Shhh. Don’t spread the word around too far. But just between us, this author’s personal favorite barbecue restaurant in Dallas is Smokey Joe’s. Yes, this author gets to Cattleack and its incredible brisket and coleslaw whenever he can, and yes, he knows all about the beef ribs at Pecan Lodge and the fried chicken at The Slow Bone. But the regulars at Smokey Joe’s know that its bricks of fabulously tender and minimally treated pork ribs are unbeatable. And owner Kris Manning’s personal passion happens to be brisket, which might be why his has become the best brisket between Cattleack and Waco. Its balance — not overly smoky, not harshly seasoned, fabulously tender and moist — is just right.

Top pick: There are some great barbecue sandwiches here, including the GF, with heaping brisket, pickles and onion rings that stay crisp on the drive home.

Fun fact: A “slice” of pie here is a quarter of the whole darn pie. Did you really think you were going to get work done after lunch? ($$)

Deep in the maze of warehouses, industrial plants and nightclubs along Harry Hines Boulevard, Chilangos serves a short menu of tacos along with spicy elote cups and horchata. The interior is a chic tribute to Mexico City, with the ordering counter made to resemble a street or market stall, Topo Chico bottles converted into flower holders on each table and words of culinary wisdom painted on the walls. There aren’t a lot of taco choices here, but every single one can be made costra-style — that is, with the fillings of your choice wrapped in a golden-brown blanket of crisp molten cheese. That cheese pocket is then placed on a flour tortilla that can barely stretch to hold it.

Top pick: The traditional and best order to fold into a cheesy sheath is Chilangos’ excellent pastor-marinated pork. Just be sure to add lots of chopped onions and salsa verde to offset the cheese’s richness. ($)

While Italian cuisine has defined Julian Barsotti’s other restaurant ventures, Odelay is his first foray into Tex-Mex. It's the cuisine Barsottoi missed most when he lived out of state, and Odelay is an homage to those memorable meals with a focus on high-quality ingredients without compromises. That means wagyu brisket from Rosewood Ranch that makes for killer brisket tacos, or gulf-sourced shrimp in the shrimp tinga. Tex-Mex classics are well represented, and Odelay’s Highland Park location is already popular every night of the week with the locals.

Top Pick: Tenderloin tampiqueña is the beefy, cheesy and peppery smothered plate of your Tex-Mex dreams. Pile the house-made tortillas high as you wish, and the world is your cheese-covered oyster. ($$$)

There’s really no doubt about who has the best Thai food in the Dallas area: It’s this tiny cafe in the suburb of Allen, mere feet from the new Watters Creek Convention Center. Ask for the “Thai menu,” a front-and-back sheet separate from the main menu that lists spectacular versions of dishes like tom sap (sour soup with pork intestines), pad cha (spicy stir fried seafood and vegetables), gra pow moo krob (crisply seared pork with green beans and enormous quantities of basil) and hoy tod (a pancake filled with mussels). Spice Thai Cafe is BYOB, too. If you can’t stand some extra heat, exercise more caution with spice levels here than you would elsewhere.

Top pick: As much as we love the light, fluffy fried mussel pancake, so delicate it’s almost like tempura, the real star here is the ultra-herby, fresh-tasting Thai salad of grilled shrimp mixed with lemongrass, lime, cilantro and big thick wedges of chile pepper.

Fun fact: In case it’s not enough to order off the Thai menu, a few items on the main menu can also be made “Thai style” if you ask. Practically, by the way, Thai style means modifications like using freshly chopped hot peppers rather than a powder or spice mix. ($)

The noodles at La Me, a Vietnamese spot in far northeast Dallas, go well beyond pho. Try my quang, a bowl of rice noodles with turmeric in the dough to turn them yellow. The noodles are loaded up with shrimp, peanuts and a showering of herbs. Or try a delicately flavored duck noodle soup with fatty, bone-in pieces of bird. Even the egg rolls here are good.

Top pick: The “house special” my kho dac biet noodle bowl is served with broth on the side, so you can eat it as a soup or not. It also comes with a whole, shell-on shrimp baked right into a cracker, and yes, the crispy cracker-bound shrimp shell is edible. ($)

The Iraqi restaurant Bilad is a neighborhood institution. The superb bakery got its start turning out excellent samoon bread from Iraq and trays of delightful desserts like pistachio puffs and baklava. Bilad has an excellent kitchen serving Iraqi specialties, including some of the region’s better shawarma and falafel, zhug (an acidic hot pepper sauce), fresh tabbouleh and garlicky hummus. Kebab meat may look charred on the outside, but the interior is still perfectly tender. Grab a bag of that samoon bread as you leave, or visit the small grocery next door.

Top pick: The shawarma sandwiches, served on loaves of fresh Iraqi bread with fluffy soft interiors, are no-doubt, unanimous-vote choices for the Texas Sandwich Hall of Fame, especially if you ask that your sandwich be made spicy.

Fun fact: Bilad makes a point of providing food for their neighbors experiencing homelessness. ($)

In its first incarnation, Damasita was a tavern with fried foods and bar drinks. After a change of ownership, the dining room has calmed down and become homier, and the menu focuses on traditional cooking. Grab the city’s best gimbap to go — the two-inch-wide rolls, which resemble extra-large maki sushi but with added vegetables, make a perfect picnic food — or enjoy comforting noodle soups. Excellent chive pancakes have just barely enough batter to hold the veggies together.

Top pick: Choose your gimbap filling from bulgogi, spicy tuna or Spam; no matter what, they’re great, and an incredible bargain. ($$)

It’s hard to argue with the Neapolitan pizza-making prowess of Dino Santonicola, the Naples-born chef who opened Partenope after years at the popular Cane Rosso chain. His pizza crusts have a sourdough-type flavor, which underpins any combination of toppings. But Partenope is a well-rounded Italian restaurant that also has terrific made-from-scratch pastas, unusually interesting salads and more. A must try is the monster-sized sandwiches, which use extraordinary pillowy loaves of bread made in-house. The bread is our favorite part, to be honest, but if you want a spicy sandwich — truly spicy, not just a bit of flavor — grab the Super Jeff, with hot soppressata and a mayo that’s spiked with Calabrian chile peppers.

Top pick: We love the attention paid to veggie sides and starters here, like crispy Brussels sprouts and eggplant stewed in a super-thick, hearty tomato sauce. Partenope is also a good spot to bring spicy food lovers: Aside from the Super Jeff, it also has delicious, pepper-laced spaghetti allo scarpariello and penne alla amatriciana. ($$)

People don’t really go to DanSungSa before 8 p.m. The scene picks up late at this classic Korean joint, which on Thursdays and Fridays closes just before sunrise the next day. Grab a karaoke room or a booth in the bar, which have big, dark privacy shields covered in soju advertisements. If the ads inspire you, there’s plenty of soju to be had, along with a list of Korean, Japanese and Okinawan beers (note to the uninitiated: Orion is pronounced “Oh-ree-awn”). The bar snacks, including bulgogi kimchi burritos and huge family-sized platters of crispy fried chicken, make DanSungSa a go to spot for late night food and beverages. ($$)

Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen has brought a delightful menu to Lower Greenville. Start with spring rolls, fried exteriors wrapping shrimp, pork and leafy springs. The broken rice plate offers tender rice, shrimp, cucumber, pickled veggies and a sunny-side egg. Choose your protein, but you can’t go wrong with the lemongrass pork. The best part may be pouring over as much fish sauce as you like. The banh mi is welcoming and simple, with layers of meat, foie gras pate and plenty of pickled vegetables and cilantro. A dish you shouldn’t skip is the bun bo Hue, with the bite of spice (as long as you put in all the chili oil) alongside the fragrant lemongrass. As an added bonus, this restaurant is women-led.

Top pick: Any dish with their flavorful broths. ($)

Southside Steaks and Cakes first popped up on many a radar when the family-owned restaurant in South Dallas — situated within 1,000 feet of Fair Park — was added as a concessionaire to the State Fair in 2021. Then, in 2022 fireworks went off when its prison-food-inspired Peanut Butter Paradise won a Big Tex Choice Award. The more we got to know the owners, Chris Easter and Nicole Sternes, the more we were enthralled by not only the food but also their infectious spirit and ambition. Southside has a big party vibe inside. The Philly cheesesteaks are two-handed sandwiches overflowing with meat and cheese. The wing menu has more than two dozen dry and wet rubs. For variety, get a Dime Bag, one of many menu items that play on cultural colloquialisms of a trap house, which the owners nickname the spot. For $10 get six wings and “Steakchos,” which are Doritos topped with cheesesteak beef, peppers, onions and cheese.

Top Pick: If you drove to Southside just for a honey bun, there'd be no judgment here. The Peanut Butter Paradise is worth the hype. It's a honey bun injected with caramel, then deep-fried and topped with peanut butter and candy. It just may be the best single bite we had all year. ($)

Ayahuasca is possibly the most difficult-to-find restaurant in Dallas. To get there, enter the Xaman Cafe in Oak Cliff, then head down a back hallway to a wooden door. Inside, owner Mauricio Gallegos and chef Monica Lopez serve pre-Hispanic dishes and techniques influenced by Oaxaca. The dishes are steeped in authenticity, from the pulpo y tinta (octopus and ink), caldo de piedra or chicharron en salsa verde. Fear not if you’re unfamiliar with the fare; servers are happy to walk guests through the menu, asking them what looks interesting or what kind of dish they're looking for.

Top Pick: Without a doubt, order the tuetano. Two large roasted beef bones filled with marrow are topped with a lively chimichurri and served with a bowl of diced rib-eye alongside. Scoop up a spoonful of baked marrow from the bone and spread it into a criollo tortilla, then add the tender rib-eye. Yes, the dish is $49, but it’s worth every penny. ($$)

Many of the regulars at this Richardson institution come to share a bounteous portion of whole roasted catfish, priced by size and served with rice paper, sauces and herbs for make-them-yourself spring rolls. There are also roasted quail and buttery frog legs on the menu at Saigon Block, which specializes in the kind of banquet meals that might mark a Vietnamese special occasion.

Top pick: The luxurious “seven courses of beef” is a show-stopping meal for the whole table to share, and, contrary to the expectations its name generates, it is reasonably balanced, with noodles, spring rolls, grilled meats and hearty bowls of porridge. If the kitchen is out of one course, you can order double of another. ($$)

Jimmy’s is an East Dallas institution, a grocery store with a deli counter that pulls double duty cranking out the best sandwiches in the city. The Italian Stallion sandwich is one of the biggest, baddest sandwiches around, loaded with just about every meat this superb shop has in its cases. The other sandwiches are formidable, too, including one of the better muffalettas west of the Louisiana border. ($)

After the pandemic hit, chef and owner Regino Rojas completely rebuilt the dining room here, walling it off from the kitchen and replacing the huge communal dining space with four small, distanced tables. The old Purepecha tasting has been replaced by La Resistencia, a reservations-only dinner for half the old cost that focuses on spectacular specialty tacos built on fresh tortillas made from colorful heirloom corn. Rojas’ fascination with Japanese cooking — much of the food is cooked on a yakitori grill — manifests in tempura-battered seafood and crudos. And, best of all, he’s convinced James Beard-recognized pastry chef Ricchi Sanchez, of Bullion, to create Mexican desserts. The bottom line: Before the pandemic, Revolver Taco Lounge was Dallas’ best restaurant, and now it’s even better than it was before.

Top pick: Reserve a table Sunday at lunchtime to enjoy an extraordinary a-la-carte seafood brunch of octopus sushi, grilled whole fish, oysters and probably the city’s best seafood cocktail.

Fun fact: Revolver Taco Lounge got its name from Arturo Rojas, Regino’s father and Juanita’s husband, who occasionally washes the dishes when he’s not one of Texas’ most celebrated creators of elaborately designed and carved guns. ($$)

Chef Toby Archibald says restaurants like his Quarter Acre are plentiful in his native New Zealand, but this year-old spot on Greenville Avenue in the former Rapscallion space is at the vanguard of some of Dallas’ most creative cooking. On its face, the cuisine may come off as pretentious, but a closer look reveals a playful sense of whimsy. There are small one-hitter bites that offer inexpensive tastes of Quarter Acre’s imaginative spirit. Appetizers and entrees are updated often as ingredients move in and out of season, but the impressive short rib or hot smoked salmon are both stars and seem to have a permanent home on the menu.

Top Pick: Nothing exemplifies Quarter Acre’s sense of whimsy better than the fried quail with peanut creme, crispy wonton and blueberry puree; the description reads upscale, but the taste is straight fried chicken plus peanut butter and jelly comfort food. ($$$)

Nonna is one of the best Italian restaurants in Dallas. The menu shifts constantly with the seasons, accommodating fresh produce, new cuts of meat or seafood and the culinary team’s latest pasta inspirations. Some of the pastas, made in-house, are unique to Dallas (no, cavateddhi is not a typo; it’s a smaller cavatelli from Calabria). A wood-fired oven is responsible for some of the biggest hits here, including roasted lamb, veal, quail or gulf snapper and the iconic white clam pizza. That pizza is one of just two menu items that never change, along with justly famous lobster ravioli served in a bowl of broth. ($$)

Niwa gives Deep Ellum a proper Japanese grill-it-yourself experience, with excellent meat cuts (grab the hanger steak and short ribs), solid noodle bowl appetizers and a plentitude of dipping sauces. Your platter of meats comes with handy labels for each type. ($$)

Too often we associate French cuisine with stuffiness, arrogance, overpriced fare or some combination of the three. Thankfully, Dallas has Knox Bistro to show off the best that French cuisine has to offer in a much more approachable fashion. Knox Bistro’s menu offers ingredients that aren’t at all complex but are so brilliantly executed that they taste like something new and fresh. There are delicate soufflés, naturally, exquisite seafood (don't sleep on the brilliant branzino) and perfectly prepared vegetables. It's all reminiscent of chef-partner Bruno Davaillon's home in the Loire Valley. His team, including executive chef Michael Ehlert, creates a casually elegant meal that should change anyone’s mind about French cuisine being too pretentious to enjoy.

Top pick: Soufflés may be the essence of French cooking, and Knox Bistro’s chocolate dessert soufflé borders on a religious experience. It’s light yet rich, chocolaty yet still bright, and should almost be a requirement to end your meal. ($$)

The menu at Kitchen + Kocktails is packed with comfort food staples like Southern-fried catfish, shrimp and grits, and crispy fried green tomatoes. But don't sleep on the lamb chops here, or the blackened-shrimp-topped deviled eggs, both of which are on a budget-friendly happy hour menu. There’s also an impressive cocktail game: Try the smooth — and powerful — D’usse, a frozen peach concoction topped with a healthy dose of D’usse Cognac. On the weekends they run a clinic: How to Brunch. Pull out those nice heels you'd been saving, make reservations and buckle up.

Top Pick: The oxtail here is epic. The seasoning is on point but more important the meat slides right off the bone with a gentle tug of a fork. ($$)

When the Armoury D.E. opened its doors in 2015, its mission was to offer some of the best cocktails, food and live music Deep Ellum had seen in years. The Armoury has stuck to what it knows best, offering a casual dining experience with a diverse selection of Hungarian comfort foods and other good stuff that doesn’t quite fit anywhere else. Be sure to ask about the burger of the week while you’re there. Also, venture out back to catch one of their free live shows, curated with a music taste as refined as the bar’s choice in booze. ($$)

Sandwich Hag is the little bánh mì shop that could. Its tiny building, which dates from 1964, has just a walk-up window for ordering and a couple of picnic tables under a shaded canopy. Inside, a tiny staff led by chef Reyna Duong assembles perfect sandwiches built around pork, sausage patties or ginger tofu.

Fun fact: Sandwich Hag is a local leader in advocating for the employment of people with disabilities. Duong’s brother Sang has Down syndrome and works at the restaurant; she calls him “the hardest worker I have.” ($)

This “shrine to the spirits of Mexico” recently contended for a James Beard Award for best bar in the United States, a recognition of its extraordinary library of tequilas, mezcals, sotols, raicillas, corn whiskeys and more. You could nerd out over a specific rare liquor from the list of specials, or you could sit on the patio, order a margarita and jam out to one of the city’s best bar playlists. Lots of good stories start at Las Almas Rotas, like the rumor about the back room being haunted, or the time that its owners smuggled a smoked brisket into Mexico to help distill the world’s first pechuga de brisket mezcal. Do any of the other bars on this list get involved with international barbecue smuggling? We doubt it. Their tacos come four to a plate and are all swaddled in Molina Oloyo Heritage corn tortillas. We're partial to the chicken tinga - chipotle and tomato stewed chicken - and the roasted carrots and cauliflower vegetable options. The chicharrones con cholula is a perfect bar snack. ($)

Texans certainly hold their barbecue opinions close to their hearts, and it’s risky business to attempt to fuse barbecue with Asian fare and not upset fans of either cuisine. Under the guidance of Uchi’s Tyson Cole and Franklin Barbecue’s Aaron Franklin, the food at Loro soars. Menu options hopscotch between Asian influences like Karaage chicken and char siew pork belly to more traditional barbecue hits like succulent brisket or smoked turkey breast. For those who have never stood in line at Franklin’s in Austin or lack the financial wherewithal to spring for dinner at Uchi, Loro’s resplendent fare is the ideal alternative.

Top Pick: It’s only available during lunch and happy hour, but Loro serves one of the best smashed burgers in the city, topped with Muenster cheese and a decadent brisket jam. ($$)

From the minute it opened, Ka-Tip offered probably the best Thai food in Dallas city limits. Nearly everything on Ka-Tip’s tiny menu is sensational, and spicy-sour noodle soups like tom yum are perfect both for takeout and for winter months. Because the kitchen here doesn’t Americanize, sweeten or tone down its flavors and ingredients, each dish is more vivid than the equivalent at many Thai spots around town.

Top pick: If you’re a seafood fan, grab an order of hoi tod, a crispy grilled pancake filled with morsels of shellfish. Otherwise, go for the excellent noodle dishes. ($)

This Japanese bar on Henderson Avenue specializes in robatayaki, the technique of grilling food over hot charcoal. Chefs at the bar tend to the grill, turning out excellent skewers of meat and vegetables, as well as crisp-skinned and fork-tender whole fish. There is sashimi on offer, too, and it’s at the same high quality. Once part of Teiichi Sakurai’s empire, Tei Tei Robata is still living up to that legacy of perfectionism, and the entrance, tucked away from Henderson in a small garden terrace, feels surprisingly secluded given the busy neighborhood around it.

Top pick: Sit at the robata bar and order anything on the specials board — especially a perfectly smoky grilled salmon collar.

Fun fact: Regulars know if you’re feeling especially generous, you can buy the whole staff a round of drinks. Because the cost usually exceeds $50, this is best attempted after a bottle of sake for courage. ($$)

Kumar’s uses savvy, “small plates” marketing to appeal to a non-Indian audience, but the restaurant is usually buzzing with south Indian guests who know the kitchen is turning out some of the best food in Plano. The menu highlights specialties like thalapakatti biryani, with big, tender pieces of goat mixed into the rice. Kumar’s offers a lot of goat, but vegetarian options abound, too — go for the delightfully spicy cauliflower that’s marinated in seasonings and then fried, roasted eggplant or a masala dosa.

Top pick: The “Breads, But Not The Usual Though” menu section lives up to its promise with some fabulous stuffed breads, parathas, pancakes and kottu, the dish of flaky bread pieces stir-fried with your choice of protein. ($$)

If you designed the diner of your dreams, and you happened to be from south-central Texas rather than, say, New York or the Midwest, the result would look a lot like AllGood Cafe. The food here adds gentle Texan touches to American classics, like the fat slices of roasted poblano pepper in the terrific grilled cheese sandwich, or the fact that all sandwiches come with a side of tortilla chips rather than fries. The chicken-fried steak, with enormous, crisp batter that sprawls across a whole takeout container, is advertised as the “world’s best.” We don’t know if that’s true, but to find better, you’d probably have to drive to some tiny town in the Hill Country.

Top pick: Either the fabulous chicken club sandwich, with crisp, peppery bacon and avocado, or literally any dish that comes with the restaurant’s smooth mashed potatoes and ultra-peppery gravy. Come to think of it, all our favorite dishes at AllGood have huge quantities of black pepper.

Fun fact: The restaurant’s atmosphere, eclecticism and charm are best described by the slogan emblazoned across its website: “It’s like going to Austin, without having to go through Waco.” ($)

This second iteration of the once-popular taqueria, Tacos Mariachi, just a stone’s throw away from the original, reprised much of the menu along with a whole new slate of ceviche tostadas and a shrimp burger that comes topped with chicharron crumbles and a jalapeño glaze. The standards include a filet of smoked salmon wrapped in griddled cheese. The shrimp taco, or “taco gobernador” on the menu, is topped with a sweet-sour pickled red onions, pico and a punchy salsa.

Top Pick: The campechano, a surf-and-turf combination of carne asada, octopus and shrimp. ($)

Urban Tadka’s original location is in an Irving strip center that has seen better days; the Dick’s Sporting Goods recently turned into a trampoline park, and the other anchor business is a Best Buy. But this Punjabi restaurant mini-chain vastly exceeds any expectations that its surroundings might create. The specialties here are paneer, lamb and goat, all available in superb dishes that balance a multitude of flavors and spices. Grab some naan bread that’s been stuffed with paneer or onions, too.

Top pick: Kadai paneer, which finds the cubes of cheese cooked in a spicy sauce with tomatoes and bell peppers, is a standout. Or dunk your naan into lamb dhansak, with ultra-tender lamb simmered in lentils. ($$)

Some of the best noodles, wontons and soups in the area are served at Wu Wei Din, a Plano spot with Taiwanese roots. Many of the regulars are devotees of pork chop fried rice — a decent bowl of fried rice topped with an entire deep-fried pork chop — but beef noodle soup topped with pickled mustard greens is another hit, the beef ultra-tender and the broth well-spiced. Look out for vegetable specials that might be hand-written onto the bottom of the menu; they’ll be cooked simply and flawlessly, with copious garlic. Wu Wei Din has even tweaked its recipe for soup dumplings to make better takeout, adding just a gram or 2 of dough to each dumpling so they don’t spill or fall apart on your drive home. Call in an order and you’ll be able to pick it up at a table in the parking lot.

Top pick: Pork and shrimp spicy wontons are delicious, as is golden kimchi, a milder, mellower interpretation of the Korean classic with an addicting sweet-spicy balance.

Fun fact: Many of the menu items are available at the tea house next door, with which Wu Wei Din shares a kitchen. ($$)

Chef Tiffany Derry’s triumphant new Farmers Branch restaurant oozes joy. The customers are happy, the staff is enthusiastic, the mood is like a family reunion and the food tastes like a celebration. Derry’s kitchen serves up Southern fare inspired by her Louisiana roots, and traditional and modern takes are brilliantly blended together by Derry and her team.

Top pick: Derry may be the area’s biggest consumer of duck fat, using it for French fries, dirty rice, but most important, fried chicken. The poultry is brined to keep the meat tender and juicy, marinated to give it a gently spicy heat, fried until a deep, dark brown and served family-style on a heaping plate. ($$$)

There’s a common refrain that, for all its talent, Dallas doesn’t have many real Italian restaurants. Via Triozzi aims to change our minds by checking a lot of requisite Italian boxes: an exquisite lasagna, daily house-made pasta and several other well-executed Italian basics. Naturally, there’s an impressive, red-heavy wine selection and a full bar with an inspired assortment of crafted cocktails. Via Triozzi’s space is lovely, with every detail considered, and meals there feel like you’ve been invited into the home of your long-lost Italian family. It all adds up to an Italian restaurant Dallas can be proud of.

Top Pick: Via Triozzi’s lasagna Bolognese is stellar, but we had a butternut squash ravioli on our first visit that was the epitome of fall comfort food in pasta form. If squash is in season and ravioli is on the menu, consider it a must-order. ($$)

Oak Cliff’s newest taco sensation is the second location of a business that first opened in McKinney. But Del Sur Tacos has upped its game to compete with Jefferson Boulevard’s crowd of rival taquerias, with inspired specialty tacos featuring fillings like a chile relleno, excellent carnitas, cochinita pibil and birria. Grab some mulitas, too, and enjoy a dish of meat, beans and stacked tortillas that is tragically rare in the Dallas area.

Top pick: We’re in love with El Santo, a taco with a nearly even mixture of grilled pork and julienned radishes doused in fiery guajillo pepper salsa. Grab your tacos as a platter to get the excellent side cup of beans. ($)

Some of the best enchiladas verdes in Dallas can be found here, and if you agree with us, you can order them in an enormous platter of six; or just get two as they come with sides of ride and beans. There are other hits on the menu too, including picadillo gorditas, lengua tacos and divine mole. Stacks of tortillas make a carnitas platter or a plate of pollo en mole even more enticing. This is some of Oak Cliff’s best Mexican comfort food.

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Sachet’s vegetable-focused, elegant Mediterranean plates of food start from impeccable ingredients, and they’re served in portions small enough that we can try more. It’s possible to focus on a different aspect of this restaurant with each visit: Come once to sample Sachet’s seasonal house-made pastas — Sachet is one of the best pasta joints in Dallas — then return to try a half-dozen or so of the vegetarian meze or to focus on the new lineup of swordfish kebabs and grilled octopus. The menu’s influences range from Spanish Iberico ham to Turkish-inspired lamb, with a detour at the end for Tunisian doughnuts, but pastas like green tortiglioni and lobster spaghetti just might be best of all.

Top pick: Dive into the meze, including muhammara, the smoky pepper dip, topped with a scoop of lentils, or roasted carrots with spices and labne. And don’t be afraid to pay for the fresh-baked pita bread, which is worth the modest ask.

Fun fact: In addition to an entire menu of different gin and tonics, Sachet boasts the best wine program in Dallas. The wine list notates natural, biodynamic and organic bottlings, and encompasses wines from Spain, Morocco, France, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Turkey, Lebanon, Albania, Israel and Texas. Feeling a bit lost? Seemingly every employee on staff can tell you, with sincere enthusiasm, about their favorites. ($$$)

Irving’s first Nepalese sports bar was worth the wait, and it’s making the rest of the North Texas cities jealous. Only at Peak Restaurant can you watch a football game with a pint of Dos Equis while devouring spiral-topped dumplings filled with chicken and slathered with spicy chile sauce, or a vegetarian thali based on the Himalayan spice mixes used in Nepal’s small Thakali culture. If this is your first time trying Nepalese food, go for badel sadeko: thin, crisp slices of fried pork belly mixed with green and white onions and tossed in a gently spicy sauce.

Top pick: The Thakali thali is a huge mixed platter of stews, pickles, rice and a bowl of super-comforting stewed black lentils.

Fun fact: This is the only place in town to order a round of mango lassi vodka shots. ($$)

Gorji is nearly a one-man show, with chef-owner Mansour Gorji buying the ingredients, answering phone calls for reservations, greeting each table and cooking dinner with the help of a tiny handful of waiters and kitchen staff. The dining room is small, the atmosphere is intimate and each table is booked for only one party per night, which makes this one of the most romantic restaurants in Dallas. The food reflects Gorji’s background as both an accomplished grillmaster and an Iranian-American immigrant; sample Persian-inspired appetizers and then go for a flawlessly cooked steak or a cut of wild game.

Top pick: With a meat whisperer in the kitchen, any protein that hits the grill is going to be exceptional.

Fun fact: This is grown-up fine dining, literally: Gorji does not allow children. ($$$)

The Austin import, which also has locations in Houston and Denver, is almost daunting in its reputation for extremely expensive high-end Japanese cooking. But Uchi’s friendly service keeps the experience grounded, and its sushi bar does phenomenal work. Anything raw is bound to be good, especially seafood ordered off the list of daily specials. We’re less excited about some of the cooked dishes; Uchi has a predilection for overthought dishes, cloying fruit sauces and unnecessary flavor clashes. If you want to sample it all in the safety of your own home, there are lavish multi-course dinners available to go, which include a bottle of wine and breakfast biscuits for the next morning.

Top pick: The only thing better than the ultra-traditional preparations of the day’s freshest fish, printed on a separate menu card, is the melt-in-your-mouth sashimi made from gyutoro (braised beef shortrib).

Fun fact: You can order many of Uchi’s dishes at the more casual bar upstairs, Uchiba. Uchi is a relaxing, comfortable space, but the upstairs bar is just a bit more fun. ($$)

The former (and in our minds, original) Carbone’s Fine Foods has been reincarnated as Barsotti’s. The trappings of the new space feel a little more upscale since the remodel, but the restaurant still executes classic and unpretentious Italian fare. Longtime fans of the red-sauce Italian spot have returned in droves. Classic dishes like vodka rigatoni or lasagna Bolognese stream through the dining room regularly. Be sure to wrap up your meal with one of Barsotti’s textbook cannolis.

Top Pick: Barsotti’s from-scratch Sunday gravy, served on a bed of al dente creste pasta, is exquisite. If you don’t get enough — or lie awake at night thinking about it — Barsotti’s will sell you a container of sauce to go. ($$)

If your parents were Korean and supported your drinking habit by cooking enormous meals for your returns home from long nights out, your house would probably look a lot like Dal Dong Nae. This late-night staple of Dallas Korea Town serves enormous, family-style platters of pork, bowls of raw oyster kimchi, huge simmering pans of stew, fried kimchi pancakes and other excellent ways to blunt the effects of the restaurant’s $12 soju and $4 beer.

Top pick: The seafood pancakes are very good here, as is the bit-of-everything budae jjijae (army stew) served bubbling hot.

Fun fact: Dal Dong Nae is open, and bustling, until 2 a.m. every night but Monday. ($$)

Here you’ll find the city’s best chicken and waffles here, along with some of its best gravy with plenty of black pepper. Breakfast is served all day, but don’t skip the sandwiches like the super-tall club sandwich or the macaroni and cheese that’s full of love and no fanciness. In 2022, they expanded with a second location at 5337 Forest Lane. Top pick: A mimosa and All in One Waffle (bacon, eggs, sausage, onion, green chile, cheese and Jon’s pepper gravy, drizzled with hot sauce) at 11 a.m. on a Monday. ($$)

At the end of a strip center under the shadow of U.S. 67, chef Kevin Winston is rethinking classic Southern food. What’s remarkable about the dishes at Kendall Karsen’s is their confidence. No, those baked ribs don’t need a sauce, not with their peppery rub and tender meat that comes off the bone with a gentle tug. But there’s a cup of deep brown barbecue sauce on the side anyway, and it’s fantastic. No, these stewed collard greens don’t need half a saltshaker and a pound of bacon to achieve deeply satisfying flavor. (There are inch-wide planks of pork in the cabbage, though.) What’s even better than the food, though, is the outstanding hospitality of this ultra-friendly team, which serves a close-knit community of regulars. No wonder this spot has hosted celebrity visitors like Bun B.

Top pick: We just like being here and enjoying some of the friendliest staff in Dallas. Well, OK, and the ultra-gooey cheesefest that is the side cup of macaroni.

Fun fact: Kendall Karsen isn’t a real person: It’s two real people, a combination of the names of Winston’s sons.

For a certain kind of tourist or visiting family member, this fancified, all-frills saloon in Victory Park is a guaranteed hit. It presents a dressed-up, Wild West atmosphere that verges on kitsch (and, in the name, crosses that verge), while serving up food and drink vastly better than the gimmick might suggest. An adventurous, affordable selection of wines and cocktails backs up pretty killer renditions of skillet cornbread, Texas red chili, hot fried quail and summer okra succotash. Some of the mains, such as the big-boned pork chop, are over-the-top in a good way. Alongside Knife and Town Hearth, this is one of the best places to take out-of-town guests who ask for a stereotypically Dallas experience but still care about the food being good.

Top pick: The crispy oyster sliders with comeback sauce make a pretty flawless appetizer, and the burger is a meaty dream bathed in Longhorn cheddar. ($$$)

Sitting on the porch at La Calle Doce in Oak Cliff, you could easily believe you were lunching in San Antonio, not Dallas. Upscale but not stuffy, this local institution (which also has an East Dallas location) serves some of the best-quality Mexican seafood in town, from ceviche cocktails and tostadas to seafood chiles rellenos and perfectly grilled shrimp alambres. Many of the main courses come with appetizer cups of fish stew, so be careful not to chow down too hard on chips and salsa. ($$)

This might just be the best Sichuan restaurant in the area, one that can dial up the numbing spice or showcase a more subtle side. After polishing off some superb spicy wontons, look for the dishes with Sichuan peppercorns, especially if they involve seafood, like the spicy fish. If you don’t want peppercorns setting your tongue and lips tingling, they have plenty of milder options, including simply prepared green veggies and a comforting bowl of noodle soup topped with pork and mustard greens.

Top pick: Anything involving the words “spicy” and “fish” is probably a hit, but if you’re not sure, ask one of the servers; they’re happy to make recommendations based on your preferences.

Fun fact: If you have a hankering to eat frog, this is probably the best place in Dallas to reliably get it, and Sichuan spicy bullfrog, bones and all, will thrill your taste buds. ($$)

A hot spot in Plano’s growing Chinese food scene, Hunan Bistro packs in customers looking for rustic specialties from its namesake province. Garlic cloves remain whole in stir fries, chopped-up chile peppers pile high, and some form of braised pork is on nearly every table. Whole croaker fish get fried without batter until their skins, and bones, are nicely crunchy.

Top pick: The smooth cross-sections of pig ears doused in chili oil are a great appetizer, and “dry pots” featuring proteins like bullfrog are fun to share among a larger table. Don’t miss the quick-fried green beans. ($$)

There's a long list of new, glitzy restaurants in Deep Ellum. CheapSteaks is not one of these. Here you'll get honest food and strong drinks at a fair price, a reflection of the original neighborhood's gritty character. True to its name, CheapSteaks offers up a trio of beef cuts that punch above their weight class. Light and crispy truffle french fries are the default side choice, but flavorful Brussels sprouts or a baked potato can be subbed for a couple of bucks more. And every night of the week, CheapSteaks hosts live music that helps burnish its Deep Ellum bona fides.

Top Pick: The hanger steak is particularly delicious, especially when ordered with no more than a medium finish. It’s a poor man's filet of tenderness and flavor, and it is baffling to us that more restaurants don't offer the cut.

Of Irving’s top Nepalese restaurants, Cafemandu boasts the biggest and deepest list of momos, the country’s beloved pleated dumplings. Cafemandu even has dessert momos, but it’s probably best to start with the classic steamed variety to admire the thin, nearly translucent dough around the plump filling then work your way through spicy chili momos covered in hot sauce and sautéed with peppers, jhol momos, served in a bowl of mildly spiced broth, and even dumplings bathed in cheese.

Top pick: One you best bets is sekuwa, the Nepalese grilled skewers of seasoned meat similar to kebabs; try the ultra-flavorful goat.

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The most influential figure on the Dallas dining scene might be Teiichi Sakurai, who is doing his best to build one of America’s best Japanese food markets. Sakurai’s previous restaurants, Teppo and Tei Tei Robata, are both still open and still outstanding, and his ramen shop Ten is a cult favorite. But Tei-An is his masterpiece, one of the few restaurants in America to make its own soba noodles from scratch. The soba is spectacular however you try it, from plain noodles with a trio of dipping sauces in bowls to a “bolognese” riff that bridges the gap between Japan and Italy. Tei-An flies in fresh seafood daily straight from Tokyo, making sushi and sashimi essential orders. Tasting menus offer a good chance to try everything, including the excellent tempura.

Top pick: Order as much as possible from the list of daily specials, then fill up on the city’s best okonomiyaki. If you don’t save room for a bowl of black sesame mousse for dessert, then you’ll just have to go back.

Fun fact: This isn’t just a local favorite. Tei-An has a glittering reputation over in Japan, too. If you get a glimpse of the wooden plaques for the members of this restaurant’s secret society of regulars, you’ll see the names of several of Major League Baseball’s Japanese players. ($$$)

Nick Badovinus has had plenty of restaurant success in Dallas. With National Anthem, he has created a mix-tape of the greatest hits from his other ventures and stuffed them onto one menu. It's all then served up with a playful smirk for those who are in on the joke. The result is a competent blend of steaks, seafood and sandwiches that will please all palates, served inside a dining room that instantly brightens your mood. Too often, we get trapped in the notion that well-executed dishes should always be taken seriously, but National Anthem is our reminder that it’s OK to smile and laugh when you enjoy a great meal.

Top Pick: It seems low-brow, but with so many dishes that come with great sauces, ordering the bread service ($5) with the whipped and lightly salted butter is a must. The bread is great on its own, but using it to sop up all the flavors on your plate takes everything to the next level. ($$$)

This North Dallas Japanese restaurant is an all-rounder, serving very good examples of just about everything you could want. The ramen is some of the best in Dallas — more flavorful and less aggressively salty than bowls from many ramen specialists — and the specialty sushi rolls don’t go over-the-top. They do include unusual preparations, though, like multiple rolls with crawfish. Robatayaki-grilled meats and veggies are solid bets, too, as are ultra-traditional sushi rolls like big, thick futomaki. Sushi Robata is across-the-board reliable in a wide array of Japanese cuisine.

Top pick: Look for unusual specials and sushi pieces like engawa (the edge of a flounder’s tail), ankimo (monkfish liver pate), sea eel and a spectacular piece of sushi filled to the brim with salmon roe.

Fun fact: This is one of the most comfortable dining rooms in Dallas. It’s just a pleasure to eat here, especially in the last few years, when the crowds drifted away to trendier spots. Sushi Robata is also unusually quiet; from the architecture to the way the kitchen uses a lantern instead of a bell to summon waitstaff, everything about the place is designed to keep the volume down. ($$)

One of Bishop Arts’ most welcoming neighborhood hangouts is dedicated to the proposition that tacos pair well with wine. This isn’t your grandmother’s wine bar; it’s a super-casual spot that takes all the elitism and exclusion out of wine-drinking. Have a glass on the lawn during loteria night and pair your bubbles with a dish inspired by owner Jimmy Contreras’ upbringing in San Antonio, like shrimp-stuffed jalapeños or crispy carnitas tacos.

Top pick: Although we love the cochinita pibil tacos, our top pick is the brunch order of chilaquiles, a classic rendition served with refried black beans. ($)

This upscale Mexican restaurant, conveniently located near some of Dallas’ wealthiest neighborhoods, serves two menus. The first, which it debuted in 2017, is a canny setlist of fancied-up Tex-Mex favorites, such as $17 seafood enchiladas. The menu-within-a-menu is the work of a chef hired in late 2018, Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, who brings her own distinctive and creative perspective on Mexican cuisine. Focus on the Quiñones fare by ordering her “tacos de tacha,” a daily taco special made with tortillas that have been flavored by the addition of hot peppers, black beans, mole spices or some other twist. Look out for seasonal aguachiles, too, and, if you’re lucky, some sensational carnitas. Quiñones’ mole sauce is an evolving one; new batches are mixed in with the old to help flavors age and grow more complex. ($$)

When The Grape closed in 2019, the heartbreak that Dallasites felt was palpable. Sister, which opened in the same space in late 2021, has filled the role of lower Greenville’s neighborly bistro admirably. With its menu of “loose Italian” and Mediterranean-inspired dishes, a visit to Sister is a delightful journey of pastas, proteins and vegetables layered with imaginative flavor combinations. Culinary director J. Chastain says his team wants meals at Sister to truly make you feel at home. “We like to think of it as coming to a dinner party at our house," Chastain says. "It's food we want to cook, and it's like you're our friends.”

Top Pick: Sister’s menu is designed for sharing among the table. Don’t miss the grilled focaccia with house-made mortadella, and definitely save room for the banana budino when it’s time to order dessert. ($$$)

Mr. Max himself, Hare Nakamura, died in 2013, but his namesake restaurant is still going strong in its third decade of business. A casual oasis of high-quality Japanese food in an Irving strip mall that also contains five hair salons, Mr. Max offers cold and hot appetizers, grilled seafood and irresistible fried snacks like takoyaki, the battered balls topped with dancing bonito flakes and concealing nuggets of octopus within. Half-sized bowls of ramen mean you can chow down on noodles and still have room for something else.

Top pick: The chef’s choice sampler plate of three appetizers is just $10 — including a glass of beer.

Fun fact: If you elect to eat at a table, you’ll need to remove your shoes and sit on the floor. ($$)

Tucked away at the corner of Skillman and Live Oak since 2000 is Cosmo’s, a restaurant and bar boasting no nonsense, one of a kind hospitality. With a ‘60s lounge vibe, specialty cocktails and an eclectic menu with everything from gourmet pizzas to Vietnamese dishes, Cosmo’s has something for everyone. When you’re there, browse through their extensive VHS collection and make a request or step outside to their patio, which feels like a little oasis outside the noise of the city. ($)

Some of the best Guadalajaran food in Dallas comes from this luchador-themed restaurant in the heart of Oak Cliff. Many first-timers come to Maskaras for its extraordinary collection of lucha libre masks, costumes and vintage posters, but they stay because of the awesome tacos ahogados (“drowned” tacos bathing in salsa), enormous tortas and rich carne en su jugo. The spicy shrimp burrito is more than a foot long, and the hospitality here is as big-hearted as the plates are, well, big. The sudden internet popularity of birria, a Jalisco specialty, became a fan favorite at Maskaras, as the restaurant serves birria three ways: plated as a stew, in soft-tortilla “street” tacos or, most indulgently of all, in fried tacos that are also stuffed with gooey cheese.

Top pick: Grab some fried tacos dorados with cueritos (pickled pig skins), or the house special Taco Maskaras, which combines shrimp, pico de gallo and molten cheese. Maskaras’ enchiladas verdes are flawless, too. ($)

Carrollton may not have Hawaii's natural beauty, but thanks to Teriyaki 4 U, it has a restaurant that brilliantly re-creates the flavors of a Hawaiian lunch plate. Owner Grace Koo uses a wood-fired grill to infuse Teriyaki 4 U’s proteins with a subtle hint of smoke, and she and chef-partner Joshua Bonee have created a menu of Asian fast-casual fare without any apparent weakness. In addition to teriyaki chicken, salmon or tofu, there’s Japanese curry, katsu-style pork or chicken and crab Rangoons that are better than any of the takeout versions of your past.

Top Pick: Loco Moco is another Hawaiian standby: a burger patty topped with gravy and a fried egg on a bed of rice. Teriyaki 4 U kicks up the flavor with a blend of pork and beef in the patty, which gets a wood char before being bathed in mushroom brown gravy. ($)

From the Dallas-based group Duro Hospitality, think of El Carlos Elegante as The Charles’ Mexican cousin. The restaurant is nondescript outside, but inside is a vibrant and lively space, serving authentic Mexican and South American fare with an upscale polish. The best of El Carlos’ dishes center on anything made with house-made masa; the mushroom tetelas or chorizo molotes are brilliant examples. A visit to El Carlos Elegante borders on "special occasion" spending, but the brilliant dishes are worth the price of admission.

Top Pick: Al pastor pork is grilled to perfection and sized to share. Each succulent bite could star on its own, but is accompanied by a rich adobo sauce and a pineapple butter that we never knew was missing from our lives. ($$$)

Texas barbecue gets influenced by Mexican heritage at Zavala’s, and the results are deeply satisfying. Every Friday is taco night, but every barbecue tray can be converted into a taco plate if you ask for tortillas. This might be a hot take, but tortillas are a better barbecue accompaniment than white bread. A slice of Zavala’s lean brisket nestled in a fluffy tortilla, topped with cilantro-heavy house salsa verde, tastes just about perfect. The ribs are perfectly cooked, too, especially with a house barbecue sauce that leans heavily on spice. A Sloppy Juan taco bundles chopped meats into a tortilla with a tomato-based sauce that, as the name suggests, tastes exactly like a sloppy joe. Jalapeño peppers find their way into a number of menu items, including sausage links and the creamy-but-spicy coleslaw. Making the whole experience even better, Zavala’s is housed in a tiny 1967 building in Grand Prairie’s mid-century downtown, with a big canopy hanging over the picnic tables out front. It’s an architectural gem, and a metaphor for the way that Zavala’s takes past traditions and uses them to build new traditions of its own.

Top pick: Cheesy jalapeño hominy replaces the customary macaroni and cheese as a side dish, and it’s fabulous.

Fun fact: Yes, the tiny side street next to the building is really, officially named Brisket Lane.

On approach, this spot has straight sports-bar vibes. TVs deck the walls, all tuned into a game; wings and Philly cheesesteaks are heavy hitters on the menu. However, you should start with a salad, which would be odd at a sports bar, right? That’s the first sign that something here is “different.” The bowl of fresh greens with a delicate dressing and spicy pecans is remarkable. Then, bite into a wing with its house-made sauces and rubs, and you’ll know you’ve been bar-food fooled. That might make more sense once you learn that the chef, Josh Farrell, worked under Bruno Davaillon at The Mansion.

Top Picks: The “recycled” wings are made with a mix of vegetables, like bell pepper and onions, which are ground, pulverized and freeze-dried then applied as a dry rub. They’re unique and magnificent. ($)

This author’s last dinner out before Dallas restaurants shut down in March was the Saturday night tasting at Petra and the Beast, an astonishing and BYOB culinary fireworks show of charcuterie, pork dumplings, cured fish drizzled with paprika oil and charred leeks. That feels like a different universe now, but Petra recently resumed its tastings on its patio, with tables set far apart. At other times of the week, the restaurant acts as a market for house-made pantry ingredients like its spectacular spicy mustard, links of sausage and shelves full of pickled and preserved vegetables.

Top pick: The best charcuterie board in Dallas, period. Also, watch out for any time when Petra runs a home-style special from chef-owner Misti Norris’ Louisiana roots, like boudin or a bulk container of takeout gumbo.

Fun fact: If you can score one of the coveted tasting menu spots, Petra offers the best BYOB experience within Dallas city limits. ($$)

Chef Keunsik Lee, a Nobu veteran, presides over a thoughtful menu at this hidden spot in Irving. Some of the sushi items are traditional, but others reflect his Korean heritage or his decades of living in Texas, like the incorporation of wasabi into salsa verde, or the choice to top a spicy tuna roll with dollops of guacamole and yucca chips. If you want, you can even have your sashimi served on corn tortillas as a taco.

Top pick: The specialty here is in the name — a playful, fun, memorable omakase tasting in seven courses, in which Lee and his kitchen team will serve whatever they like, finishing with a parade of nigiri and sashimi. We also love the seaweed salad, a sampler that presents several varieties of seaweed in different dressings. ($)

Cristina Mendez and John Pham opened Cris and John in 2017 in a North Dallas strip mall — bookended by a 7-Eleven and a laundromat — and have stood out with a creative blend of Vietnamese and Mexican street fare. The center of Cris and John’s menu is the phoritto, which piles all the goodness of a bowl of pho into a warm and crispy tortilla. From there, the menu expands to bao, tacos or banh mi with a variety of fillings, or more traditional pho and ramen. Want loaded fries and spicy wings too? Cris and John’s has you covered, blending cuisines like few others in the city.

Top pick: Each week, Cris and John creates a $30 special tray filled with some of its most popular items, like Angry Pho, birria tacos, chicken wings or spring rolls. The tray offerings change each week, so there's always something new to try. If you see the option to add short rib to pho for a small up-charge, do it. ($$)

This small ramen bar in West Dallas, an offshoot of Teiichi Sakurai's Tei An, has gathered a cult-like following for silky broth and succulent noodles. Ten Ramen's menu is compact: two ramens, two rice bowls, a broth-less mazemen and a lobster miso, along with a rotating weekly special. Yes, there's only standing room for a dozen or so patrons inside, where you'll rub elbows with your fellow ramen fans. But the snug, no-frills interior and intricate flavors in each bowl of ramen are both steeped in Tokyo traditions, just as Sakurai intended.

Top Pick: The lobster miso may have its own legion of fans, but keep an eye on the weekly special, where flavor influences stretch from the ramen norms. A bold kimchi stew and a decadent brisket curry are just two of the brilliantly executed examples we've seen move through the specials. ($$)

An Oak Cliff hole-in-the-wall situated behind a potholed strip-mall parking lot is the source of some of Dallas’ best Thai and Lao food, including superbly fiery drunken noodles that might be among the best, and most basil-packed, in the whole state of Texas. If you’re tired of sweet, samey-tasting pad Thai and mild-mannered curries, the Southammavong’s family recipes are a hugely flavorful, brilliantly balanced antidote. Dishes get served from a small window in the back of the market, but customers order at the cash register in the front grocery section. The family that runs Ly Food Market is Laotian, not Thai, in origin, which means menu items like larb have an extra spicy-sour kick.

Top pick: Grab an order of Lao sausages and chop them up for a surprisingly great addition to eggy breakfast tacos. ($)

This spot is one of the best Pakistani restaurants in the Dallas area, which started in Richardson before moving to Garland in 2018. BBQ King serves some great naan — try it stuffed with spiced potatoes or topped with a showering of sesame seeds and cilantro. These are accompaniments to dishes such as haleem, the porridge-like soul food of lentils, wheat, ground meat, ghee, ginger and fried onion.

Top pick: Try the stew-like kunna gosht, made with goat leg, or beef karahi, which sets tomato sweetness against a balanced lineup of spices.

Fun fact: If you’re into paan, the leaf-and-nut chewing stimulant common in Pakistan, BBQ King has what most diners agree is the best paan counter in the area. (We haven’t indulged.) ($$)

Thunderbird’s specialty is Detroit-style pies, straight out of a seasoned 10-by-14-inch steel pan, with almost-burnt cheese crust edges, loaded with Wisconsin brick cheese, toppings and, always, sauce on the top. If such delicious pizza weren’t enough, Jay Jerrier, Thunderbird owner, also put a Cow Tipping Creamery inside of Thunderbird’s East Dallas location for the scrumptious soft-serve ending to your pizza-perfect day.

Top Pick: Two diners can split a small Thunderbird pie with the splendid smashed burger (consider the bacon jam topping a mandatory part of the order), and hit all of the Thunderbird high points. ($$)

Beckley 1115 opened in January 2022 under the guidance of chef and restaurateur Sharon Van Meter, and in 2023 husband-and-wife duo Luke and Geni Rogers bought the restaurant. While Luke works the kitchen, Geni runs the front of the house and has curated a polished wine list of affordable options by the glass or bottle. The menu is dotted with American bistro favorites: shrimp, steaks and house-made pastas dominate the entrees. Appetizers sparkle, like a generous charcuterie board or delicate octopus carpaccio. In just a short time, the Rogers have turned Beckley 1115 into the neighborhood secret worthy of everyone’s attention.

Top Pick: Order the Butcher's Cut of the Day, which varies but is always executed with skill. A melting beef tallow candle in the center of the cut bastes the beef as you eat. ($$)

The Limon family’s Veracruzan kitchen sits well outside the spotlight with locations in the west side of Oak Cliff and Grand Prairie, which means Dallas at large is still hearing the good news about their exceptional garnachas, mole veracruzano and picadas. Be careful with the enchiladas verdes: There are habanero peppers in the salsa, and a lot of them, which makes probably the spiciest salsa verde we’ve tasted anywhere in town.

Top pick: In addition to standard corn-husk tamales, Limon’s offers tamales veracruzanos, wrapped in banana leaves, and chanchamitos, which are chubbier and more rounded in shape. All three are very good. ($)

Zoli’s, with its Star Wars artwork, sassy signage and boundary-pushing pies, still sets the standard for pizza in the Dallas area. The restaurant’s cult following — just try walking around the Bishop Arts District, where the restaurant was originally located, wearing a Zoli’s T-shirt — is fully matched by the intense deliciousness of pies like the Christian Pescroni, with double pepperoni and a jalapeño pesto. If you somehow need anything else, there’s room on the menu for fried mozzarella balls, garlic knots and big bowls of chopped salad.

Fun fact: Look out for pies with spiced crusts; some of Zoli’s pizza crusts come dusted with “everything bagel” seasonings, and they are perfect. ($$)

This longtime Mesquite institution serves some of the area’s best Caribbean food, including lovely beef patties with vivid yellow flakey pastry crusts, lively bone-in curries and tender jerk chicken with eye-opening spices. The rice and peas (that’s Jamaican for rice and beans) are terrific, too.

Top pick: Excellent jerk chicken comes in heaping portions; there’s plenty to share. ($)

Chef Kevin Ashade calls himself “globally trained,” and that education shows itself on a menu that hops across the world, with flavors of France, Jamaica, Asia, West Africa and the American South. Ashade became a champion on Beat Bobby Flay by topping the celebrity chef’s recipe for coq au vin, and Pangea’s recreation of that reality TV moment is a terrific order. But so are crab cakes with almost no filler, Nigerian grilled suya and Jamaican-style beef patty pastries. This restaurant in Garland takes advantage of that suburb’s ample extra space, with two patios and a fabulous bar.

Top pick: Ashade is a master of carbohydrates. At one point, this author managed to have mashed potatoes, grits, risotto, cornbread and macaroni and cheese all at a table occupied by two diners. The champ? Five-cheese jalapeño grits, with the risotto — a twist on African jollof rice — coming in at an honorable second place. ($$)

When we spoke to Doug Pickering about his namesake barbecue venture in Snyder Plaza, Douglas Bar and Grill, he addressed the elephant in the room right off the bat: the barbecue here is expensive. Douglas Bar and Grill is a beautiful space, and the barbecue is top-notch, from the phenomenal wagyu brisket and the perfectly cooked salmon to a barbecue burger that takes two hands to pick up. With much of Texas barbecue, one has to deal with limited hours, long lines or both. At Douglas, you can make reservations six days a week, have barbecue within minutes of sitting down and drink from a full bar to boot. For many, the extra cost for those perks strikes them as quite the value.

Top pick: If the cost scares you away, Douglas runs a happy hour with cocktails and barbecue bites for just $10. Brisket bullets are brisket and cream cheese stuffed jalapeño peppers, which give just the right amount of peppery heat to go with the savory brisket stuffing. ($$$)

Look past the silly names for entrees such as Cure For The Common Cabbage or Everybody Loves Relleno, and you’ll quickly realize that Rye serves seriously good fare that you’re unlikely to find in mainstream Dallas restaurants. Dinners are built from an array of plates that grow progressively larger on the menu, each selection a smart combination that encourages discussion between flavorful bites. Of course, with a name like Rye, there is plenty of brown liquor available, as well as a serviceable wine list. Small plates might be a foreign concept in Dallas, but we’re grateful to Rye for continuing our education.

Top pick: The Icelandic hot dog on the traditional Danish rugbrød (rye bread) is barely two bites, but the Wagyu beef sausage with sweet mustard and remoulade is a mouthful of flavor. You would be forgiven for ordering two, three or even five of them for a meal, if there weren’t so many other options on the menu to explore. ($$$)

Chef Andrew Savoie’s tacos are straightforward delicious. Cauliflower, kale and other dutiful-sounding greens prove to be better taco fillings than one might suspect, and the braised beef short rib taco with chipotle crema is a delight. Resident’s creative specials — think birria, Philly cheesesteak, duck breast or crab cakes inside a taco — have grown in number, and have become fan favorites. This taco spot also has good local craft beer on draft.

Top pick: The Philly cheesesteak taco is a darn-near miraculous fusion of cuisines, as is the lengua pastrami taco garnished with mustard seeds. ($)

Ebesu has been one of Dallas' hottest restaurants since its opening, an all-around excellent Japanese spot with no weaknesses and some unique strengths. Most excitingly for many diners, it brought the kind of excellence and attention to detail usually associated with Tei-An and Tei Tei Robata, in central Dallas, to the suburbs with its location in downtown Plano. Now suburbanites, too, can enjoy great grilled fish collars, exquisite specialty sushi rolls and boxes of rice topped with salmon roe. It’s no wonder that when this author last visited Ebesu in person (a month before the virus arrived), one of the other customers was Yutaka Yamato, whose namesake sushi bar in Uptown is also on this Top 100 list.

Top pick: The flamboyant house specialty sushi roll, “Super-Long Niku!”, absolutely earns its exclamation mark. Its rice is topped with thin slices of grilled beef, fried leeks and an arugula puree. Bring friends, because there are 16 pieces. (Alas, Super-Long Niku! is not available as takeout.)

Fun fact: This is the first American restaurant for an ownership group that operates multiple kitchens in and around Tokyo. ($$)

For more than two decades years, Al Markaz has been an institution in the Dallas-area Indian and Pakistani communities. Some of the original employees are still here, and the lunch combo is still an outrageously good deal. That long history, and those low prices, are still a big part of the restaurant’s appeal, but there are plenty of good dishes coming out of the kitchen, including lentil stews and probably the best butter chicken within a dozen miles. It’s especially fun to visit in the evening during Ramadan and watch dozens of families arrive simultaneously to order mountainous, fast-breaking meals.

Top pick: The lunch combo includes a piece of naan and appetizer portions of three different main courses. You choose the mains; we recommend the nihari and dal palak (spinach and lentils).

Fun fact: The attached grocery store is excellent, with a wide range of South Asian foods, teas, sodas and English biscuits. ($)

In an industrial park in Farmers Branch, Cattleack Barbeque lives up to every bit of hype it’s received. Fabulous fatty brisket and extraordinary pulled whole hog are the stars of the show, as is a vinegar-based coleslaw. Grab another bite of slaw and you’ll be prepared to tackle that next slice of Texas hot link.

Top pick: Some weeks, the Cattleack crew smoke beef ribs rubbed with a pastrami spice mix. The ribs are jaw-dropping; order an extra, take it home and throw it in a pot of beans the next day. In fact, order extra of everything in general, and you’ll be cooking the best beans of your life. ($$)

Suddenly, temaki restaurants are all over Dallas. Handrolls, to use the English word, are small cylindrical rolls of dried seaweed paper wrapped around a quick mix of sushi rice and fish, cucumbers or anything else. They’re a fast-casual version of sushi, basically, and handrolls are meant to be eaten almost as soon as the chef finishes making them. (In other words, don’t get all precious with your Instagramming.) The most careful, considered handroll spot in town is Nori, where chef Jimmy Park builds tasting menus of four or five rolls with ultra-high-quality cuts of tuna belly, freshwater eel and more. Fresh, not prepackaged, wasabi is available. There’s also a kitchen in the back that can produce excellent cooked dishes like takoyaki, the fried dough balls filled with chunks of octopus.

Fun fact: Chef Jimmy Park is a Nobu veteran who moved into handrolls after a brief stint in the poke business. ($$)

Earlier this year, owner and chef Gino Rojas told us that when he opened Revolver Gastro Cantina in Deep Ellum he wanted a place where you can take your family during the day for tacos and go back and get “fucked up on margaritas at night.” As he sees it, a proper cantina serves that dual purpose. Like Rojas, this family-run space is a culinary gem with party vibes. The only seating is a long black bar spray painted with graffiti. Boozy overflowing frozen drinks are served in blender-like pitchers. Purists can choose from the wall of tequila and mezcal. This is his second restaurant on our Top 100 list, along with the original Revolver Taco Lounge, a casual taco spot. There’s also La Resistencia, which is a reservations-only tasting menu restaurant. At this spot you can still get the tacos that put Revolver on the map; other dishes include a tostada tower, fajita norteña, rellenos stuffed with cochinita and quail guisada enchiladas.

Top Pick: One bite of the delicate cabrito wontons served over a salsa roja reduction and you realize Rojas is, in fact, as serious about his food as he is about having a good time. He told us those wontons are a “pretty presentation style of Michoacan birria cabrito,” an ode to his native western Mexican state. ($$)

Gastropubs are plentiful across Dallas, but with its combination of a cozy and welcoming dining room and fare that warms both the body and soul, Harwood Arms does the best job of bringing English sensibility and an authentic pub experience close to home. To step inside Harwood Arms is to step into a Welsh country house, with rich millwork, warm lighting and comfortable and secluded booths and tables. When it comes to food, Harwood Arms puts all other bar food to shame, whether you order the homey shepherd's pie, a cooked-to-order salmon or the brilliant chicken tiki masala. Topping it off is Harwood's amazing service, which only seems to improve when the pub gets busier, and every visit makes us feel right at home.

Top Pick: Pop in on Sunday afternoon after 4 p.m. and take in the Sunday roast, an English tradition. For $30 (or $50 for two), you get a slab of tender and juicy roast served with seasonal vegetables, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and traditional gravy. British accents not included. ($$$)

Fat Ni is fun. Everything about it is fun. Well, it's in a strip mall, but aside from the location, it's a good time. To order you'll get a sheet of paper on which to check off boxes, almost like ordering Girl Scout cookies. It allows newbies to get familiar with the options. Then, in the open kitchen you can watch the skewers of meat cooking over the grill. Each skewer is brought out as soon as it's done, making for a parade of offerings to the table. "Oh! Scallops!"

Top Pick: The lamb and tendon skewers are tender and flavorful, but we also devoured every bit of a spicy chicken soup with house-made noodles. Super long noodles can at times make for awkward table manners, so maybe bring your own scissors. ($)

When Encina opened in the fall of 2020, there wasn’t just the pandemic working against them, the restaurant was also taking over the former space of Bolsa, a beloved decade-old North Oak Cliff favorite. It had big shoes to fill. But with the leadership of owners Matt Balke and Corey McCombs, the menu and drink program are hitting it out of the park. The menu changes somewhat, but you can get the likes of tender pastrami, a decadent turkey leg confit you could share (but you won’t want to) and perfectly crisp chicken thighs. The prices may say this is a place for a special night out, but the equation is there for a good neighborhood restaurant: food you crave, consistent service and a space you want to be in. ($$$)

This effortlessly friendly, colorful spot is one of the best places in North Texas to enjoy Honduran food. That starts at breakfast, with San Pedro’s signature baleadas, flour tortillas stuffed with beans and crumbled cheese. (For a few dollars more, “baleadas supreme” come with avocado slices and meat, too.) Honduran tortillas are different from the Mexican variety: fluffier, thicker and softer, they almost resemble the batter used for sweet crepes. You can get a foil-wrapped couple of tortillas on the side of many of the main courses here, like grilled chicken or steak buried in a mound of sauteed onions and bell peppers. Want to try some of everything? Grab the San Pedro’s Pincho, grilled skewers of meat that come with rice, beans and fried plantains.

Top pick: Don’t miss the appetizer plate of Honduran tacos, which resemble the dish many Texans know as flautas, only buried in a tangy thicket of cabbage salad. And many regulars can’t resist the combination of plantains and fried chicken. ($)

Let's get one thing clear right away: "Town Hearth" is not at all a cozy den for the people to gather about for warmth; either metaphorically or physically. Rather, it's the chandelier of restaurants in the middle of the bedazzled city, over the top in almost every way (even the bathrooms are amazing). From the Ducati over the bar to the $175 42-ounce bistecca (a short loin porter) to a tater-tot side dish topped with Dungeness crab and hollandaise sauce, this steakhouse exemplifies Dallas exuberance. As with all of chef Nick Badovinus' restaurants, it's a devilish take on opulence. Because why not? Top Pick: If the wood-roasted lobster isn't in the budget, grab a seat at the bar for a phenomenal burger and a cocktail. Then soak in the glow from the eleventy thousand glistening bulbs from the flock of chandeliers over the dining room. And be sure to make a trip to the restrooms. ($$$)

Fattoush is tucked away in an obscure strip mall in the even more obscure town of Pantego that somehow earned squatters’ rights in the middle of Arlington. The chef here, Bashar Al Mudhafar, emigrated to the U.S. in 2010 after befriending American soldiers who frequented his Baghdad restaurant. One meal led to another, and after applying for and receiving refugee status, Al Mudhafar is serving some of the best Middle Eastern food in North Texas. Try the grilled lamb chops dusted with ground pistachio or a fire-kissed kebab made with in-house ground lamb (he uses 5-10% beef and fatty pieces of lamb for more flavor). Anything from the Iraqi Grill section of the menu is a surefire winner.

Top Pick: We’ve never had a bad meal here, but a favorite is the shish tawook with grilled chunks of chicken marinated in olive oil, lemon and spices. It comes with grilled vegetables and freshly baked flaky naan-like Iraqi bread so big it covers the entire plate. ($)

When Gemma opened, it was a Dallas pioneer, bringing along the dressy-casual seasonal cuisine from co-owners Allison Yoder and Stephen Rogers’ last home in Napa. In 2023, they updated the space and refreshed the menu with American, French and Italian comfort foods, although they kept some of their best hits like the rabbit on pappardelle pasta. Grilled salmon over a French lentil salad with an avocado puree is a light and satisfying dish with brilliant pops of flavor.

Top pick: After the mandatory snack bowl of fried olives and pecans, indulge in some of Dallas’ best house-made pastas, and one of the state’s best wine programs. ($$)

There are few seafood markets in Dallas as good as TJ’s. So go ahead and ogle the counter cases, with their beautiful and impeccably sourced cuts of fish, scallops, crab, lobster and more. Yes, shopping here can be more expensive than a trip to Tom Thumb, but that’s because TJ’s buys from ethical purveyors and sells an exceptionally high quality of product. Oh, wait, we’re supposed to be talking about the restaurant side. If you’re feeling lazy, sit down at a table and have them cook the fish for you. The philosophy at TJ’s is exactly what it needs to be: Keep the recipes simple, stupid. Let the spotlight shine on the ingredients.

Top pick: Swing by for lunch and grab a salmon patty burger — it’s more indulgent than it sounds — or a roll stuffed with tuna salad, which is made, as the menu says, “not from a can.” The difference is clear. ($$$)

Cafe Momentum is a nonprofit venture that employs juvenile offenders and pays them fair, living wages to help teach them life skills, leadership and, of course, how to work in a restaurant. Because of the employees’ fair wages, any tips left behind are considered donations to the mission. As such, it’s easy to praise the restaurant without ever mentioning food, just by dwelling on the life-changing effects it has on young people who deserve this chance to work and grow. But here’s the thing: Cafe Momentum is a genuinely good restaurant, one that consistently manages to stand out from the glut of Southern kitchens around town.

Top pick: Menu items rotate along with the interns and the professionals who teach them, but look for market-fresh fish with seasonal sides, savory crawfish beignets or an excellent plate of shrimp and grits. ($$$)

One of the best steakhouses in Dallas, this spot isn't as flamboyant as Town Hearth, as party-centric as Nick & Sam’s or as old-school as Pappas Bros. What matters here is the meat, most of it expertly dry-aged to deepen the flavor. Live it up with excellent seafood crudos, oxtail ravioli, an old-school aged rib-eye from a Texas ranch, some of the world’s most perfect lamb chops and creamed spinach so good you’ll clean the plate. Or you can get out of Knife for under $20 if you just want one of the city’s best burgers. The question is which incredible burger to choose, from the legendary Ozersky, its thick patty adorned simply with American cheese and red onion with pickle on the side, to the Tail End with pork belly and collard greens. The choice is yours, but whatever experience you choose, Knife does it right.

Top pick: If you haven’t tried dry-aged steak before, look out for a cut of beef that’s been aged around 90 days — just enough to really deepen and enrich the flavors without getting too funky. The impossibly soft ribbons of steak taste as if they contain a thread of mild blue cheese.

Fun fact: The steak menu distinguishes between “old school” and “new school”; new school refers to the use of sous vide to ensure an even cook. (Big surprise: We prefer the old school.) ($$$)

As the only Sri Lankan restaurant in North Texas — and one of maybe a half-dozen anywhere in America outside of New York and California — SpicyZest would be notable even if it weren’t especially good. Run by husband-and-wife duo Nimidu Senaratne and Chamari Walliwallagedara, SpicyZest produces outstanding food, ranging from fusion snacks like the “spicy pancake bomb” to traditional special occasion meals like lamprais, a generous helping of rice, meat and vegetables rolled into a banana leaf and steamed. The bar is stocked with Sri Lankan beer and arrack, which Senaratne plans to add to specialty cocktails. The owners are all too happy to help first-timers get to know Sri Lankan food, and their hospitality is first-rate.

Top pick: We especially love the seafood curry and kottu, a stir-fry of flatbread strips, a meat of your choice, carrots, greens and enough spices to make the whole dish a bold yellow. ($$)

The original Mesquite location of this charming family-owned mini-chain is a tiny dining room full of proof of chef Vasili “Bill” Kaprantzas’ Greek immigrant roots. There’s a poster of the chef’s grandmother, quotations hand-scrawled on the walls and, of course, a bottle of Windex displayed with pride. The Rockwall location, in a shiny strip mall, manages the impressive trick of replicating the original dining room’s homey feel, complete with even more quotes, like “Let’s Make America Greek Again.” Nowhere else in Dallas feels like such a true portal to the Aegean Sea and its food.

Top pick: Grab an enormous overstuffed gyro wrap which comes with pretty darn good steak fries. Lamb souvlaki, pastitsio and calamari are superb, too. ($)

If you like Tacos La Banqueta but hate waiting in line, try El Come Taco, an Old East Dallas taco joint that’s well on its way to becoming an institution. Everything at El Come is good, even the simple Jose taco with beans, cheese and avocado, but look out for unusual offerings like tripe, lengua, sesos (veal brains) and chapulines (grasshoppers). Big projectors make this a good place to watch a soccer game, too.

Top pick: This is cheating because it’s technically a separate business, but our top pick here is to slide through the bathroom hallway to the adjacent mezcal bar, La Viuda Negra, from the same owners. La Viuda has its own separate, ever-changing food menu to pair with its showy cocktails. ($)

A half slab at this barbecue joint means seven baby back ribs kissed with smoke, spiced with pepper and just-right tender: The meat doesn’t fall off the bone, but pulls off with the gentlest of tugs. It just narrowly beats out the boudin plate as our favorite order, but the boudin (here spelled boudain) is top-notch, too, especially dunked in a cup of sauce. The small dining room pays loving tribute to great blues musicians and displays two decades’ worth of media praise.

Top pick: We love two meaty sides: excellent, peppery, lick-the-takeout-container baked beans and the boudin links. (Yes, boudin can be ordered as a side dish with a rack of ribs to make the ultimate meat plate.) ($)

Cabritos is the star at the only full-on Monterrey-style, goat-grilling show in the Dallas area. Stare through the glass kitchen wall at the massive pit, above which goat legs, shoulders and ribcages stand like planted flags, then feast on one of the cuts alongside charro beans and the restaurant’s excellent salsas. Few make-your-own-taco experiences in Dallas get as good as this. One portion of cabrito, with all the fixings that come with it, is enough to make one person full or to satisfy two people who’ve also shared an appetizer.

Top pick: Splurge on the whole goat for $235. If that’s a little too much food for your household, consider the spectacularly rich machitos — rolls of goat meat, fat and organs stuffed into the animal’s digestive tract and grilled until crispy.

Fun fact: If you’re wondering why the dining room is a little strange, and why the kitchen has a glass wall partition, it’s because this space used to be a liquor store. ($$)

Walking into Lucia is much like walking into a home. The hostess (who is the chef's wife) is genuinely gleeful you've arrived; perhaps that makes it better than home. Anyhoo. You'll definitely want to make reservation. And if the long wait seems daunting, click that box for alerts, which will notify you when there's a cancellation and you'll likely get a notification within a week. Be sure to start your visit with a brown butter Old Fashioned, one of the best drinks we've ever had. Then consider chef David Uygur's prized salumi board, which is blessed with house-cured meats, pates and mousse along with house-baked bread. Beyond that, the menu changes seasonally and while it is Italian at its core, this isn't your typical romp through fettuccine and red sauce. Try dishes like bucatini with mussels or Amish chicken with marinated greens and toasted pecans and croutons. Just know, there are no misses here - it's all hits. ($$$)

Hutchins is one of the best all-around barbecue joints in the area with locations in Frisco and McKinney. The appeal here is that everything across the board is excellent, from the thick slices of fatty brisket to the banana pudding for dessert. The original McKinney location is a no-nonsense, old-school dining room. A bonus is that peach cobbler, banana pudding and soft-serve ice cream are free — yes, free — for dine-in customers.

Top pick: Everything — all the meat, all the sides — is good. Hutchins might be the most well-rounded smoked meat joint in the region. ($$)

This quaint French bistro in the Bishop Arts District has one of the best brunches in the city, a celebrated wine list, phenomenal French cuisine and a stellar oyster program. It almost feels arrogant of them to also have one of the best bars in the city. And, yet, here we are. Every Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., get half-off of every bottle of wine on their list and discounted oysters. Watch the chalkboard for the best picks. Not a wine-drinker? No problem. Their hand-crafted classic cocktails will get you wherever you need to go.

Fun fact: Every Tuesday they run a special: one-third off all steaks, including the chef's cut. ($$$)