Texas Monthly published its “Where to Eat Now 2022” feature today. The contents therein laud particular dishes from Texas’ slate of new restaurants instead of a ranking or the usual top 10 arrangement. In light of the ongoing effects of the pandemic, says the magazine, “that approach didn’t seem fair.”
With that framework in place, Dallas-Fort Worth as a whole did well, racking up a dozen mentions among the total 40 restaurants highlighted throughout the spread.
The feature is divided by dish, not too unlike a menu would be. Under small plates, find praise for the charred eggplant dip at Sister, the Lower Greenville restaurant that landed on D Magazine’s Best New Restaurants 2021. Ditto Meridian, whose executive chef Junior Borges put his contemporary spin on Brazilian fare on the Dallas map.
Although Tango Room wasn’t a standout on the whole, per our January restaurant review, it did have a few stellar dishes. Among which we and TM agree: don’t skip the seared foie gras. But also, it’s foie gras. It’s forcibly engineered to be delicious.
Under a selection of large plates appears Old East Dallas newcomer Cry Wolf—which you can and should read about in former dining critic Eve Hill-Agnus’ final restaurant review in the February issue. TM calls out the 48-hour crispy wagyu tongue, an undoubtedly good dish. To me, though, it’s really hard to capture what Cry Wolf is and does and serves with a single-dish highlight. What Eve invokes in her review, I think, gets at what Cry Wolf chef Ross Demers is doing in the kitchen:
You can feel Demers’ adventurous spirit throughout. Roguishness imbues dishes such as a raw bluefin tartare with an egg yolk perched atop to mix in, like a classic beef tartare. Or a special of bison heart over creamed onions. Or the house-fermented kimchee served with those ambrosial prawns. Or the bread course’s squid ink-tinted grissini.
For the full list, of course head to Texas Monthly where the story is live. For the quick hit, see the rundown of D-FW restaurants below.
Dallas
- Elephant Bar at Âme, Bishop Arts District
- Carte Blanche, Lowest Greenville
- Roots Southern Table, Farmers Branch
- Sister, Lower Greenville
- Tango Room, Design District
- Thunderbird Pies, East Dallas
- Cry Wolf, Old East Dallas
Outdoor Dining Shout-Outs
- Casablanca
- Dahlia Bar & Bistro
- Desert Racer
- José
- Katy Trail Ice House
- Mi Cocina at Klyde Warren Park
- Kaxon Texas Kitchen & Beer Garden
- Paradiso
- Parigi
- Smoky Rose
Fort Worth
- Maria’s Mexican Kitchen
- Pizza Verde
- Dusty Biscuit Beignets
- La Onda
- Roy Pope Grocery
- Duck n’ Bao
Outdoor Dining Shout-Outs
- Fort Brewery
- Joe T. Garcia’s
- Magnolia Wine Bar
- Press Cafe
- Righteous Foods
- Tinie’s
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