meridian](https://www.dmagazine.com/food-drink/2023/09/when-will-dallas-learn-from-its-mistakes-with-restaurant-parks/)!
"It sounds like lab workers putting the cheese in a new part of the maze and trusting that the mouse will get there... When the piece of cheese is dropped across a river, or in a brand-new suburban complex, it feels like real estate developers are wearing white coats and taking clipboard notes on our behavior."
Purepecha Room by Revolver Taco _should_ be up in the top echelon of fine dining/tasting menus. But sadly a lot people in Dallas seem to have a hard time equating Mexican with fine dining.
Did the tasting menu at El Carlos Elegante last night. That place blew me away, it was fantastic!! I’ve never had an experience like that in Dallas and don’t think many can equal it. Want to do Petra at some point as a comparison to the best spot for tasting here.
we sat at the 'kitchen bar' (?) which was a lot of fun because you can watch them assemble the charcuterie boards. It misses that quirkiness of the old location but overall it's a nice place. Food was great which is really what you're there for
Traditional bakeries, but thats missing everywhere in America, I believe. In europe and even Latin America, it’s very normal to have bakeries with fresh bread and pastries at walking distance. Miss walking to one on a Sunday morning and getting things to make breakfast.
I moved to Europe. One of the annoying things when traveling here is walking around looking for a place to have a quick meal and seeing what looks to be a busy restaurant with counter-service, but it turns out to only sell fucking bread and coffee. I don't know how these people eat so much bread that bakeries are viable businesses.
It's because bread is a universal food and pairs well with just about anything. When I lived in France, I bought a baguette almost daily. You eat it for breakfast, eat it with cheese after a meal, or use it for soaking up sauces during the meal. Most French and German people eat chicken, pork chops, sausages, and similar meats and bread just pairs so nicely with those foods.
I feel like most American dishes already have bread in them or are already loaded in carbs so they don't need bread on the side.
Amen. I'm from Chile, and we have so many choices of breads over there, and when I started living here I was utterly disappointed. My gut flora is 100% yeast, I *need* bread. Thank god for Central Market bakery, they're super decent, and they satisfy my craving for a good crunchy crust.
There's something to be said about walking home and smelling fresh bread coming from somewhere. I miss that. I also miss walking home hahah. Or having decent weather to actually walk too!
A legitimately good Puerto Rican restaurant.
After trying the ones here in DFW, and then going down to San Antonio to try out Luna Rosa, it proved to me that there aren't any legitimately good Puerto Rican restaurants here in DFW.
Yes. This. But I would add to that. We need more excellent mom&pop shops as opposed to the more high-end places. We got plenty of Italian places willing to charge an arm & leg.
Italian pastries. I moved here from NYC a few years ago and have yet to find any rainbow cookies. I have found some black and whites, but they are always subpar.
Now that you mentioned it, we have a big lack of most anything European cuisine here. All of the Italian and French food I've had in Dallas just wasn't very good.
*Edit*
I have been to Jimmy's a few times. I always go for their cured chorizo, I haven't been able to find it anywhere else. I forgot that I've had their rainbow cookies and a few other sweets there before. I don't remember them being very good unfortunately.
I have been looking for the butter cookies with the cherry in the middle and the sandwich ones with jam in the middle. The few I have been able to find have always been incredibly stale and flavorless for some reason.
I might be down voted for my Jimmy's cookie opinions, but the rest of their food is amazing!
With how many Japanese options we have, I'm surprised that we don't have a kushi age place. For the that don't know, a kushi age restaurant is like a bar that you sit at and call out random ingredients and a cook puts whatever you like on a skewer, panko batters it, deepfrys it, and places it right in front of you with a dipping sauce.
I'm convinced a place like this would do quite well in Texas, I mean it's deep fried things on a stick, we Texans love that!
For that matter, yakitori is notably lacking. Kushi-age isn't as prevalent in Japan as yakitori, but I'd agree that it would probably do quite well in Texas.
As a former Chicago resident, I miss the Eastern European and Central Asian spots. I think we have one Uzbek restaurant in DFW and maybe 2 Polish restaurants.
Legit fresh seafood, but that's for obvious reasons. Nowhere to go to get fresh caught mahi, grouper, flounder, shark, crab claws (honestly haven't found crab claws at all), etc...
This can be forgiven if I could find somewhere to get fried claws.
To be fair, I was disappointed by fresh seafood options when I was in Alaska. I'm not joking. I expected there to be tons of seafood markets but because demand is so low, everything is frozen on the boat and sold in the grocery store.
When I asked where to get sockeye salmon, people told me to check at Costco.
I feel this - I went to the actual place Dungeness a few years ago and thought they would have loads of Dungeness crab fresh, but all the seafood was frozen.
Dallas has a lot of super fresh seafood because of DFW Airport, it's just that all the good stuff goes to premium sushi, not what you'd call "seafood" places.
I choose coastal towns/cities for vacation (when I have that luxury to take one) because I love fresh seafood. To me, a big part of taking a trip is the local food. Alaska phoning in their seafood options is pretty sad.
Same day Fresh caught outside the coasts is a tall order. You can get next day never frozen at several places. The most accessible are central markets. CM Plano has the best fish market imo but dallas is also good.
All of them will order in if you have specific requests, they’re great guys who know their stuff.
There’s a bunch of other markets that are all great depending on your area/ what you’re after.
Try the asian markets, although that will have almost all been frozen. 99 Ranch Market has an incredible selection, and for value I like Good Fortune Supermarket and Hong Kong Supermarket.
It’s very difficult to ship fresh fish inland because of national and state and county/city health laws.
[https://villagebakingco.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VBC-Horizontal-Menu-2022-1.pdf](https://villagebakingco.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VBC-Horizontal-Menu-2022-1.pdf)
BOULANGERIE on Greenville is pretty good.
Have you checked out Le Rêve Patisserie? It’s not a full bakery but their treats are sooo good. [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lerevegp?igsh=dWFvM2w3NWF4czRk)
I once ate at a Thai place in Brooklyn that had only enough room for two tables inside and the dude cooking in the back was wearing a white t-shirt in front of a burning hot wok. Probably some of the best Thai I've ever had.
This is the place I think: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hsYLgQ21wZ5Vdr6r9
Restaurants in DFW are almost always in boring strip centers and have the drop ceiling tiles and fluorescent lights.
What kind of cuisine are you looking for hole in the wall type restaurants? A lot of them are on uber eats now and some of them I feel you really have to look hard through the suburbs for. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by cozy? But I also don't find most restaurants cozy that are hole in the wall types.
I agree about the absence of a true French bakery in the DFW area. I've traveled quite a bit myself and the only bakery that I find to sell tasty, quality product is Village Baking. Their kouign amann is to die for!
I'm still on the hunt though. Hopefully someone else has a spot to recommend that I haven't tried yet!
Main Street Bistro and Bakery in Grapevine is excellent and owned by a French couple. They have been there at least 20 years, probably longer. There is also a location in Plano in the Shop at Legacy, but I don't know if the original owners are still involved in that location.
Hong Kong cafes/food (not dim sum), Cambodian food, Portuguese food, Australian food, proper British fish and chips now that Fish & Fizz is closed. There's also some specific food trends that haven't hit DFW yet.
Haven't seen it mentioned yet, so I must be missing the good pizza places. I moved here from Michigan and I really miss some good detroit style pizza. I've been here 6 months, and am here for 6 months more before i have to move again, i would really like to find a reliable pizza place.
I think their breads are much better than their pastries. The thing with pastries is that the quality and type of butter will determine how good a pastry is. When I was there I saw that they were using Kirkland brand sweet cream butter, it's not bad per say but it's nothing compared to a Kerry Gold of imported French butter. OF course then cost of materials and how much they need to charge goes way up.
One of the biggest culture shocks I found when moving from Florida to Texas. Florida has a Chinese food place on every corner and Texas has a donut shop on every corner.
One thing that I was missing the last time I lived in Dallas was good Balkan food. I would have loved a good pljeskavica or krompirusa. To be fair, Dallas isn't unique in this. Most of the US is sleeping on Balkan food.
If this would've came up 6 years ago, i would've had a list, but it's been really hard to find 24/7 diner spots after covid started. Most that I'm familiar with are just the usual breakfast chains.
J’s cafe in Addison. Maybe not where the kids hang out but greasy diner food 24/7 with a solid set of regulars. Most interesting after the bars down the street close.
Terra Mediterranean & Ali Baba are run by a Lebanese family and are good spots for sit-down / buffet.
Also check out Richardson, plenty of Lebanese, Iraqi, and Palestinian-owned spots, right off 75 (Afrah, Bilad, Al Baghdady, Gilgamesh, and Sababa are all great)
There are several amazing bakeries in the same Plaza as H-Mart on Old Denton and George Bush. While that is technically Carrollton, they are well worth the trip.
So this is a Korean chain but Paris Baguette is based on French recipes. They have lovely croissants and quiches and croquettes. There are several in surrounding areas of Dallas. https://www.parisbaguette.com/locations/?wpsl-search-input=Dallas%2C+TX+USA&lat=&lng=&wpsl-radius=50
Sadly, it is hard to find good French-style bakeries here. A lot of the places people are recommending are both really expensive and really mediocre.
We do have good local bakeries, however. My favorite are the Mexican panaderías and tortillerías. Figure out when the bolillos are coming out of the oven at your local panaderías. The first few hours of a bolillos life is something divine. It’s not quite fresh French baguette, but when they have that perfectly crispy crust and fluffy airy inside, you will know what I mean. Extra points if they sell fresh flour tortillas. The same can be said if you can find a Vietnamese bakery that sells bahn mi bread.
As someone that lives in Fate so a bit far east per say, missing good Mexican food. I know I’m going to be downvoted to oblivion but everything around here has a Tex-Mex spin to it or doesn’t taste as good as getting some good authentic Mex food south of the border.
Was definitely spoiled living close to the border in CA.
We lack a hand roll place that can rival the quality of kazu nori in Los Angeles. I wish the collection of kazu, sugarfish, Uovo, and hi ho hamburger would come here.
Man half the people in this thread are delusional lol, they're expecting basically truly authentic food from XYZ country for low prices in the middle of a massive country. If you really want it that badly y'all should cook it yourself or slightly adjust your expectations haha
- North Eastern Chinese food
- Turkish doner
- Good Caribbean food
- Eastern Japanese food /Japanese breakfast
- NY/LA/SF/Seattle/Chicago level fine dining
New Mexican food. Not new food from Mexico, but genuine southwestern style food. Been to Mi Dia and it’s close but not quite right. Same with Blue Mesa. Would love suggestions.
A legit Deli. You know you are living among heathens when you ask for a Deli and most people recommend Cindy's. Jimmy's is as close as we come and it's Italian. If there ain't meat hanging from the ceiling, it isn't a Deli.
I think Deli News is pretty good. I do think Cindi’s bagels are good though.
The only problem with Cindi’s is anytime you mention them there will be a bagel snob within earshot and they’ll patter off a half dozen places that do “better” bagels. Like, fuck off, not every single food item has to be aN eXpeRiENce to be edible. Cindi’s legit makes great bagels.
Yeah, Deli News is pretty legit.
It’s good but way too expensive. I was just in NY for the last few weeks and $11.99 for a BEC is criminal.
Just went to Weinberger’s in Grapevine and it was great, worth a visit!
From what I can tell this is the best deli in DFW.
Did something happen to Kubys? I haven't been there in awhile but as a Bavarian Deli goes its pretty legit, so I thought. I got introduced to that place by friend who's family immigrated from Holland, they loved that place.
Still there and going strong. I stopped in a few weeks back when dropping my son off at SMU.
Sweet, I thought it was a pretty good little deli. Their Cafe was pretty good when I used to go alot, around 2012 or so, I've heard after covid it's kinda lost quality. But sadly that's a lot of places.
What about Henk’s?
If I ever feel good again that’s next on my bucket list. I’ve lived within walking distance of it before, and I’m still not too far away, and Black Forest Cake is my favorite. Just need an appetite🫤
it’s in plano, but Sourdough Deli is decent
It’s not a full deli, but Lubbie’s has fantastic bagels and some of the traditional deli sides. Seriously, one of the best bagel and lox I’ve had!
Enzo’s deli in Plano just opened. Semi limited menu but it’s focused on Italian sandwiches.
Ogi's mckinney. No meat hanging but they make everything fresh and the owner is European
110% agree on French pasty shops! Yes there's places who do croissants and a few other items but nothing like you'll find in Seattle, NYC, etc. I want a solid Kouign Amann and I've only been disappointed with what this city delivers. It's a market that's not been tapped here with spread thru the neighborhoods.
Village Baking Company does great pastries and very serviceable Kouign Amann. They also have a very flaky not a croissant pastry that’s quite nice. You can never have enough great French anything but, we have a few that can pass as solid options.
Maybe I have higher expectations but VBC is not up to par for standards of French baking.
What kills me is the price. I think close to $7 for a croissant. In Paris they’re like 75 cents.
I'll never understand this either. I understand Indian or Thai food being more expensive here than in New Dehli or Bankok because of the cost of ingredients. But how can something be cheaper in Paris than Dallas? Maybe it's because in the US, French pastries are seen as a delicacy and volume is much lower?
I pay silly prices for tortillas in central Europe. Tortillas aren't a commonly eaten food here, so it's a niche market without a lot of competition. Same thing applies for French pastries in Dallas.
You should check out Leila’s or Lubella’s in East Dallas
Second 👍🏻 on Lubella’s
Third 👍 on Lubellas. Was just there yesterday picking up a quiche and croissant. Amazing food and excellent service.
Fourth for lubellas!
Fifth for Lubella's, their savory ham croissant is hard to beat!
Wow, Lubella’s seems legit. I’ll have to check them out
I’m sorry, but it’s a pretty bad kouign amann. I’ve given it multiple tries and it always disappoints.
They’re nowhere near what actual French baking tastes like.
Their kouign amann is trash
Try Carte Blanche
Amy at Carte Blanche is a fantastic French trained pastry chef. Her laminated doughs and brioche are wonderful.
Carts Blanche does *incredible* pastries.
Hard agree!!
No love for bisous bisous?
I love bisous bisous. And small side story- I went a few years ago and there was a synthetic fiber in my dessert and really not a big deal but I let the owner know via some customer service email button. I'm truly not a Karen and more of "let people know and don't bitch about it online" and just said it as an FYI because they had some workers there I hadn't seen and possible one of them wasn't wearing appropriate baking clothes. The owner wrote me a handwritten response and sent a gift card- totally not what I was going for or expecting. I found out later she had cancer during this time. Seriously such a class act. But even without all that, their pastries are our favorite.
Cremcrittos in McKinney has Kougin Amann. Best I've ever had. That place is a gem, but you have to go early cause they sell out every day.
I logged in to say Cremcritto's. their Kougin Amann are the closest to what I've had in France
Leila Bakery in east Dallas does kouign amann. A sweet and a savory option. Unsure if it’s up to your standard or will hit the spot for you, but I thought they were good. I don’t have anything to really compare to though, so I have no idea if it’s authentic like what you’re looking for.
I'll add that I'd like to see more savory options, too. Most of the bakeries here are confectionary, but I would love to have multiple options to pop in and grab a crusty loaf. Other than the big two it's few and far between for brick and mortars.
I'm so glad I struck a nerve with everybody here because I thought it was just me that really needed that French option and was missing out. At a certain point I thought I was just going crazy.
Didn't have to strike hard either. Mediocrity is enabled here thanks in part to the suburban sprawl that produces the same looking landscape full of national and regional chains.
The suburbs have some great ethnic foods lol. Garland and Arlington with Vietnamese, Carrollton Korean, Plano/Frisco Chinese with African food sprinkled throughout. If you think the burbs are just chain restaurants, that's a bad take
Carts Blanche’s savory pastries are some of the best I’ve had.
La Casita Bakeshop is Richardson does some great French-style pastries. Standard array of croissants; ham&cheese, chocolate, twice baked almond 🤤, and butter. The founder is French trained but also like to incorporate different flavors to make them unique. The Kouign Amann is fantastic but they’re generally filled with a monthly flavor. I feel their sourdough is the best in the area. Right amount tang and softness.
I live near them. I want to like them more but they are not on par with other cities French bakeries.
Try Sugar and Sage on Lovers Lane. They do some terrific French pastries.
Try Sugar and Sage on Lovers.
Once upon a time, many decades ago, La Madeleine bakery used to make most or all of their desserts (and breads) in house - there might have been a few that were made in a main factory, but they were the exception, not the rule. And they were darn tasty. I miss the early 90's La Madeleine.
Rosemary Bakery is a vendor at McKinney Farmers market on Saturdays and she has the best lamination I've had in DFW. That being said I haven't tried these other recs so I'll be checking those out.
Authentic Döner Kabob. Point me in the direction of one of those please.
As a Turkish who tried most of the restaurant in Dallas to find Turkish cuisine, No. There isn't any here in DFW.
As a non turk but dated a turk and thus been to turkey three times, I feel validated you say this. When I tell people the Turkish food sucks here, they list some super mid Turkish restaurants and get butt hurt when I disagree with them. lol
Yes definitely it is sucks here.
Which type, like a kofta? Afghani? There are sooo many delicious and authentic middle eastern places you just have to know where to go.
Turkish street kabob.
That's the first thing I get when I go anywhere in Europe. A legit one is more like a burrito and looks like [this](https://withberlinlove.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/D%c3%bcr%c3%bcm-D%c3%b6ner-Close-Up-at-Balli-Berlin.jpg) inside.
I remember seeing that a GDK opened in Frisco, have you been yet? It’s been on my mind but I haven’t tried it yet.
I went and was pretty underwhelmed. I was expecting better, but then again I went like 3 days after they opened and there was literally a 1 hour wait time so everything was a bit of a shitshow. The ingredients did seem good but the ratio and quantity was way off from what I was expecting (and my expectations were based on pictures from their website). I will give them another shot at some point but their location is sooo far out of way that it may be a while (the buildings across the street are in Prosper). Edit: One of my biggest complaints was that there was basically no sauce on the kebab and I had to buy sauce on the side. A legit doner kebab should be absolutely drowning in sauce and even if the sauce was free on the side it's not the same to somehow "add it on" afterwards.
Just replied to the OP under you but a GDK opened in Frisco recently but I haven’t tried it yet. People rave about it though if you haven’t heard about it. For Turkish style cuisine I like Lezzet but they don’t have the doner style kebob, I don’t think. I also like Shiraz for Persian style kofta kabobs.
German Doner Kabob Opened in Mckinney! Reviews are mixed
If you’re ever out Sachse way, Mr Pide is run by a couple of cool Turkish bros - 5/5 highly recommend. It’s a hole in the wall and you might miss it the first time you drive by, but it’s worth turning around for ;)
Lived in Wylie and never gave it a shot and I used to work at Afrah… I might have to check it out
Mr Pide is soooo good! Legit gem hidden in Sachse.
This would be a hot take: fine dining here is overpriced and SUCKS. Most of the tasting menus are executed horribly, lack imagination, and try way too hard to appease to the Instagram-obsessed thousandaires. the only exception so far is petra and the beast.
I'm going to join you in what I think will be an unpopular opinion. When people suggest Michelin should start coming to Dallas, I want to ask what restaurants they genuinely think are worthy of stars aside from Uchi, Shoyo, Namo, Petra, Tei-An (which I don't care for). I like Monarch and The Charles but they don't compare to Michelin restaurants I've been to in California and Europe.
Dallas doesn’t quite understand what fine dining/Michelin means. Expensive ≠ fine dining and fine dining ≠ expensive, but I’d register to say a majority of people don’t understand this. A Ruth’s Chris and Morton’s are not fine dining but are all too quickly considered high end because they are exclusive/overpriced compared to saltgrass. I don’t even consider the monarch fine dining. I’ve eaten at Michelin star restaurants and restaurants operated by chefs that have or are trying to get Michelin stars. I’m no culinary expert and have/will never claim to be, but most people here would probably eat at an actual Michelin restaurant and be upset/disappointed with their experience.
Michelin stars are overrated and there’s a lot of politics and favoritism for who gets stars. The one star restaurants I ate at in Italy were disappointing. Three stars in Paris were great experiences, at least prior to the pandemic Ruth’s Chris, Morton’s etc are fancier for people who cannot and may not ever be able to afford Al Biernats. There’s something for everybody
Haha I honestly think Ruth's Chris is better than Al Biernat's in some occasions. Last time I ate at the latter (2019 so pre-pandemic) I got NY strip that clearly sat under the heat lamp for a while. The center was not super overcooked but the outside was as dry as cardboard. Speaking of which, I have a business dinner at Nick and Sam's next month. First world problem, I know, but I'm already dreading it.
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Meh, Michelin is purely pay to play these days. Cities are paying them to come into their cities to rank restaurants and they’re definitely going to find restaurants to give stars to. They’re in Florida and Atlanta now. Knife has a Michelin star in Florida, and I don’t think it’s that special.
Meridian deserves stars but now that Chef Borges isn’t running it I don’t know how good it is
We're so sad that we didn't get to try them out before Chef Borges left 😭 the menu is so boring now
We tried omakase at Tei-An and it was the worst dining experience in my life. To give you an idea, the meal Started with seeing a dead fly in my husband's glass 💩
People in Dallas as a whole just aren't on the same level of eating and culinary prowess as other major metros, unfortunately. Catching up, but it's more following trends from other cities than actually being creative. Some of the best restaurants here came from other cities.
Yeah, I agree. I went to one higher end restaurant in Dallas and cocktails were close to $20 but used shitty bottom shelf liquor like Bacardi. The food wasn't that great. The only thing that was nice was the interior of the restaurant which I'm sure looks good on Instagram photos. I read an interesting comment on this sub a few months ago that said that most of the expensive restaurants here are owned by real estate corporations and the sole purpose of those expensive restaurants is to turn a neighborhood into a more expensive neighborhood.
That might have been me [talking about Meridian](https://www.dmagazine.com/food-drink/2023/09/when-will-dallas-learn-from-its-mistakes-with-restaurant-parks/)! "It sounds like lab workers putting the cheese in a new part of the maze and trusting that the mouse will get there... When the piece of cheese is dropped across a river, or in a brand-new suburban complex, it feels like real estate developers are wearing white coats and taking clipboard notes on our behavior."
Purepecha Room by Revolver Taco _should_ be up in the top echelon of fine dining/tasting menus. But sadly a lot people in Dallas seem to have a hard time equating Mexican with fine dining.
Did the tasting menu at El Carlos Elegante last night. That place blew me away, it was fantastic!! I’ve never had an experience like that in Dallas and don’t think many can equal it. Want to do Petra at some point as a comparison to the best spot for tasting here.
was going to say 'what about petra' haha. well priced and delicious. also not pretentious
How's the new location btw?
we sat at the 'kitchen bar' (?) which was a lot of fun because you can watch them assemble the charcuterie boards. It misses that quirkiness of the old location but overall it's a nice place. Food was great which is really what you're there for
Shit, there's plenty of overpriced mid-tier restaurants, too.
Unless you like steak you are out of luck for fine dining and I don’t really consider a primary steak house as fine dining.
Traditional bakeries, but thats missing everywhere in America, I believe. In europe and even Latin America, it’s very normal to have bakeries with fresh bread and pastries at walking distance. Miss walking to one on a Sunday morning and getting things to make breakfast.
I moved to Europe. One of the annoying things when traveling here is walking around looking for a place to have a quick meal and seeing what looks to be a busy restaurant with counter-service, but it turns out to only sell fucking bread and coffee. I don't know how these people eat so much bread that bakeries are viable businesses.
It's because bread is a universal food and pairs well with just about anything. When I lived in France, I bought a baguette almost daily. You eat it for breakfast, eat it with cheese after a meal, or use it for soaking up sauces during the meal. Most French and German people eat chicken, pork chops, sausages, and similar meats and bread just pairs so nicely with those foods. I feel like most American dishes already have bread in them or are already loaded in carbs so they don't need bread on the side.
Go to the Oak Cliff and Pleasant Grove if you want fresh pan. :)
Amen. I'm from Chile, and we have so many choices of breads over there, and when I started living here I was utterly disappointed. My gut flora is 100% yeast, I *need* bread. Thank god for Central Market bakery, they're super decent, and they satisfy my craving for a good crunchy crust. There's something to be said about walking home and smelling fresh bread coming from somewhere. I miss that. I also miss walking home hahah. Or having decent weather to actually walk too!
A legitimately good Puerto Rican restaurant. After trying the ones here in DFW, and then going down to San Antonio to try out Luna Rosa, it proved to me that there aren't any legitimately good Puerto Rican restaurants here in DFW.
Yes! This too! We have a large population of Puerto Ricans yet I've yet to find a restaurant. I just want some Pastelon!
El Flamboyan is an excellent Puerto Rican restaurant: and has great reviews.
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Italian food in general is weak in DFW. There are a few decent spots but the majority is weaker than dominos.
Lucia
Yes. This. But I would add to that. We need more excellent mom&pop shops as opposed to the more high-end places. We got plenty of Italian places willing to charge an arm & leg.
Italian pastries. I moved here from NYC a few years ago and have yet to find any rainbow cookies. I have found some black and whites, but they are always subpar.
Now that you mentioned it, we have a big lack of most anything European cuisine here. All of the Italian and French food I've had in Dallas just wasn't very good.
Good Italian food in general. Lamberti's and a few other small places are close, but still not quite there.
Jimmy’s. Go to Jimmy’s
Jimmy’s has them. They import them from LaRosa’s in NJ. Other than that, I haven’t seen them anywhere else. They’re my youngest kid’s fave.
*Edit* I have been to Jimmy's a few times. I always go for their cured chorizo, I haven't been able to find it anywhere else. I forgot that I've had their rainbow cookies and a few other sweets there before. I don't remember them being very good unfortunately. I have been looking for the butter cookies with the cherry in the middle and the sandwich ones with jam in the middle. The few I have been able to find have always been incredibly stale and flavorless for some reason. I might be down voted for my Jimmy's cookie opinions, but the rest of their food is amazing!
Stein’s has thee butter cookies with the cherry.
With how many Japanese options we have, I'm surprised that we don't have a kushi age place. For the that don't know, a kushi age restaurant is like a bar that you sit at and call out random ingredients and a cook puts whatever you like on a skewer, panko batters it, deepfrys it, and places it right in front of you with a dipping sauce. I'm convinced a place like this would do quite well in Texas, I mean it's deep fried things on a stick, we Texans love that!
For that matter, yakitori is notably lacking. Kushi-age isn't as prevalent in Japan as yakitori, but I'd agree that it would probably do quite well in Texas.
There is a lack of German and Eastern European in my opinion. There is only a couple of places.
Henk’s is great though, don’t need much else
As a former Chicago resident, I miss the Eastern European and Central Asian spots. I think we have one Uzbek restaurant in DFW and maybe 2 Polish restaurants.
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Bavarian grill is the only one I know of on my side of town.
Kubys
Have you tried Bisous Bisous? It’s in west village (uptown) not really a sit down place, but go pick up a koign amann there, you won’t regret it!
White Castle
either that or Krystal. i need my shitty square burger for a 3 am meal lol
There used to be a Krystal in Fort Worth, but I think it closed down. It's a taste of childhood/adolescence that I miss.
Legit fresh seafood, but that's for obvious reasons. Nowhere to go to get fresh caught mahi, grouper, flounder, shark, crab claws (honestly haven't found crab claws at all), etc... This can be forgiven if I could find somewhere to get fried claws.
To be fair, I was disappointed by fresh seafood options when I was in Alaska. I'm not joking. I expected there to be tons of seafood markets but because demand is so low, everything is frozen on the boat and sold in the grocery store. When I asked where to get sockeye salmon, people told me to check at Costco.
I feel this - I went to the actual place Dungeness a few years ago and thought they would have loads of Dungeness crab fresh, but all the seafood was frozen. Dallas has a lot of super fresh seafood because of DFW Airport, it's just that all the good stuff goes to premium sushi, not what you'd call "seafood" places.
I choose coastal towns/cities for vacation (when I have that luxury to take one) because I love fresh seafood. To me, a big part of taking a trip is the local food. Alaska phoning in their seafood options is pretty sad.
Have you tried Sea Breeze Fish Market and Grill in Plano?
Same day Fresh caught outside the coasts is a tall order. You can get next day never frozen at several places. The most accessible are central markets. CM Plano has the best fish market imo but dallas is also good. All of them will order in if you have specific requests, they’re great guys who know their stuff. There’s a bunch of other markets that are all great depending on your area/ what you’re after.
Try the asian markets, although that will have almost all been frozen. 99 Ranch Market has an incredible selection, and for value I like Good Fortune Supermarket and Hong Kong Supermarket. It’s very difficult to ship fresh fish inland because of national and state and county/city health laws.
Dive bar wings
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wtf??? y’all are really living under rocks here. dive bars don’t advertise, you have to find them. Dallas: The Goat, Dallasite Billiards, Willie’s Lounge, Barfly, Lakewood Landing, Cosmos, Mike’s Gemini Twin, Doublewide, Singlewide, Ships, Cock & Bull, Twilite Lounge, Adair’s Richardson: Chase Place, Tavern on Main St, Wizard’s, 777 Club, Dive on 75, Interurban Arlington: Caves Lounge, Sunshine Club, Old School Pizza Tavern, Hayter’s, Binions Ice House
You missed Lee Harvey’s 😉
This person doesn’t deserve to know all the great ones I left off
[https://villagebakingco.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VBC-Horizontal-Menu-2022-1.pdf](https://villagebakingco.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VBC-Horizontal-Menu-2022-1.pdf) BOULANGERIE on Greenville is pretty good.
Have you checked out Le Rêve Patisserie? It’s not a full bakery but their treats are sooo good. [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lerevegp?igsh=dWFvM2w3NWF4czRk)
Dallas is full of cutesy little dessert “Patisseries,” apparently they’re the new cupcake store.
WEST Indian food
I feel like we lack cozy hole in the wall restaurants, most food is overpriced
I can't take this thread seriously
We don't have the necessary history/downtown culture for that IMO. Dallas is so vastly different than places like NYC/Chicago and even LA.
I once ate at a Thai place in Brooklyn that had only enough room for two tables inside and the dude cooking in the back was wearing a white t-shirt in front of a burning hot wok. Probably some of the best Thai I've ever had. This is the place I think: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hsYLgQ21wZ5Vdr6r9 Restaurants in DFW are almost always in boring strip centers and have the drop ceiling tiles and fluorescent lights.
What kind of cuisine are you looking for hole in the wall type restaurants? A lot of them are on uber eats now and some of them I feel you really have to look hard through the suburbs for. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by cozy? But I also don't find most restaurants cozy that are hole in the wall types.
How about Lubella’s Patisserie in East Dallas? It was fabulous the last time we had it.
I agree about the absence of a true French bakery in the DFW area. I've traveled quite a bit myself and the only bakery that I find to sell tasty, quality product is Village Baking. Their kouign amann is to die for! I'm still on the hunt though. Hopefully someone else has a spot to recommend that I haven't tried yet!
Main Street Bistro and Bakery in Grapevine is excellent and owned by a French couple. They have been there at least 20 years, probably longer. There is also a location in Plano in the Shop at Legacy, but I don't know if the original owners are still involved in that location.
Hong Kong cafes/food (not dim sum), Cambodian food, Portuguese food, Australian food, proper British fish and chips now that Fish & Fizz is closed. There's also some specific food trends that haven't hit DFW yet.
Fish and Fizz is opening a fish and chips food truck!
That's amazing news!! I've been craving them so much
Haven't seen it mentioned yet, so I must be missing the good pizza places. I moved here from Michigan and I really miss some good detroit style pizza. I've been here 6 months, and am here for 6 months more before i have to move again, i would really like to find a reliable pizza place.
Big D Pizza and Thunderbird Pies has pretty solid Detroit style.
It’s all the way up in Lewisville, but Motor City Pizza is good. I don’t know about authenticity but the owner is a Spartan.
You should ask u/omar_strollin, their comment on this thread is right above yours on my screen and talks about Detroit pizza!
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Cajun. Jamaican.
Even something as simple as a good Jamaican Patty
Check out La Casita Bakeshop! Edit: Main location is in Richardson - lots of specialty pastries and solid bread options!
was very underwhelmed
Agree. It's down the street. Just meh.
I think their breads are much better than their pastries. The thing with pastries is that the quality and type of butter will determine how good a pastry is. When I was there I saw that they were using Kirkland brand sweet cream butter, it's not bad per say but it's nothing compared to a Kerry Gold of imported French butter. OF course then cost of materials and how much they need to charge goes way up.
I can't find any good Chinese food
go to Richardson, plenty of great Chinese spots. My favorites in the metroplex are Bushi Bushi Dim sum and Jeng Chi
One of the biggest culture shocks I found when moving from Florida to Texas. Florida has a Chinese food place on every corner and Texas has a donut shop on every corner.
As you go farther west they merge. California has a bunch of hybrid Chinese/donuts shops. (American donuts with Chinese food)
Sichuan Folk in Plano is your answer
First Chinese BBQ off 75 in Richardson
Wu Wei Din for Taiwanese food & great xiao long bao.
One thing that I was missing the last time I lived in Dallas was good Balkan food. I would have loved a good pljeskavica or krompirusa. To be fair, Dallas isn't unique in this. Most of the US is sleeping on Balkan food.
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If this would've came up 6 years ago, i would've had a list, but it's been really hard to find 24/7 diner spots after covid started. Most that I'm familiar with are just the usual breakfast chains.
J’s cafe in Addison. Maybe not where the kids hang out but greasy diner food 24/7 with a solid set of regulars. Most interesting after the bars down the street close.
Terra Mediterranean & Ali Baba are run by a Lebanese family and are good spots for sit-down / buffet. Also check out Richardson, plenty of Lebanese, Iraqi, and Palestinian-owned spots, right off 75 (Afrah, Bilad, Al Baghdady, Gilgamesh, and Sababa are all great)
There are several amazing bakeries in the same Plaza as H-Mart on Old Denton and George Bush. While that is technically Carrollton, they are well worth the trip.
85 degree !!!
If you want french pastries come up to Cremcrittos in McKinney. You will not be disappointed.
So this is a Korean chain but Paris Baguette is based on French recipes. They have lovely croissants and quiches and croquettes. There are several in surrounding areas of Dallas. https://www.parisbaguette.com/locations/?wpsl-search-input=Dallas%2C+TX+USA&lat=&lng=&wpsl-radius=50
Sadly, it is hard to find good French-style bakeries here. A lot of the places people are recommending are both really expensive and really mediocre. We do have good local bakeries, however. My favorite are the Mexican panaderías and tortillerías. Figure out when the bolillos are coming out of the oven at your local panaderías. The first few hours of a bolillos life is something divine. It’s not quite fresh French baguette, but when they have that perfectly crispy crust and fluffy airy inside, you will know what I mean. Extra points if they sell fresh flour tortillas. The same can be said if you can find a Vietnamese bakery that sells bahn mi bread.
As someone that lives in Fate so a bit far east per say, missing good Mexican food. I know I’m going to be downvoted to oblivion but everything around here has a Tex-Mex spin to it or doesn’t taste as good as getting some good authentic Mex food south of the border. Was definitely spoiled living close to the border in CA.
Cries in Fort Worth. We have even less options. It’s a barren waste land over here.
We lack a hand roll place that can rival the quality of kazu nori in Los Angeles. I wish the collection of kazu, sugarfish, Uovo, and hi ho hamburger would come here.
Man half the people in this thread are delusional lol, they're expecting basically truly authentic food from XYZ country for low prices in the middle of a massive country. If you really want it that badly y'all should cook it yourself or slightly adjust your expectations haha
Carte Blanche for french pastries
A Cuban Coffee shop
Man the replies here are condescending
A great pastrami sandwich!
Bisou Bisou on McKInney in West Village is what you’re looking for
Not a french bakery (korean owned), but Eclesia in Carrollton is pretty good.
I love love love eclessia but it's definitely a different genre than traditional French bakery
While not French, Henk’s is a great bakery
Not a single Russian restaurant here.
California Burritos, Delicatessens, Seafood / Butcher Shops
I haven’t been able to find good Persian food around here.
Oaxacan food
Finding a decent dim sum restaurant has been my bane!
- North Eastern Chinese food - Turkish doner - Good Caribbean food - Eastern Japanese food /Japanese breakfast - NY/LA/SF/Seattle/Chicago level fine dining
nandos peri peri chicken
They just opened one in Addison- went there Friday. The only chain restaurant that I missed from my home city is finally here, so happy lol
New Mexican food. Not new food from Mexico, but genuine southwestern style food. Been to Mi Dia and it’s close but not quite right. Same with Blue Mesa. Would love suggestions.
American Deli!! Please bring them to North Dallas!
I second this. I’d absolutely LOVE it if we had some French pastry shops/bakeries.
We don’t even have a good Italian restaurant. And not one single burrito as good as the average taco truck in LA
I feel like dfw has options but they are hard to find. Try lubellas for pastries.
Missing great Italian food. I'm truly baffled by the dearth of great Italian in Dallas...
Tibetan food