RESTAURANTS & BARS

DRINK OF THE MONTH



For months we’ve been waiting for cold weather to arrive so we can partake of that classic rite of winter, the drinking of the hot toddy. Toddies to us are any warm beverage containing a large dose of alcohol and enjoyed indoors, preferably in a toasty, underlit bar reeking with atmosphere. There are a few suitably cozy spots in town: The Library at the Omni Melrose Hotel, Les Saisons, The Wine Press, and The Den at The Stoneleigh Hotel.

KNOX STREET PUB PITCHES IN



HOLIDAY CHEER Knox Street Pub is a bar with regular customers, like a true English pub. It’s a place you can go by yourself to sip a beer or a bowl of soup. When joe Adams bought the bar, one of the customers told him, “We have a nice place here and we don’t want you to change it.” The Pub hasn’t changed and its spirit prevails-especially at Christmastime. For the last 10 years, Adams has put up a tree and bar patrons have put gifts under it. “It’s really snowballed,” says Adams. “We just wanted to do something for the needy, and everyone has pitched in’- including the little old ladies from the neighborhood who normally wouldn’t be caught dead in a bar.

-Mary Brown Malouf

Exotic Eateries Offer Taste of Third World



DINING OUT Do you ever wonder, while dining on some esoteric ethnic cuisine, how the locals manage to eat so well? The answer is, of course, they don’t. Few restaurants featuring food from Third World countries serve what the people in those countries consume daily.

If you want to really get down and experience world travel at the dinner table, drop into the unpretentious Shalimar in Richardson Heights Village (437-2858). It is the only Indian place in town that specializes in the vegetarian delights of Southern Indian cooking- delicious items from lower on the food chain like dosas (paper-thin crepes filled with curried vegetables).

You can try Third World food at either location of the Salvadoran restaurant Gloria’s. The Gloria’s Super Special plate includes delicious concoctions made of cornmeal called pupusas, with a definitive version of black beans on the side. The vegetable accompaniments are the epitome of solid starchiness-fried plantains and fried yucca. Gloria’s-600 W. Davis, 948-3672; 9386 LBJ Frwy. at Abrams, 690-0622.

Ethiopia has succeeded Bangladesh as the archetypal Third World locale these days. But Ethiopian restaurants are getting fancier in Dallas all the same. The most elaborate is the River Nile (7001 Fair Oaks, 363-4128). Ethiopian food, like South Indian and Salvadoran, starts out with your basic flat breadstuff (called injera) and a puree of legumes. But it’s hard to get away from the famous national dishes of beef and chicken, cooked in brick-red sauces fiery hot with chili peppers. -W. L. Taitte

HANGOUT OF THE MONTH

The EI Fertix at NorthPark is a well-known refuge for weary Christmas shoppers. After a day fighting the crowds, surrender to a refreshing margarita. See you there. 363-8621.

Reflections on Romance



ON THE ROAD Who says every dining adventure has to be ethnic? Sometimes romance is the object, and if you have to drive a few miles to find it, doesn’t the luxury of seclusion deserve the effort? The most romantic restaurant environment in Texas, for my money, is less than an hour from Dallas-in Fort Worth’s downtown Worthington Hotel, where Reflections offers a lavish setting for liaisons, dangerous or otherwise. Your candlelit table sits alongside a murmuring indoor brook between graceful art deco columns. Piano music drifts from somewhere outside your charmed world. Minions fill your tall, stemmed crystal glasses with wine and bring New American dishes as creative and beautifully presented as the place itself. Lighting is soft, the walls darkly rich-Reflections has atmosphere to spare. Expensive? Yes-what five-star evening isn’t? But then, who can attach a dollar value to romance? Because if it’s a nice, cozy, practical dining experience you’re looking for, you may as well stay home. Reflections is world-class, major league romantic, and we mean with a capital R. Our advice: go for dinner, but be prepared to spend the weekend.

-Betty Cook

NEW RESTAURAN



Cafe Pacific’s First Cousin Opens To A Packed House



PATRIZIO Any similarity between Jack Knox’s merrily mobbed new Highland Park Village trattoria and its sweetly stodgy predecessor, the S&S Tearoom, is purely geographical. The old air of hushed refinement has been washed away in an incredible torrent of social sound, ricocheting off plaster and tile. Nights and weekends the bar area is packed breast-to-belt buckle with Park Cities types waiting for their turn at table, sometimes for an hour or more. Few seem to mind-the bellinis are sensational, and anyhow, everyone they know, or might want to, is there. But whether the food will command their ongoing affection remains to be seen. The fare is billed as “New York-style Italian,” prepared from authentic family recipes, according to Chef Steve Valenti. Not to argue that point, Patrizio is the First Italian menu I’ve seen in which veal, chicken, and fish do not appear. The omission is understandable-Knox’s other Village restaurant, Cafe Pacific, covers these bases in first-class fashion. Rather than compete with his own success, he’s designed Patrizio to complement it by concentrating on pizzas, pastas, and various vegetable combinations, along with an all-Italian wine list, all at commendably modest prices: the most expensive single food item is a large cheese pizza at $8.75.

In the appetizer arena, the toasted ravioli was dry, rather than crisp, and rather tasteless, but baby crab claws sautéed in herb-spiked lemon sauce were toothsome. A grilled vegetable plate billed under salads was a superb assortment of fresh bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and red onions, nicely seasoned with herbs and olive oil and sided with spicy marinara sauce for dipping. A cold salad of red and green bell peppers and onions was delectably dressed with garlic, but the peppers, rather than being roasted as promised, seemed to have been barely blanched. A Caesar salad, though, was perfection itself, delicate young romaine leaves tossed with Parmesan and croutons in a dressing with just enough anchovy snap.

Of the pastas we tried, spaghetti carbonara was by far the best, the pasta al dente, the sauce a heavy amalgam of Parmesan-enriched cream lavishly studded with bacon and ham. Linguini with white clam sauce was pallid in comparison, bland rather than subtle; rigatoni was pungently permeated with toasted garlic and olive oil. Manicotti was plump with mixed cheeses under a meat sauce that struck me as a close cousin to chili.

Desserts might have seemed more outstanding if we’d had room left to enjoy them. In any event, a fine espresso lightened our outlook. 25 Highland Park Shopping Village. 522-7878. Mon-Thur 11:30 am-midnight, Fri & Sat 11:30 am-1 am, Sun 11:30 am-11 pm. MC, V, AE. Inexpensive. -Betty Cook

Well-Mannered Mediterranean



ADELMO’S Just what is a Mediterranean restaurant? The flip answer would be “an Italian restaurant that serves either paella or couscous.” But in fact, this category is as fluid as it is trendy. Each new restaurant gets to define itself as it comes along. In the case of our newest Mediterranean place, Adelmo’s, the definition it has come up with is a winner.

Adelmo Banchetti is a former maitre d’ of the Pyramid Room, a job that has bred some of Dallas’s most notable independent restaurateurs. He has opened his own place in the narrow quarters on Cole Avenue that formerly housed the Red Moon and, most recently, Three Vikings. Obviously word of mouth spread quickly-the restaurant was full on a weekend evening before it had been open three weeks.

The wonderful food surely contributed to the early rush. The style of most of the dishes is not specifIcally either Italian or French, the two leading influences. I’d call it Continental, with a large and well-judged infusion of fresh herbs. There’s no detectable Spanish influence, but there are touches of North African ingredients-so you get couscous, but not paella, at Adelmo’s. One of the two dishes that come with the North African grain specialty is the rack of lamb. The little riblets are perfectly cooked and carved. They are drizzled with a delicate sauce breathing fresh rosemary, then served atop the lightest, fluffiest couscous imaginable.

The other entrees we sampled were similarly distinguished. We tried veal scallopini two ways-one in a Madeira sauce, the other in a more recherche treatment called calamata brown sauce. Both brought to the table cuts of veal a little thicker than the traditional scallops-meaty little pillows cooked to perfect tenderness. The Madeira sauce was delicate almost to a fault, the calamata sauce somewhat more assertive but still subtle, tasting of Chianti boiled down with the juice of calamata olives. (Though all the sauces we tried at Adelmo’s were flavorful, they lacked a certain distinctiveness.)

Two of the sauces were a bit punchier. Grilled snapper featured a sauce of yellow tomatoes, peppers, olives, and capers. The most assertive dish of all was a serving of meat tortellini in a very distinctive fresh tomato sauce that rang with the tastes of fennel and chicken liver. A magnificent length of duck sausage-again strongly tasting of fennel-was sliced across the top.

Appetizers at Adelmo’s don’t sound very exciting but are executed with distinction. The veal tortellini are in a cream sauce heavily flavored with fresh tomato and fresh basil, the shrimp sautéed in white wine lemon butter are zesty, and the crab cakes are accompanied by a Harissa pesto sauce. The minestrone soup is authentically Mediterranean, with a hefty spoonful of pesto stirred in. One appetizer harkens back to Banchetti’s days at the Pyramid Room-the deliciously spiced, immaculately fresh beef tartare.

After the glories of Adelmo’s earlier courses, the list of desserts seems anticlimactic. But the ice cream ringed and topped with meringues and chocolate sauce was most appealing. And the final Middle Eastern influence was the most delicate, most delicious version of baklava we have ever eaten. It was the perfect ending to an evening at one of Dallas’s loveliest new restaurants. 4537 Cole. 559-0325. Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30 am-2 pm; dinner Mon-Sat 6-10:30, closed Sun. All credit cards. Moderate to expensive. -W.L. Taitte

A Romanian Adventure In North Dallas

ATHENEE CAFE Most new-restaurant owners can expect a certain amount of spontaneous walk-in traffic to help them get off the ground. Constantin Ispas is not among them. His first eatery, Skyview Cafe, tucked on the top floor of the Manor House apartment tower downtown, was, in fact, so far off the ground it was almost inaccessible. Still, a loyal clientele grew from word of mouth. His new place, Athenée Cafe, is more accessible, but less conspicuous, set in one of those characterless little strip centers in Far North Dallas, invisible to any but intrepid adventurers and Those Who Know. Clearly, for Constantin Ispas, it’s going to have to be word of mouth again.

But it shouldn’t take long. Athenée Cafe is one of those rare, offbeat little restaurants you owe it to yourself to discover. The food is Romanian-as is Ispas himself-home-cooked in style, just different enough to be exotic but not alien, familiar enough to be comforting without boring. The ambience is warm and intimate, the decor romantic. The wine list is reasonable with a handful of well-known French and American labels, and a half-dozen Romanian varietals.

Everything here is made from scratch, including the sturdy white bread that went particularly well with white caviar salad-an appetizer of carp roe mixed with olive oil and seasonings, the salty fish eggs nicely complemented by parsley-flecked minced onion. The bread was fine, too, for finishing off the garlicky jus the escargots left behind, as well as the elegant vinaigrette that raised a salad of roasted red bell peppers to joyous heights. A gypsy snack of fresh Romanian ham slices enfolding puréed eggplant was pleasantly substantial without being heavy.

Entrees are preceded by salad or soup; I found the salad, of iceberg lettuce topped with carrot strings and too-sweetly dressed, forgettable. The soup, though, was lovely, a colorful melange of vegetables in a rich, tomato-tinged broth.

Oversweetness, too, marred our only entree disappointment, duck a la Athenée; the half-duckling, nicely roasted, lost its own flavor in that of the orange cream sauce that covered it. Better by far was a combination of roast pork sliced thin and served with homemade sausage in a fresh, lively tomato sauce. And best of all were stuffed cabbage-the leaves stuffed with beef and rice, then simmered in red wine- and Moldavian calf liver, thin-sliced and silken, verging on rare in a lively cream sauce under a crown of sliced mushrooms and onions.

Of the desserts offered, you need only try one because the house specialty is to die for. Constantin calls it Romanian pie; leaves of phyllo stuffed with cheese and plump raisins, anointed with thick, naked cream, and served warm, it is the stuff of which dreams are made. So is the Turkish coffee, a heady brew, indeed, and worth every minute of the hours it will keep you awake. Just as Athenée Cafe is worth every mile of the trip it takes you to reach the place. 5365 Spring Valley at Montfort, Suite 150. 239-8060. Lunch Mon Fri 11 am-2 pm; dinner Mon-Sat 5:30-11 pm. All credit cards. Moderate. -B.C.



Traditional Greek Fares Well

ATHENS CAFE We drove out to a North Dallas shopping strip to find a new Greek restaurant and located Athens Cafe by its sign, the only feature that distinguished it from the hair salon, or the furniture store, or any of its neighboring tenants. So much for appearances-outside, Athens Cafe may look like a suburban transient, but inside it feels like it’s been there 50 years. The soft light, tall, dark tin ceilings, and antique wood and onyx bar create a mellow atmosphere like that of a venerable New York neighborhood restaurant. And the long room is filled with the smells of good Greek food and the warmth of friendly Greek attitudes.

Athens Cafe is a family-run restaurant, and the service was of the personally solicitous kind usually found only in places where the owners work.

The menu includes Greek specialties and a selection of seafood; always on the lookout for good Greek food in Dallas, we stuck with the former and were not disappointed. The Greek appetizer platter included a pair of lemon-sauced dolmas (stuffed vine leaves), a scoop of taramasalada (seasoned fish roe), two squares of spanakopita (cheese and spinach in phyllo pastry), some slices of gyros (probably the best I’ve had in Dallas), and a puddle of tart yogurt afloat with cubes of feta. The Greek salad that followed was a little too soggy with dressing for my taste, but had plenty of the requisite feta, tomatoes, and olives amidst the lettuce.

The gyros plate held a pile of the sliced sausage, along with lettuce, tomato, and pita for making your own Athens street-style sandwich; “village-style lamb” was simply a plate of tender, well-done slices in natural juice, the way they serve it in roadside tavernas. Pastitsio was slightly overwhelmed by its cinnamon seasoning, which drowned out the bechamel-bound macaroni and lamb, but the shrimp was nicely balanced between the flavors of crumbled feta cheese and basil-scented tomato sauce.

Coffee and baklava ended the meal traditionally; even better was the untraditional but good idea of the nutty, honey-drenched pastry crumbled over vanilla ice cream. 5290 Beit Line Rd, Suite 118. 991-9185. Sun-Thur 11 sun-10 pm, Fri & Sat 11-11. All credit cards. Inexpensive to moderate. -Mary Brown Malouf



A Cow By Any. Other Name

CRAVEN HEIFER Home cooking, Texas style, is what I grew up with and know best. Counterfeits cannot escape me, and cute tricksters had better not try.

Craven Heifer’s cute tricks, though, err mostly on the side of right, which is forgivable. Old-style, home-cooked vegetables, for instance, are never undercooked like the fresh crispness good health now demands and this restaurant delivers. I have never had better zucchini than the crunchy rounds served here.

Our first visit, for lunch, began with a gumbo that might have been thickened with chalk-it was that pale and dreadful; second visit’s bean soup, however, was a redeemer, sensitively seasoned in a deep-flavored stock. A lunch salad (First visit) came heaped in a bowl too small to hold it, with a creamy cucumber dressing that had little flavor; at dinner, which is family-style (seconds on request) for a dollar or so more, toss-it-yourself salad components were brought separately, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes in one bowl, greens in another, a selection of dressings on the side.

Unluckily for us, the luncheon entrees were the only two that might have prompted us to ask for seconds-although, honestly, servings here are so huge I can’t imagine anyone’s having room for more than one. Chicken-fried steak was wonderfully tender and crisp-coated, and a whole fried catfish was exemplary in flavor and cornmeal-crusted tenderness.

At dinner, Mother’s Meat Loaf rated only polite applause; the vast slab’s own flavor was quite obliterated by a thick mantle of heavy tomato sauce. Pot roast possessed the proper simmered-all-day-Sunday essence, but the beef was almost too stringy to chew.

Desserts were also substantial. Catherine’s Special, an apple strudel cheesecake, seemed fairly commonplace to me, although its top slice of Wisconsin Cheddar was a tasty touch; bread pudding, a big-as-a-brick chunk, was outstanding, dense-textured without being heavy, rich with plump raisins, and lightly scented with tangy lemon sauce.

Service was amiable in the extreme on both visits, and the clean, natural-wood decor of the place created a warm setting for leisurely cud-chewing-which is as close as I can come to justifying the bovine nomenclature. 4814 Greenville. 739-0943. Open daily 11 am-11 pm. MC, V, AE. Inexpensive. -B.C.



La Bodega: A Joyless Experience

LA BODEGA Shopping and Tex-Mex are such constants in Dallas that it seems odd that Preston Center has been without a good Mexican restaurant for so long. As a typical Dallasite, then, I was happy to see La Bodega open at the corner of Preston and Sherry Lane. Unfortunately, my joy didn’t last long.

La Bodega is a spiffy looking space, a “designer” Mexican restaurant, not a funky one. The patio outside is appealing, and the dramatically lit interior, hung with old photographs of banditos and centered around a gentle fountain, is stylish and comfortable. But, on our visits, the food simply hasn’t measured up.

While the chips were light and crisp, the salsa was flavorless and the chili con queso had an off-flavor I would hate to diagnose. Nachos were thick with beans and cheese piled on unmistakably stale chips. The red snapper Vera Cruz style had an overwhelmingly fishy taste and the cheese enchiladas a gluey consistency. Only the beef filet, smothered with ranchera sauce and glazed with cheese, was really good.

Given the location, which is so convenient, and the quality of the service and the surroundings, which prove somebody cares about this place, I’ll probably go back to La Bodega for a third and fourth visit, hoping it can prove my first impressions wrong. 8201 Preston Rd, Suite 100. 691-1552. Mon- Thur & Son 11 am-10 pm, Fri & Sat 11 am-10:30 pm. MC, V, AE. Inexpensive to moderate. -M.B.M.

Pappas Family Wins With New Cantina



PAPASITO’S Pappasito’s opened in a hurry on Central Expressway-they didn’t even wait for a liquor license. However, none of this shows itself to the diner; the Pappas family owns several restaurants in Houston, and this is a strictly professional operation.

It’s difficult to rate the decor, because I never saw it completed, but it seems to be shaping up in the casual, semi-funky style that has become the norm for Mexican restaurants that call themselves “cantinas”: cement floors, unfinished wood, cactus, and beer signs. Necessarily noisy, and fun.

The menu is what you’d expect-not ground-breaking adventurous, but definitely trendy, with an emphasis on mesquite-grilled foods. We split our attention between the fajitas and the traditional Tex-Mex and were happy, and overwhelmed, with both. The regular order of fajitas is a mountain of tender, savory strips accompanied by remarkably good, extra-thick flour tortillas, a bowl of beans, a mound of guacamole. Enchiladas were the diameter of hot dogs, overflowing with cheese, and smothered in chili. Everything we tried was good, but the sheer quantities of food we couldn’t finish made me feel guilty. 723 N Central Expwy. 480-8595. Tue-Sat 11 am-2 pm; dinner Tue-Sat 5-9 pm. MC, V, AE. Moderate.

-M.B.M.



KU: The Food Doesn’t Kut It

KU On a weekend night, this club-cum-restaurant has a constant stream of traffic. But, despite the apparent success of the place, the establishment has already gone through several major staff changes. We waited until things settled down to check the food out, since the original concept for the place put a lot of emphasis on the kitchen, but the food didn’t seem all that ambitious.

The original touches of Cajun and Southwestern influence have, for the most part, disappeared. The fried calamari were tinted red by some cayenne in the batter, and the pinkish dipping sauce alongside packed a peppery wallop. But that was about all. Perhaps the tastiest thing on the menu was the house pizza. The thick, puffy crust was whole wheat, and the toppings included pepperoni, chopped bell peppers, and chopped onions, along with a tangy marinara sauce and mozzarella. A dip made of spinach and artichokes, also topped with a lot of cheese, and the broccoli cheese soup both seemed perfunctory.

Entrees, though reasonably priced, seemed simple in the extreme: butterflied chicken breast, a fillet of red snapper, and a ribeye steak had all been grilled and served with plain-Jane accompaniments. The angel-hair pasta pescatore was, as usual for this delicate noodle, overcooked; the seafood sauce seemed meager-some shrimp and a lot of chunks of fish, all in a pleasant but unremarkable sauce. The list of wines to accompany the food seemed short and scanty for a place where the main raison d’etre is drinking.

We don’t know what happened to the original plans to make KU notable as a restaurant as well as a club. But as things stood on our visit, KU is not the place to go if the main thing in mind is eating. 3232 McKinney Ave. 953-3040. Lunch daily 11 am-2:30 pm; dinner Sun-Tue 6-10 pm, Wed-Sat 6-11 pm. All credit cards. Moderate. -W.L.T

D REVISI



BARBECUE



D Revisits Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse. We wondered-half in fear, half in hope-whether anything had changed at Sonny Bryan’s since Sonny sold the place. Nope. Still the best barbecued beef in town, still with a nearly intolerable comfort level. If anything, eating in the little school desks with napkins and assorted other trash on the floor seemed more depressing than ever . . . and they had run out of onion rings before we got there. The ribs, this time around, didn’t seem much of anything special. That left the perfectly textured, flavorful sliced beef as the one draw of this world-famous, run-down shack. If anything, the beef had a mite less of its fabulous smoky flavor than before. On inspection, it seemed that the meal had been trimmed too closely after cooking. Why would anybody cut off all that meaty crust, the best pan of the barbecue? Maybe this is some sort of health kick, but whatever the reason, it is a dangerous innovation. 2202 Inwood. 357-7120. Inexpensive. -W.L.T.



CAJUN



D Revisits Cafe Margaux. Now in its third location. this enterprise of Tom and Kay Agnew has been one of our favorite Dallas restaurants from the beginning. The new location, in a shopping strip on Oak Lawn just south of Highland Park, finds the place in its best form in a long while. The informal setting isn’t makeshift like the first spot on Lovers Lane, and it isn’t unfriendly and hard to get around in like the second venue. It now reminds you of some of the better places to eat in New Orleans.

So does the food. Cafe Margaux has given up its overpriced, underwhelming “light cuisine” dishes and its touches of East Indian influences, and now concentrates entirely on interesting variations of food you might actually eat in the Big Easy itself.

The dishes we sampled were fantasies on three leading Louisiana foodstuffs: crawfish, crab, and snapper. For appetizers we had a crawfish étouffée as good as any we have eaten, and a softshell crab that seemed to have been frozen but still had an acceptable texture and a good flavor, topped with a beurre blanc. As the entrées, the red snapper was topped with barbecued crawfish-a special of the day that we had never even seen in New Orleans. Despite the daring unorthodoxy, we succumbed with pleasure to the idea. The Pacific snapper fillet was topped with generous pieces of lump crab meat in Creole garlic meuniére sauce. Both were accompanied by extraordinary side dishes: grits enriched with plenty of Parmesan cheese, lady cream peas (a more delicate cousin of black-eyed peas), and the most garlicky, most delicious green beans sautéed with mushrooms in our experience.

The desserts at Cafe Margaux were fine, too. The chocolate pecan pie had a big dollop of bourbon whipped cream on the side. The bread pudding sadly did not, and seemed a little dry. So we stole some of the spiked whipped cream and all was perfect. 4216 Oak Lawn. 520-1985. Moderate to expensive. -W.L.T.

D Revisits Copeland’s. What hath Paul Prudhomme wrought? The publicity-mad New Orleans chef has convinced the country, the whole world, that Louisiana cooking is little more than a lot of cayenne and too many herbs. And Prudhomme has a willing protege in Far North Dallas. Restaurateur Al Copeland (also the owner of Popeye’s Fried Chicken) embarked on an ambitious endeavor to build a national chain to serve this kind of stuff. But locally at least, interest in Cajun is somewhat on the wane. Several new-style New Orleans restaurants have bitten the dust. So maybe everybody won’t be misled into thinking that this great cuisine is supposed to consist of dishes like Veal Copeland’s, nicely sautéed, breaded veal served up with a side of pasta overwhelmingly flavored with tasso (the spicy smoked Cajun sausage) and shrimp.

Despite all this, the kitchen at Copeland’s executes its recipes well enough. You won’t find dried-out fish or burned meat. The fere can be uneven though. The shrimp Carribe comes in a cloyingly sweet coconut batter, the fish (a fillet of corvina, in this case) has a slightly better stuffing, and the catfish Acadiana is topped with a creamy shrimp butter sauce that doesn’t go with it at all. Perhaps (he best entrée is the pork ribs Ponchartrain. 18 ounces of meat and bones first smoked, then charred; the sauce has a bit of the neon taste of the rest of the food here, but the underlying richness and tenderness of the ribs saves them. The main dessert, a mile-high ice-cream pie, is a crowd-pleaser, but the night we were there, it was served so cold and hard that it was almost impossible to eat. 5353 Bell Line. Addison. 661-1883. Moderate- -W.L.T.



CHINESE



D Revisits Cathy’s Wok. This place, run by a well-known teacher of Chinese cooking, does a tremendous takeout business. It is harder to manage a successful meal in house, since the food is served on individual plates (making sharing difficult) and different portions on an order may come out of the kitchen at fairly wide intervals. The menu brags about the reduced sodium and calories in the recipes, and says that most dishes are MSG-free. That jibes with the experience of eating here, since the food lends to taste un- doctored and a little bland. Most of the menu consists of standards, and the staple dishes of a meat stir-fried with vegetables can seem lackluster without the added fillip of MSG (which the Chinese call “taste powder”). Even so. the cashew chicken has a bountiful amount of the nut, and the mixed vegetables in moo goo gai pan are a deluxe assort ment, even including some zucchini slices. For those who want to range farther afield, the sesame chicken is quite sweet, and the Shanghai pork has a tangy dark sauce. Aside from the health angle, the one thing that makes Cathy’s Wok stand out is the prices, which are almost low enough to rival the fesi-food places. 4010 W 15th. Suite 80, Piano. 964-0406. Inexpensive. -W.L.T.



D Revisits Hong Kong Royale. This is the Big Even- ing restaurant for Richardson’s large Chinese population, so the decor is ornate and the menu contains lots of unusual and authentic offerings. Hong Kong Royale focuses on seafood. We sampled a reasonably priced baked lobster with chili in a hot pot-it had lots of peppers and that barely cooked tex ture beloved of the Chinese. The shrimp with walnuts was nothing like the usual dish by that name-these were crisp ly turned in oil, then coated with a sauce of mayonnaise-like consistency. The candied walnuts made an elaborate garnish. Pan-fried scallops coated with shrimp meat were certainly grand enough for a banquet dish-large golden balls accom panied by whole heads of baby bok choy. Gorgeous to look at, this dish disappointed expectation by proving to be bland in taste and texture. Some of the best eating came from the less ambitious offerings like chicken with an abundance of vegetables and beef chow foon-wide noodles turned in a heavy dark sauce. 221 W Post, Richardson. 238-8888. Moderate to expensive. -W.L. T.



GERMAN/EASTERN EUROPEAN



D Revisits The Chimney. I’d heard that this Swiss-Austrian landmark had a new chef, but if the report is true. 1 saw no evidence of it on our recent visit. The menu was unchanged as far as I could tell, and most of the favorites I cannot resist reordering were as I remembered them: the bundnerfleisch-razor-thin, air-dried beef cured. I’m toid, much as prosciutto is in Italy-again circled the plate with papery leaves of salty delight, mellowed by sliced tomatoes and toast triangles, gratuitously graced with sharp little cor-nichons. My companion’s appetizer of smoked trout would have been as good if it had not been so laced with bone needles that caution overcame pleasure.

The same bone-again worry flawed my poached salmon entree, which also was afflicted with a disturbingly fishy flavor-whether from the pretty fillet itself or from its poaching liquid, I could not tell. Thai’s what 1 get for graciously conceding my preferred dish, the venison tenderloin, to my companion, who waffled between rare and medium in ordering and got just what he deserved-one splendid, rare medallion, and one slightly overcooked. Never mind-we came out even on his side of noodles and mine of spatzli, the delicate little egg dumplings that must be the embryonic form of Italian gnocchi; both were buttered and beautifully prepared. For dessert, we shared the house specialty, a globe of vanilla ice cream rolled in chopped nuts and bathed in hot fudge, that, alas, quickly lost its heat. But the coffee was fine, the mood was festive in that disciplined Swiss sort of way, and the classical pianist who makes this North Dallas enclave one of the most romantic retreats I know was in fine form. 9739 N Central Expressway. 369-6466, Expensive. -B.C.



D Revisits Kuby’s Ross Avenue Restaurant.I feared canny old Kuby’s had slipped a cog when they quietly took over this tire company-cum-hamburger house in the shadow of North Central Expressway. I should have known better. This Kuby’s offers breakfast and lunch only. I can’t speak for the early-a.m. crowds, but weekday lunch hours find the place as packed as the Snider Plaza original.

What the crowd comes for is quality German quick-order fare, capably prepared and swiftly served at down-to-earth prices. The lunch menu is bare-bones simple-cold and grilled sandwiches, a few plate lunches, soup of the day, desserts, and drinks, Its breakfast side offers standard down-home options with a German accent. Everything we tried from both was as good as it gets, in my experience. The day’s soup was a homey treasure of plump lentils, studded with carrot and celery bits in sturdy slock, beautifully seasoned. Corned beef was ruddy, tender, and perfectly lean, thin-sliced and thick-piled between slices of rye bread: the sandwich came in one of those detestable plastic baskets. I’m sorry to say, but its accompanying peerless dill pickle and mini-cup of wurst salad diluted that pain. A crunchy-skinned knackwurst partnered with fine sauerkraut deserved its real plate and real-buttered bread, A breakfast plate we tried plate and real-buttered bread.

A breakfast plate we tried was first-class, too. lifted out of the ordinary by quality components and good cooking: the bacon was thick and meaty, soft-scrambled eggs really were, grits were the precisely proper consistency, and sausage gravy on hot biscuits easily overcame any pangs of cholesterol guilt we might have felt. If you simply can’t bear to be seen indulging so shamelessly, Kuby’s also delivers in the downtown area-there’s an eight-dollar minimum. 3121 Ross Ave. 821-3121. Inexpensive. – B.C.



INDIAN

D Revisits Akbar. It’s good news that this, originally one of our better Indian restaurants, is safely back on track. The inexpensive lunchtime buffet is again outstanding, especially on weekends. Then the cooks go beyond the sometimes hackneyed menu offerings and prepare vegetable dishes like splendid curried okra, smothered in lots of onions, or black-eyed peas magnificently flavored with tomato and spices. Other items might include chicken pieces in a flavorful mushroom sauce or beef sautéed with red and green peppers.

The best reason to go to Akbar in the evening is to order the more expensive dishes that do not turn up at lunchtime. Lamb is superb either cooked to tenderness on a skewer in the tandoor oven or stewed in a shahi karma, rich with cream and ground almonds. Shrimp makhni are first cooked in the tandoor, then sauced in a tomato cream. A classic Indian vegetable dish that we have never seen on the buffet, but that is done very well here, is the baigan bhurha, eggplant roasted and mashed with tomatoes, onions, and spices. Order plenty of naan-the puffy Indian bread cooked on the wall of the tandoor-to accompany the feast. 2115 Prome nade Center, Richardson. 235-0260. inexpensive Hunch) to moderate (dinner). -W.L.T.



MIDDLE EASTERN



D Revisits Hedary’s. When Hedary’s opened in Richardson last year, it was mobbed-evidently Dallasites were fed up with having to drive an hour for decent kibbe and were thrilled to fill themselves with Lebanese delicacies without going to the original restaurant in Fort Worth. May be it was the crowds, but the service didn’t match the food’s quality, and sometimes I felt it would have been worth the drive to Cowtown. That has all changed now: the food on our last visit was as good as ever, the hummus (chickpea purée) smooth and garlicky, the roasted chicken and potatoes golden-skinned and lemon-drenched, the tabouleh greener with parsley than white with wheat, and the pita freshly baked and puffy. All of it was served with consummate pro fessional ease by our waiter, Maurice, as thoughtful a server as I’ve had in Dallas. Promenade Shopping Center. Suite 2500. Richardson- 669-2112. Moderate. -M.B.M.



MEXICAN



D Revisits Brazos. This new Southwest bistro has matured in the last year: when it opened, the food was imaginatively conceived but unevenly executed-it sometimes sounded better than it tasted. Now Brazos is a dependable fevorite for a casual meal with style. Both the setting and the menu-which is largely a list of specials-manage to miss the kind of chichi pretensions of many restaurants in this genre; instead (he atmosphere is kicked-back and the food is inventive- Even when a combination sounds bizarre (a recent appetizer of mango-crawfish-green chili chimichanga comes to mind), it tastes like a match made in heaven. There’s a daily quesadilla, but the one stuffed with goat cheese, black beans, and chorizo is a deticious constant. The chef does great new things with lamb, but the King Ranch casserole is old-time Junior League food, making it a tough choice. 2100 N Greenville. 821-6501. Moderate. -M.B.M.



D Revisits Casa Rosa. This Park Cities favorite has stretched out into the upstairs and into the former bar, and while the upstairs can seem a little remote from the rest of the restaurant, the room that was once the bar is the most pleasant place to sit in this pretty restaurant; the pink walls and sunshine from the wall of windows combine in a roseate glow enhanced on a recent visit by the fresh food and alert service. A new item on the menu, blue corn enchiladas, is a traditional version of the New Mexican favorite, except that the tortillas are rolled, instead of stacked. Polio en la con cha is a nontraditional dish anywhere else, but it is a Casa Rosa standard: white meat of chicken, sour cream, and cheese mixed with green chilies and nested in a flaky, fried flour tortilla shell. 165 Inwood Village. 350-5227. Inexpen sive to moderate- -M. B. M.



D Revisits Desperados. Desperados is a place we had relegated to our memories of the Seventies. But if our last visit was a fair sample, we may be going there a lot in the Nineties. The menu includes the expected Tex-Mex special ties, but the winners are the surprise dishes; original recipes were indicated by a diamond on the printed list. We started with a pair of prize-winning margaritas (voted the best in Dallas by the Dallas Margarita Society) and a platter of “Awesome Nachos” layered with beans, grilled fajita chunks, melted jack cheese, and a confetti of cilantro. scallions, and onions, as well as peppers. Tortilla soup was a homey, hearty version, with big chunks of chicken and vegetables under the tortillas and cheese. By the lime our entrées came, they were hard to face, but we made a sizable dent in the portions because they were so good and different: came endiablada was a kind of beef stew, the tender chunks of meat slow-cooked in a chipotle sauce, and the “Desperado Tacos” were stuffed with the white cheese and grilled chicken, then fried and garnished with pico de gallo. 4818 Greenville and University. 363-1850. Inexpensive to moderate. -M.B.M.



D Revisits On The Border. People-watching along Knox Street is always mentioned as one of this Dallas classic’s big attractions, and there’s no question that the wraparound patio offers ample opportunity, if that’s your sport. But On The Border is also nice on the inside. The cac tus collection and Texas memorabilia are fun to look at. loo. and the window-lined cantina style interior is cozy on a blustery day. In or out, the food is dependably good- standard Tex-Mex is properly cheesy, spicy, and crunchy. fa- jitas are sizzling, and the flour tortillas fresh. 3300 Knox. 528-5900. inexpensive to moderate. -M.B.M.

RESTAURANTS

D RECOMMENDS



BARBECUE

Anderson’s Barbecue House. 5410 Harry Hires Blvd. (across from Parkland). 630-0735. Inexpensive.

Austin’s Barbecue. 2321 W Illinois. 337-2242. Inexpensive.

Blue Ribbon B-B-Q. 316 Hillside Village (Mockingbird and Abrams). 823-5524. Inexpensive.

Bob Willy’s. 1933 Preston, Piano. 596-0903. Inexpensive to moderate.

Dickey’s Barbecue. 4610 N Central Expwy. 823-0240. Inexpensive.

Gene’s Stone Pit Bar B Que. 3002 Canton. 939-9419. Inexpensive.

Riscky’s Barbeque. 1701 N Market. Suite 104. 742-7001. Inexpensive to moderate.

Roscoe’s Easy Way. 5420 Lemmon Ave. 528-8459. Inexpensive.

Spring Creek B-B-Q. 270 N Central Expwy, Richardson. 669-0505. Inexpensive.

BRITISH

Jennivine. 3605 McKinncy Ave. 528-6010. Moderate to expensive.

Jennivine’s Culinary Centre. 3521 Oak Grove at Lemmon Ave. 528-4709. Inexpensive.

BURGERS

The Bronx. 3835 Cedar Springs. 521 5821. Inexpensive.

Cardinal Puff’s. 4615 Greenville Ave. 369-1969. Inexpensive.

Chip’s. 4501 N Central Expwy. 526-1092. 2445 W Northwest Hwy, Suite 101. 350-8751. Inexpensive.

Chuck’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers. 502 Spanish Village. Arapaho at Coit. 386-7752. Inexpensive.

8.0. 2800 Routh St. 979-0880. Inexpensive.

Hard Rock Cafe. 2601 McKinney Ave. 855-0007.

Moderate.

Prince of Hamburgers. 5210 Lemmon Ave. 526-9081. Inexpensive.

Purdy’s. 4812 Belt Line. Addison. 960-2494. 1403 E Campbell. Richardson. 480-0288. 2200 Walnut Hill at Story Rd. 255-6447. Inexpensive.

Snuffer’s. 3526 Greenville Ave. 826-6850. Inexpensive.

CAJUN

Arcadia Bar & Grill. 2114 Greenville Ave. 821-1300. Inexpensive.

Atchafalaya River Cafe. 4440 Belt Line, Addison. 960-6878. Moderate.

Crescent City Cafe. 2730 Commerce. 745-1900. Inexpensive.

Louisiana Purchase. 2901 N Central Expwy at Parker Rd. Piano. 422-2469. Inexpensive to moderate.

Pontchartrain. 13444 N Preston Rd. 385-1522. Inexpensive.

CHINESE

August Moon. 15030 Preston at Belt Line. 385-7227. 2300 N Ceniral Expwy. 881-0071. Moderate.

Beijing Grill. 2200 Cedar Springs in The Crescent, Suite 148. 871-6868. Moderate to expensive.

Cafe Panda. 7979 Inwood. Suite 121. 902-9500. Moderate.

Chu’s Restaurant. 15080 Beltway (off Belt. Line between Addison and Midway Rds). Addison. 387-1776. Moderate.

Crystal Pagoda. 4516 McKinney Ave. 526-3.355. Moderate.

Forbidden City. 4514 Travis. Suite 201. 520-1888. Moderate.

Jasmine Uniquely Chinese. 4002 Belt Line, Suite 200. Addison. 991-6867. Moderate.

May Dragon. 4848 Bell Line at Inwood. 392-9998. Moderate.

Plum Blossom. Loews Anatole Hotel. 2201 Stemmons Fwy. 748-1200. Expensive.

Snow Pea. 2007 Abrams Pkwy (off Gaston). 824-4354. Inexpensive.

Szechwan Pavilion. 8411 Preston. 3684303. Inexpensive 10 moderate.

Taiwan Restaurant. 4980 Belt Line. Addison. 387-2333. 6!!1 Greenville Ave. 369-8902. Moderate. Taton.9243 Skillman. Suite 104. 343-0545. Inexpensive to moderate.

Tong’s. 11661 Preston, Suite 143. 361-6588. Moderate.

Tone’s House. 1910 Promenade Center, Richardson. 231-8858. Moderate.

Uncle Tai’s Hunan Yuan. Galleria. 13350 Dallas Pkwy. Suite 3370. 934-9998. Expensive.

FRENCH/CONTINENTAL

Brasserie Calluaud. 4544 McKinney Ave. 521-2277. Moderate to expensive.

Cafe Le Jardin. 4900 McKinney Ave. 526-0570. Moderate to expensive.

Cafe Royal. Plaza of the Americas. 650 N Pearl. 979-9000, Expensive to very expensive.

Chateaubriand. 3701 W Northwest Hwy (at Marsh Land). 351-2248. Expensive.

The French Room. The Adolphus Hotel, 1321 Commerce. 742-8200. Expensive.

The Grape. 2808 Greenville Ave. 828-1981. Moderate.

Jonathan’s. The Centrum. 3102 Oak Lawn. Suite 495. 520-8308. Moderate.

La Madeleine. 3072 W Mockingbird. 696-6960. 3906 Lemmon. 521-0182. Inexpensive.

L’Ambiance. 2408 Cedar Springs. 748-1291. Expensive.

Le Brussels. 6615 Snider Plaza. 739-1927. Moderate.

L’Entrecote. Loews Anatole Hotel. 2201 Stemmons Fwy. 748-1200. Very expensive.

Mr. Peppe. 5617 W Lovers Ln. 352-5976. Moderate to expensive.

The Old Warsaw. 2610 Maple. 528-0032. Very expensive.

The Riviera. 7709 Inwood. 351-0094. Very expensive.

Waters. 1923 McKinney Ave. 720-0323. Moderate to expensive.

GERMAN/EASTERN EUROPE

Belvedere. 4242 Lomo Alto, 528-6510. Expensive.

Bohemia. 2810 N Henderson. 826-6209. Moderate.

Franki’s Li’I Europe. 362 Casa Linda Plaza, Garland Rd at Buckner. 320-0426. Inexpensive to moderate.

Hofstetter’s. Plaza at Bachman Creek, 3830 W Northwest Hwy. Suite 390. 358-7660. Inexpensive to moderate.

GREEK

Augustus. 15375 Addison Rd. Addison. 239-8105. Expensive.

Crackers. 2621 McKinnev Ave. 871-7268. Inexpensive to

Kostas Restaurant and Taverna. 2755 Bachman. 351-4592. Moderate.

Little Gus’. 1916 Greenville Ave. 826-4910. Inexpensive.

HOME COOKING

The Blue Onion Restaurant. 221 W Parker Rd. Suite 527, Piano. 424-2114. Inexpensive.

Brownie’s. 5519 E Grand Ave. 824-2996. Inexpensive.

Celebration. 4503 W Lovers Ln. 351-5681. Moderate.

Good Eats Cafe. 3531 Oak Lawn. 522-3287. 6950 Greenville Ave. 691-3287. 702 Ross. 744-3287. Inexpensive.

Highland Park Cafeteria. 4611 Cole at Knox. 526-3801. 9500 Garland Rd, Suite 300. 327-3663. 5100 Belt Line, Suite 600. 934-8800. Lincoln Plaza. Second Floor, 500 N Akard. 740-2400. Inexpensive.

Highland Park Pharmacy. 3229 Knox. 521 -2126. Inexpensive.

Mama’s Daughter’s Diner. 2104 Irving Blvd. 742-8646. Inexpensive. The Mecca. 10422 Harry Hines. 352-0051. Inexpensive.

Rosemarie’s. 1411 N Zang. 946-4142. Inexpensive.

Theo’s Diner, 111 S Hall. 747-6936. Inexpensive.

Tolbert’s. One Dallas Center. 350 N St. Paul & Bryan. 953-1353. 1800 N Market. 969-0310. 8121 Walnut Hill at Central Expwy. 739-6700. Inexpensive.

Vice Versa. 6065 Sherry Ln. 691-2976. Inexpensive.

INDIAN

India Palace Restaurant. 13360 Preston. 392-0190. Moderate to expensive.

Kebab-N-Kurry. 401 N Central Expwy, Suite 300. Richardson. 231-5556. Inexpensive to moderate.

Kebab-N-Kurry. 2620 Walnut Hill. 350-6466. Inexpensive.

Mumtaz. The Atrium, 3101 N Fitzhugh at McKinney Ave. 520-2400. Inexpensive to moderate.

Safl’s Afghan Cuisine. 14848 Inwood, Addison. 991-9292. Moderate.

Sitar. 9560 Skillman, #104. 343-2063. Inexpensive to Moderate.

Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant. Caruth Plaza, 9100 N Central Expwy. Suite 179. 692-0535. 1600 N Piano Rd at Collins, Richardson. 235-3794. Moderate.

ITALIAN

Acapella Cafe. 2508 Maple. 871-2262. Moderate.

Alessio’s. 4117 Lomo Alto. 521-3585. Expensive.

Alfonso’s. 328 Casa Linda Plaza. 327-7777. Inexpensive to moderate.

Antonucci’s. 3827 Lemmon Ave at Oak Lawn. 522-4056. Inexpensive.

Avanti. 2720 McKinney Ave. 871-4955. Moderate (lunch) to expensive (dinner).

Cafe Italia. 5000 Maple. 521-0700. Inexpensive to moderate.

Caffe Paparazzi. 8989 Forest, Suite 136. 644-1323. Moderate.

Capriccio. 2616 Maple. 871-2004. Expensive.

Chianti. 4820 Greenville Ave. 691-6769. Moderate.

Ciao. 3921-B Cedar Springs. 521-0110. Inexpensive to moderate.

Colombo’s. 6101 Greenville Ave. 373-7777. Moderate.

Fausto’s Oven. 300 Reunion Blvd. in the Hyatt Regency Hotel. 741-3304. Moderate.

Rip’s Wine Bar & Trattoria. 1520 Greenville Ave. 824-9944. Moderate.

II Sorrento. 8616 Turtle Creek Blvd. 352-S759. Moderate to expensive.

La Tosca. 7713 Inwood. 352-8373. Expensive.

Lombardi’s Expresso. 6135 Luther Ln. 361-6984. Inexpensive to moderate.

Mario’s. 135 Turtle Creek Village, Oak Lawn at Blackburn. 521-1135. Expensive.

Massimo da Milano. 5519 W Lovers Ln. 351-1426. Inexpensive to moderate.

MoMo’s Italian Specialties. 9191 Forest Ln, Suite A2. 234-6800. 3309 N Central Expwy. Suite 370, Piano. 423-1066. Moderate.

MoMo’s Pasta. 3312 Knox. 521-3009. Inexpensive.

Nero’s Italian. 2104 Greenville Ave. 826-6376. Moderate.

Pasticcio’s. 4527 Travis St. 528-6696. Moderate.

Pizzeria Una. 2811 McKinney Ave. 855-0011. 4002 Belt Line. Addison. 991-8181. Inexpensive to moderate.

Pomodoro. 2520 Cedar Springs. 871-1924. Inexpensive to moderate.

Ristorante Savino. 2929 N Henderson. 826-7804. Moderate to expensive.

Rodolfo’s. 5956 Royal Ln (at Preston). 368-5039. Inexpensive to moderate.

Ruggeri’s. 2911 Routh St. 871-7377. Moderate.

Sfuzzi. 2504 McKinney Ave. 871-2606. Moderate.

Spaghetti Inn-Mike’s Italian Restaurant. 6465 E Mockingbird. 827-7035. Moderate.

311 Lombardi’s. 311 Market at Ross. 747-0322. Moderate to expensive.

JAPANESE/KOREAN

Fuji-Ya. 13050 Coit. 690-8396. Inexpensive to moderate.

Hana Japanese Restaurant. 14865 Inwood. 991-8322. Moderate.

Hibachi-Ya Japanese Restaurant. 3850 W Northwest Hwy, Suite 510. 350-1110. Inexpensive.

Kobe Steaks. Quorum Plaza. 5000 Belt Line. Suite 600. 934-8150. Moderate to expensive.

Mr. Sushi. 4860 Belt Line. Addison. 385-0168. Moderate.

Mr. Sushi & Hibachi. 9220 Skillman. 349-6338. Moderate.

Nakamoto Japanese Cuisine. Ruisseau Village. Suite 360, 3309 N Central Expwy. Piano. 881-0328. Moderate.

Sakura Japanese Restaurant. 7402 Greenville Ave. 361-9282. Moderate to expensive.

Shinano Japanese Restaurant. 8830 Spring Valley. 644-1436. Moderate.

Sushi On McKinney Ave. 4500 McKinney. 521-0969. Moderate.

MEXICAN

Blue Goose Cantina. 2905 Greenville Ave. 823-6786. Moderate.

Blue Mesa Grill. Village on the Parkway, 5100 Belt Line at Dallas Pkwy. Suite 500. 934-0165. Moderate.

Cantina Laredo. 4546 Belt Line, Addison. 458-0962. Moderate.

Casa Dominguez. 2127 Cedar Springs. 742-4945. Inexpensive to moderate.

Garcia’s Caribbean Grill. Plaza at Bachman Creek. 3830 W Northwest Hwy. 358-2664. Moderate.

Garmo’s y Lite’s. 2847 N Henderson. 821-8006. Inexpensive to moderate.

Gloria’s Restaurant. 600 W Davis. 948-3672. 9386 LBJ Frwy at Abrams. 690-0622. Inexpensive.

Javier’s. 4912 Cole. 521-4211. Expensive.

J. Pepe’s. 2800 Routh St. 871-0366. Inexpensive to moderate.

La Botica Cafe. 1900 N Haskell. 824-2005. Inexpensive to moderate.

La Suprema Tortilleria. 7630 Military Pkwy. 388-1244. Inexpensive.

Loma Luna Cafe. 4131 Lomo Alto. 559-4011. Moderate.

Mario & Alberto. LBJ Frwy at Preston. Suite 425. 980-7296. Moderate.

Mario’s Chiquita. 4514 Travis, Suite 105 (in Travis Walk). 521-0721. 221 W Parker. Suite 400, Piano. 423-2977. Moderate.

The Martinez Cafe. 3011 Routh St. 855-0240. 1900 Preston. Piano. 964-7898. Inexpensive.

Mercado Juarez. 1901 W Northwest Kwy. 556-0796. 4050 Belt Line. Addison. 458-2145. Inexpensive to moderate.

Mia’s. 4322 Lemmon Ave. 526-1020. Inexpensive.

Primo’s. 3309 McKinney Ave. 520-3303. Inexpensive.

Rancho Martinez Mexican Restaurant. 7726 Ferguson Rd. 328-5797. Inexpensive to moderate.

Ricardo’s. 17610 Midway at Trinity Mills. 931-5073. Moderate.

Uncle Julio’s. 7557 Greenville Ave. 987-9900. 4125 Lem- mon Ave. 520-6620. Moderate.

Villa Margarita. 362 Promenade Center. Coit & Belt Line. Richardson. 235-5447. Moderate.

ZuZu. 6423 Hillcrest (across from SMU). 521-4456. Inexpensive.

MEDITERRANEAN

Monte Carlo. 15201 Dallas Pkwy, in the Grand Kempin-ski Dallas Hotel. 386-6000. Expensive.

NATURAL

Bluebonnet Cafe & Dell. 2218 Greenville Ave. 828-0052. Inexpensive.

Dream Cafe. 2800 Routh St in (he Quadrangle. 954-0486. Inexpensive.

NEW AMERICAN

Actuelle. The Quadrangle. 2800 Routh St. Suite 125. 855-0440. Expensive.

Baby Routh. 2708 Routh St. 871-2345. Moderate to expensive.

Beau Nash. Hotel Crescent Court, 400 Crescent Court. Maple at McKinney Ave. 871-3240. Expensive.

The Buffalo Club. 2723 Elm St. 748-2400. Moderate to expensive.

Chaplin’s. 1928 Greenville Ave. 823-3300. Moderate to expensive.

Cisco Grill. 6630 Snider Plaza. 363-9506. Inexpensive.

City Cafe. 5757 W Lovers Ln. 351-2233. Moderate.

Dakota’s. 600 N Akard. 740-4001. Moderate to expensive.

Deep Ellum Cafe. 2706 Elm St. 741-9012. Moderate.

Elm Street Winery. 2704 Elm St. 748-6565. Moderate to expensive.

Gershwin’s. 8442 Walnut Hill at Greenville Ave. 373-7171. Moderate to expensive.

Huntington Grill. Westin Hotel, Galleria. 13340 Dallas Pkwy. 851-2882. Expensive.

Kathleen’s Cafe and Bar. 4424 Lovers Ln (between the Tollway and Douglas). 691-2355. Moderate to expensive.

Lakewood Plaza Grill. 6334 La Vista. 826-5226. Inexpensive to moderate.

Landmark Cafe. Omni Melrose Hotel. 3015 Oak Lawn. 522-1453. Expensive.

Laurels. Sheraton Park Central Hotel. 12720 Merit, off Coit near LBJ Fwy. 385-3000. Expensive.

The Mansion on Turtle Creek. 2S2I Turtle Creek Blvd. 526-2121. Very expensive.

Malibu Cafe. 4311 Oak Lawn. 521-2233. Moderate.

Parigi. 3311 Oak Lawn. 521-0295. Moderate to expensive.

The Promenade. 2821 Turtle Creek Blvd. 559-2100. Moderate to expensive.

Pyramid Restaurant and Lounge. 1717 N Akard in the Fairmont Hotel. 720-5249. Expensive.

Quadrangle Grill. The Quadrangle, 2800 Routh St, Suite 180. 979-9022. Moderate.

Routh Street Cafe. 3005 Routh, St. 871-7161. Very expensive.

Sam’s Cafe. 100 Crescent Court. Suite 140. 855-2233. Moderate to expensive.

Spatz. 2912 N Henderson. 827-7984. Moderate.

SEAFOOD

Atlantic Cafe. 4546 McKinney Ave at Knox. 559-4441. Expensive.

Atlantic Cafe Too! 14866 Montfort. Addison. 960-2233. Moderate to expensive.

Aw Shucks. 3601 Greenville Ave. 821-9449. inexpensive.

Cafe Pacific. Highland Park Village. Preston at Mockingbird. Suite 24. 526-1170. Expensive.

Fishmonger’s Seafood Market and Cafe. 1915 N Central Expwy at Chisholm, Suite 600. Piano. 423-3699. Moderate.

Hampton’s. Berkshire Court. Preston Center, 8411 Preston. 739-3474. Moderate.

Harbor House. 4844 Greenville Ave. 368-8911. Moderate.

Hard Shell Cafe. 6403 Greenville Ave. 987-3477. Moderate.

Louie’s Backyard. 2221 Abrams at Belmont. 823-2910. Inexpensive.

Newport’s Seafood. 703 MeKinney Ave in the Brewery. 954-0220. Expensive.

Oyster’s. 4580 Belt Line. 3S6-0122. Inexpensive to moderate.

Red’s Seafood. 7402 Greenville Ave at Pineland. 363-3896. Moderate.

Rusty Pelican. 14655 Dallas N Pkwy. Addison. 980-8950. Expensive.

S&D Oyster Company. 2701 McKinneyAve. 880-0111. Inexpensive to mode rale.

Scott’s-A Seafood House. 4620 McKinney Ave. 528-7777. Moderate.

Theodore’s Seafood Restaurant. The Corner Shopping Center, 8041 Walnut Hill. Suite 810. 361-1922. Moderate to expensive.

SPANISH

iCaramba! 3227 MeKinney Ave. 720-9181. Inexpensive to moderate.

STEAKS

Arthur’s. 8350 Central Expwy. Campbell Centre, Suite M 1000. 361-8833. Expensive.

The Butcher Shop Steakhouse. 808 Munger, off Lamar. 720-1032. Moderate.

Lawry’s The Prime Rib. 3008 Maple Ave. 521-7777. Moderate to expensive.

Mike’s Del Frisco’s. 2200 Cedar Springs. Suite 165. at The Crescent. 720-4454. Expensive.

Morton’s of Chicago. 501 Elm St. 741-2277. Expensive.

The Palm Restaurant. 701 Ross. 698-0470. Very expensive.

TAKEOUT/DILI

Al’s New York Style Deli. 3301-A Oak Lawn (entrance on Hall). 522-3354- Inexpensive.

Basel Emporium. 7522 Campbell Rd. Suite 117. 980-1444. Inexpensive.

Bagelstein’s. Northwood Hills Shopping Center, 8104 Spring Valley. 234-3787. Inexpensive to moderate.

City Market. 2001 Ross, Trammell Crow Center. 979-2690. Inexpensive.

Crescent Gourmet. 400 Crescent Court. S71-3223. Inexpensive to moderate.

Deli News. 15775 Hillcrest. Suite 502. 392-3354. Inexpensive.

The Good Life Catering Co. 6340 Gaston Ave. 821-3194. Inexpensive to moderate.

Marty’s. 3316 Oak Lawn. 5264070. Moderate.

Pacific Express. 1910 Pacific at Elm St, Suite 103. 969-7447. Inexpensive.

Pasta Plus. 225 Preston Royal East. 373-3999. Inexpensive to moderate.

Polio Bueno. 3438 Samuell Blvd. 828-0645. Inexpensive.

Today’s Gourmet. 4446 Lovers Ln. 373-0325. Inexpensive.

Tommaso’s Fresh Pasta. 5365 Spring Valley at Montfort, Suite 158. 991-4040. Inexpensive to moderate.

THAI

New Slam. 2415 W Northwest Hwy. Suite 108 (at Harry Hines). 358-5679. Inexpensive to moderate.

Sala Thai. 4503 Greenville Ave. 696-3210. Moderate.

Thai Lanna. 1490 W Spring Valley, Richardson. 690-3637. 4315 Bryan. 827-6478. Moderate.

Thai Soon. 2018 Greenville Ave. 821-7666. Inexpensive.

Thai Toy’s. 4422-B Lemmon Ave. 528-7233. Inexpensive to moderate.

VIETNAMESE

Ba Le. 4812 Bryan at Fitzhugh. 821-1880. Inexpensive.

East Wind. 2711 Elm St. 745-5554. Inexpensive to moderate.

Mekong. 4301 Bryan. Suite 101. 824-6200. Inexpensive.

Saigon. 1731 Greenville Ave. 828-9795, Inexpensive.

LAS COLINAS/MID CITIES

Cacharel. Brookhollow Two, 2221 E Lamar. Suite 910, Arlington. (817) 640-9981.

China Terrace. 5435 N MacArthur, Las Colinas. 550-1113. Inexpensive to moderate.

Esparza’s. 124 E Worth St. Grapevine. (817) 481-4668. Inexpensive.

Gaspar’s Cafe. 150 S Denton Tap Rd, Coppell. 393-5152.

Moretti’s. 2709 Mustang Drive. Grapevine. (817) 481-3230. Inexpensive to moderate.

Via Real. 4020 N MacArthur. Irving. 255-0064. Moderate to expensive.

FORT WORTH

Benito’s. 1450 W Magnolia. (817) 332-8633. Inexpensive.

Hedary’s. 3308 Fairfield at Camp Bowie Blvd. (817) 731-6961. Moderate.

Juanita’s. 115 W Second. (817) 335-1777. Moderate.

La Maree. .1416 W Seventh. (817) 877-0838. Moderate.

Reflections. The Worthington Hotel. 200 Main. (817) 870-1000. Expensive.

Saint Emilion. 3617 W Seventh. (817) 737-2781. Moderate to expensive.

Tejano Mexican Cuisine. 5716 Camp Bowie Blvd. (817) 737-7301. Inexpensive to moderate.

Tours. 3500 W Seventh. (817) 870-1672. Moderate to expensive.

Tuscany. 4255 Camp Bowie Blvd. (817) 737-2971. Moderate to expensive.



NIGHTLIFE

Adair’s. 2624 Commerce. 939-9900.

Amnizia. 2829 W Northwest Hwy. Suite 632. 351-1262.

The Art Bar. 2803 Main St. 939-0077.

Arthur’s. Campbell Centre, 8350 N Central Expwy. 361-8833.

Belle Starr. 7724 N Central Expwy. 750-4787.

Boiler Room. Pan of Dallas Alley in the West End Marketplace. 2019 N Lamar. 988-0581.

Buyers Bar. Stouffer Hotel, 2222 Stemmoms Frwy. 631-2222.

Club Clearview. 2806 Elm St. 939-0006.

Club Dada. 2720 Elm St at Crowdns. 744-3232.

Dave & Buster’s. 10727 Composite, near Walnut Hill at Stemmons Frwy. 353-0649. 8021 Walnut Hill (at Central Expwy). 361-5553.

The Den. Storeleigh Terrace Hotel. 2927 Maple. 871-7111.

Dick’s Last Resort. Corner of Record and Ross. 747-0001.

8.0. 2800 Routh St. 979-0880.

Encounters. Doubletree Hotel, 8250 N Central Expwy. 691-8700.

Fat Tuesday. 6778 Greenville Ave. 373-7377.

Four Seasons Ballroom. 4930 Military Pkwy. 644-5622.

Froggy Bottoms. Part of Dallas Alley in the West End Marketplace. 2019 N Lamar. 988-0581.

Gator’s. 1714 N Market. 748-0243.

Gershwin’s. 8442 Walnut Hill at Greenville Ave. 373-7171.

Greenville Bar A Grill. 2821 Greenville Ave. 823-6691.

Harper’s. Hilton Inn, 5600 N Central Expwy. 823-9180.

Highland Park Yacht Club. 4515 Travis. 521-6071.

Improv Comedy Club and Restaurant. 9810 N Central Expwy (in The Corner Shopping Center). 750-5868. 4980 Belt Line at Quorum, Suite 250, Addison. 404-8503.

Joe Miller’s. 3531 McKinney Ave. 521-2261.

Knox Street Pub. 3230 Knox. 526-9476.

Late Night . . . In the West End. 1901 Laws St. 954-1901.

Laurels. Sheraton Park Central, 12720 Merit Dr. 851-2021.

The Library Bar. Omni Melrose Hotel. 3015 Oak Lawn. 521-5151.

Louie’s. 1839 N Henderson. 826-0505.

The Lounge. 5460 W Lovers Ln. 350-7834.

The Mansion on Turtle Creek Bar. 2821 Turtle Creek Blvd. 526-2121.

Max’s 403. 5500 Greenville Ave, Suite 403. 361-9517.

Memphis. Quorum Plaza, 5000 Belt Line. Suite 500. 386-9934.

Mimi’s. 5111 Greenville Ave. 368-1994.

Mucky Duck. 3102 Welborn in the Centrum. 522-7200.

Nana Bar and Grill. Loews Anatok Hotel, 2201 Stemmons Frwy. 748-1200.

The Outback Pub. 1701 N Market. 761-9355.

The Palm Bar. Adolphus Hotel, 1321 Commerce. 742-8200.

Pinot’s Wine Bar. 2926 N Henderson. 826-1949.

Plaza Bar. Part of Dallas Alley in the West End Marketplace. 2019 N Lamar. 988-0581.

Poor David’s Pub. 1924 Greenville Ave. 821-9891.

The Safari Bar. 10821 Composite Dr. 351-3262.

Sam’s Cafe. 100 Crescent Court, Suite 140. 855-2233.

Stan’s Blue Note. 2908 Greenville Ave. 824-9653.

State. 3611 Parry. 821-9246.

Stoneleleigh P. 2926 Maple. 871-2346.

Studebaker’s. NorthPark East. 8788 N Central Expwy. 696-2475.

Take Five. Pan of Dallas Alley in the West End Marketplace. 2019 N Lamar. 988-0581.

Top off the Dome. Hyatt Regency Hotel, 300 Reunion Blvd. 651-1234.

2826. 2826 Elm St. 741-2826.

Video Bar. 2610 Elm St. 939-9113.

The Voodoo Bar. 302 N Market. 655-2627.

White Rock Yacht Club. 7324 Gaston, Suite 301. 328-3866.

The Wine Press. 4217 Oak Lawn. 522-8720.

FORT WORTH NIGHTLIFE

The Blue Bird. 5636 Wesley. (817) 732-6243.

Caravan of Dreams. 312 Houston. (817) 877-3000.

The Hop. 2905 W Berry. (817) 923-7281.The White Elephant Saloon. 106 E Exchange. (817) 624-8273.