Dallas Holes in the Wall, Diners, Family Owned, Food Trucks, etc...

[DanM]

We are heading to Dallas next week for Thanksgiving. I see a lot of advice on high end restaurants, but I am curious about the small local places. What are your favorite holes in the wall, family run spots, dives, etc... in the Dallas area. I will be up in Plano and any cuisine will do as long as it is vegetarian friendly.

Thanks!

Dan

[Kevin72]

Chito's Mexican, sharing space with a gas station, on Legacy and Chase Oaks. Incredible tortas. Not sure how veg friendly it is.

Any of our Jasmines, a 3-store Thai restaurant, that are inexplicably within blocks of each other.

There's a new Malaysian place called Blue Ginger Garden that is the very definition of a Mom-n-Pop: Pop works the front of house, Mom cooks in back. They're very eager to walk you through the menu and the cuisine. Parker and Independence.

[Rico]

I don't have a whole lot of experience in Plano, but I do like Zorba's, a good byob Greek place on Preston and ... I think Plano Parkway. Maybe Park.

[Kevin72]

I don't have a whole lot of experience in Plano, but I do like Zorba's, a good byob Greek place on Preston and ... I think Plano Parkway. Maybe Park.

Gah! I can't believe I forgot Zorba's. Definitely fits the requirements and many veggie options. It is Preston and Plano Parkway and it's BYOB.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Kevin72 (log)

[DanM]

Chito's Mexican, sharing space with a gas station, on Legacy and Chase Oaks. Incredible tortas. Not sure how veg friendly it is.

Any of our Jasmines, a 3-store Thai restaurant, that are inexplicably within blocks of each other.

There's a new Malaysian place called Blue Ginger Garden that is the very definition of a Mom-n-Pop: Pop works the front of house, Mom cooks in back. They're very eager to walk you through the menu and the cuisine. Parker and Independence.

We went to Jasmines last night. I had the green curry, which was pretty good. I was contemplating the whole red snapper in panang curry sauce, but at $26, it was too much.

I don't have a whole lot of experience in Plano, but I do like Zorba's, a good byob Greek place on Preston and ... I think Plano Parkway. Maybe Park.

I looked at their menu and there is only one or two things on the menu that we can eat. Thanks for the suggestion, though!

Dan

[DanM]

We went to Chitos for lunch. This place is simply amazing! My wife had the better of our lunches with a sopa with rajas and a gordita with nopalitas and I had grilled talapia. It was some of the best Mexican food we have had. I only wish I saw the melon aqua fresca on the back of the menu because that would have hit the spot. I highly recommend this place!

Dan

[Kevin72]

Glad you liked Chito's! They really seem to know what they're doing.

I wish they'd kept serving breakfast on the weekends, no place I've been since has even been close.

[DanM]

We tried Blue Ginger Garden today and were quite pleased with what we had.

To start, we ordered the Roti. What we did not realize is that the curry sauce had a big chunk of beef in it. We ate the roti, which was quite good, but skipped the curry sauce. When we ordered the roti, the waiter smiled and said that everyone orders it. It appears to be a special of the house.

The star of the meal was the Mixed Curry Vegetables with Tofu Puff. I cannot describe how awesome this was. The portion size is huge and is meant to be shared. We have about half of it in the fridge.

We also had pan fried croaker in a curry sauce. This was not the most successful dish. First, there was no curry sauce, which confused me. Secondly, the fish were not cleaned or the fins removed. I am not sure if this is normal for this dish or in Malaysian cuisine, but it made for some messy eating. While delicious and well cooked, I don't know if I would order it again.

Finally, I had a glass of Teh Tarik which was well made. According to Wikipedia next time Iwill have to say "Teh tarik satu, bageroh!" which translates as "One teh tarik, make it strong!"

They also did a good job catering to my 9 month old. They brought her an orange plastic kiddie dish set from Ikea for her to play with.

Dan

Edited December 7, 2010 by DanM (log)

[Kevin72]

I dream about that roti. But I did forget about the big chunk of meat they inexplicably put in the curry sauce on the side.

I had another dish with a fried fish on the side there and it was the same story: comes out whole with fins, so I guess it is traditional.

[veil]

I'd like any recent suggestions from Dallas as far north as Plano (have a friend in McKinney, but there may not be any decent food there!)--will be there the first 2 weeks in June.