Returning to DFW

[blissfood]

My partner and I will be in DFW for the holidays and had a few questions. I grew up in Arlington and the family would often go to Monica's Aca Y Alla (in Deep Ellum)where I have had some darn fine meals (the queso blanco is out of this world as are the Mexican Lasagna and the enchiladas). How is Monica Greene's newer place Ciudad?

Does anyone know who in DFW has the best Mole?

Also, La Calle Doce (12th street?) and Desperado's on Greenville were favorites (especailly the tequila/soysauce taste of Desperado's fajitas and La Calle Doce's flautas. Any thoughts on these two?

We would love to find some good Ethiopian in DFW as well as any really wonderful restaurants in Fort Worth.

Thoughts?

Edited November 24, 2003 by blissfood (log)

[theabroma]

Ciudad is - at least in my opinion - wonderful. And this would also be my answer to your mole question. There are some hard-core, tiny Mexican fondas where you can occasionally find excellent mole, but they are scattered in very hidden places throughout the city and don't always have it regularly on the menu. There is now a 'little sister' Cafe Pegaso in Downtown Dallas, modeled on a Mexican fonda economica.

As for mole, if Ciudad still has it on the menu have the short ribs of beef in mole coloradito, and also the duck flautas. While you are there be sure to order the dessert called Edificio - it is good, and the presentation is one of the most clever, yet simple I have seen.

As for Ethiopian - ouch. Queen of Sheba on Lemmon, my favorite and my standby, has closed. Dallul, I believe, is still open. There is another one, fairly new, called Addis Ababa that I have heard good things about. Check the listings in the Dallas Observer, or, send Mark Stuertz, the restaurant reviewer, an e-mail inquiring about Ethiopian. (www.dallasobserver.com)

Calle Doce has the same menu basically. The have a second location on Skillman just north of Live Oak, slightly above the Pour House. I still prefer the original one in the rambling frame house on, well, Calle Doce in Oak Cliff. The Calle Doce folks also own El Ranchito at the corner of Jefferson Blvd and Llewellyn. It has some great roasted and grilled meats, including really good fajitas, and sweetbreads (mollejas), as well as superb caldo de res (until 2 pm only, daily). No mole, though.

Sorry about the Ethiopian - I'm jonesing for an injeera fix, myself.

Regards,

Theabroma

[nessa]

I have had the fortune to discover the local Ethiopian community this past week.

I had a really long and detailed post but the power went out about 3/4s the way through so this is the condensed version. I have found two Ethiopian stores in East Dallas. They are both very friendly and willing to teach a newbie like myself all about the spices, cuisine and culture. One store, the newest, is at the corner of Easton and Garland. They have a lot of dollar store junk, but also apparently, the basic spices and ingredients needed for most Ethiopian cooking. These folks rather took me under their wings and explained the spices to me and how to use them. They have berbere, koroset, shero, met met a, Corarima (grains of paradise), various legumes etc. and fresh Injira. They said they would be serving food next week, as their kitchen is still being worked on. I'll be back for sure. The other store is on the corner of Easton and NWH. They had a variety of spices, legumes, fresh injira, sauces, inscencse, meat, dresses, and other stuff. These folks are also quite friendly, and said that the Ghion Ethiopian Restaurant at 7001 Fair Oaks Ave Ste 519 was quite good. I got adventurous after my visit to the first store and made some beef wat which I greedily consumed with the injira. I like toasting the injira a bit first, I’m going to fry some later this week and see how that goes with hummus. They sell them in these huge packages, between 4 and 5 dollars each, depending on the store. Each package weighs about 5 pounds. Far more than I can consume, so I quartered them and froze most. I’m so excited to have made this discovery, so for a while I’ll be experimenting with Ethiopian cuisine.

[Raynickben]

FYI - Pegaso Cafe mentioned in Theabroma's post is closed. As far as comparing Aca y Alla and Ciudad I find both to be consistantly great but different. You should check out the menus on both websites to determine which is more to your liking. You can't go wrong with either.

[Scott -- DFW]

After a dinner last week at Ciudad, I was telling ExtraMSG that it is, for me, one of the most frustrating restaurants in Dallas. On some days, I feel like I've paid way too much for my meal. On others, it seems like a great bargain. While I've never had anything *bad* there, about 65% of what I've ordered over the past couple of years is just mediocre. (And $20-$30 is on the steep side for a mediocre entree.) It's that other 35% that keeps me coming back. Some days, some dishes, they flat out nail. And when they nail something, it's as good as I've had anywhere. But I still haven't figured out how to determine which are the good dishes on any given night. (While menu selection is part of the equation, I think there are also quality control issues. ExtraMSG has written about his one meal there, for instance, in which the duck flautas--recommended above by Theabroma--came out almost burnt.) I still go back to Ciudad, but only when I'm in a gambling mood. If I want a sure thing, I go elsewhere.

For moles, I would suggest Nuevo Leon (which has multiple locations in the area). I won't say they're better than Ciudad on the occasions when Ciudad is on its game. But they're more consistent. The best green mole I've ever had was at Ciudad. But the green mole (with salmon) I had there last week wasn't nearly as good as one I had (with chicken) the next day at Nuevo Leon. The Ciudad entree was $22, while the Nuevo Leon one was $8.50 (on the lunch menu). If I were to order a green mole at Nuevo Leon today, it would be just as good as the one I had there last week. If I were to order one at Ciudad tonight (or tomorrow, since they're not open on Mondays), I just wouldn't know. Maybe it would be fantastic. Maybe it would be just okay. If Ciudad could weed out those inconsistencies, I'd be a regular.

As for their desserts, the Edificio is probably the most impressive presentation. But I think, flavorwise, it's in the lower tier of their offerings. I'd recommend the corn cake, warm cookie pudding, or the pumpkin cheesecake. Steer clear of the off-menu "warm Mexican chocolate cake." Since it's their only dessert that I hadn't tried, I ordered it the other night. Two circular cut-outs of a dry sheet cake with a glob of vanilla beaned whipped cream. Boring and not very good. As a chocoholic, it's unusual for me not to favor a dessert menu's chocolate offerings. But, so far, I haven't had a good chocolate dessert at Ciudad.

(I just realized, too late, that I'm responding to an out-of-date post. Oh, well.)

Scott

[Scott -- DFW]

[edited to delete duplicate post]

Edited May 3, 2004 by Scott -- DFW (log)

[Raynickben]

Scott: It's never too late I found your post interesting.

And I'd like to say that I too have had inconsistant dishes at Ciudad but oh, those Watermelon Margaritas...