I’ve done a decent amount of travel around Dallas as part of my own personal taco crusade.  But unfortunately, my taco radar is pretty much dark across the taco dense region just east of Harry Hines and north of Northwest Highway.  A few establishments have crossed my path in this area, but one experience in particular which involved a tiny, no-name roadside taqueria, lack of electricity and refrigeration and a putrid, spoiled pork barbacoa taco, has left such a sour taste in my mouth that I rarely adventure there these days.

Luckily, I was redirected back to the area by the highly respected taco tycoon, Jose Ralat-Maldonado of Taco Trail fame.  When this dude tells you to make a trip somewhere, it’s best not to question his authority.  This particular outing brought me to a previously unheard of joint called La Nueva Fresh and Hot.  I am a sucker for fresh, I’m a sucker for hot, I’m even a sucker for neuva.  How could I go wrong? I couldn’t.

Read on amigos…

When one enters the indiscrete, strip-mall tortilla shop of La Nueva Fresh and Hot, there is an immediate barrage of smells and sounds.  The aroma of freshly ground corn permeates the air as the incessant whir and grind of a conveyor-belt tortilla press nearly makes conversation within the shop impossible.  A plume of hot air from the machinery and stovetops slaps you across the face a few times as you walk through the door.  This place is not striving for atmosphere, don’t expect anyone to tuck your chair in or gently place a black silk napkin across your lap, La Nueva just wants to stuff you full of delicious tacos and they don’t care how that gets done.

What convinced me to sample La Nueva in the first place was the promise of exceptional pork guisado tacos, a personal favorite of mine, composed of stewed meats in rich, hearty sauces. La Nueva’s may be the best I’ve sampled for years.

Guisado tacos come in two varieties at La Nueva, pork verde and pork rojo.  The verde version incorporates tender, succulent pork stewed in a blend of sweet tomatillos and peppers and with a surprisingly spicy finish. The rojo version is laced with strips of cactus to give an earthy, slightly tart flavor to the stewed pork meat. Each guisado comes nestled in soft corn or flour tortillas, that couldn’t get much fresher, or hotter for that matter. Both were exquisite, but for me, I think the verde really stole the show.

La Nueva Fresh and Hot is the epitome of a hidden gem, a place that certainly deserves more attention from loyal tacoists in this city.  It may be a bit off the beaten path, but you know how Robert Frost felt about taking the road less traveled. And that dude knew his tacos.

La Nueva Fresh and Hot

9625 Webb Chapel Rd.

Dallas, TX

Atchafalaya with crawfish étouffée from the Alligator Cafe. Photography by Kevin Hunter Marple.

Cajun food is soul food. There’s nothing better than chowing down on a bowl of gumbo or crawfish etouffee that makes your insides feel warm and gooey – which is exactly how I spent Mardi Gras in New Orleans last year. I ate fried oyster po’ boys and laughed at all the drunk people. I scarfed down beignets at 2 am sitting next to a table of old grandmas wearing inappropriate clothing for their age. And mine, for that matter. Since you can’t get the whole Mardi Gras experience here in Dallas (and let’s face it, who doesn’t like watching debauchery sometimes?), here’s where you should go to get a taste:

Jump for some Cajun cravings

King Cakes- That’s the Cake Bakery is selling King cakes in two flavors: cheesecake and cinnamon. They’re $14 each, 12 inches round, and you should order them three days before you need to pick up. They’ll also make special cupcakes with Mardi Gras colors if you request.

2540 King Arthur Blvd., Ste. 111
Lewisville, TX 75056 Get Directions »
214-402-7355 (phone)

http://www.thatsthecake.com/

Mardi Gras Pies- Emporium Pie Pop Up Shop has a top-secret Mardi Gras special at their test location this weekend. Young piemakers Megan Wilkes and Mary Guantt will also be offering the “Drunken Nut” (bourbon pecan with shortbread crust) and the “Smooth Operator” (French silk chocolate in a crispy pretzel crust). Our lucky contributor, Daniel Walker, is visiting on Saturday, and should be back with a full report.

314 N. Bishop Ave.Dallas, TX 75208
February 18, 20129 am-2 pm
February 19, 20122 pm-7 pm

Gumbo Party- KNON 89.3 FM radio is hosting its 12th Annual Mardi Gras Gumbo Party at Poor David’s Pub this Sunday from 5 to 10 pm. The Alligator Cafe, Offshores Nextdoor, Louisiana Red, Crawdads of Dallas, and Fish City Grill will be vying for the “Best Gumbo of Dallas” title. Gumbo tasting lasts from 5 to 7 pm.

Sunday, February 19
Poor David’s Pub
1313 South Lamar Street , Dallas, TX
5 – 10 pm
$15 – $20

Crawfish Boil- There’s a pre-parade crawfish boil with a side of jambalaya at the Mardi Gras Oak Cliff celebration. Click here for more details.

February 19, 2012 2 pm
Bishops Arts District

Fat Tuesday- Fish City Grill is doing a Fat Tuesday celebration at all locations on Tuesday, February 21st. Get your beads, New Orleans BBQ, crawfish, and shrimp fix inside a festive atmosphere. Plenty of local musicians should be there to jazz up the sound.

If you know some top-secret Mardi Gras food celebrations, write them below in the comments.

Slow-cooked pork covered with caramelized onions and peppers.

Nick Badovinus and chef Dan Riley have been hunkered down for over a year developing the menu and creating all kinds of delicious roasted meats for Off-Site Kitchen. Today he is finally opening the doors!

Now, hold your horses. The dining room is tiny. Off-Site Kitchen is basically a take-out restaurant with a few stools inside and some picnic tables outside. Here are some pictures of what you can expect. The food, inspired by “what line cooks eat,” is basically simple sandwiches and breakfast burritos made from quality roasted meats. Roll the Badovinus quote of the year:

“It’s light industrial food,” he said. “It’s the kind of food you want to eat before you go solder something.”

Off-Site Kitchen will be open for lunch only from 10:30AM until 3PM for the next two weeks. Then the breakfast menu will kick in and they will begin serving at 7AM and will remain open until 7PM. “After we hit our stride, we’ll start rolling out the meat-by-the-pound program,” Badovinus said. “I’m so excited. This place is a real man cave.”

The original date for OSK’s opening was February 14, 2011. After Badovinus missed his mark, he decided to workshop the place and open on Valentine’s Day this year. “You see how many financial sacrifices I made to pay for my original vision,” Badovinus said. “I mean I’ve got a wheelbarrow of pork rinds down here. Who doesn’t love that?”

Badovinus was only half-joking about the Valentine’s Day opening. He and chef Dan Riley have used the Off-Site Kitchen space to tweak the menus of Badovinus’ other restaurants (Neighborhood Services, Neighborhood Services Tavern, and Neighborhood Services Bar & Grill). They also use the huge kitchen as a commissary for the other restaurants. The receive, portion, and distribute all of the meat and seafood at Off-Site Kitchen.

SOLDER, EAT, REPORT. No call-in orders. Plan to show up and wait.

[Also, Neighborhood Services Bar & Grill in Preston Royal will open for lunch in two weeks.]

The menu and photos are below.

Wheelbarrow of pork rinds.

Cherry cola pie.

Green chile cheeseburger.

First customer.

Who are you? I’ve been getting press releases from you for a long time but for the life of me I can’t remember meeting you. I do understand that you live underground and you cook a lot there as well, but do you ever actually come out during the day?

You talk funny. I mean, you write funny. You “sound” like you are totally hip and in with all of the IN people which explains a lot about our relationship. It’s so cool that you are throwing a birthday party for yourself on October 23! You must have lots of friends! Three LIVE bands, CAJUN food, and BYOB! Totally bitchin’. And Thursday, you only have 20 seats left for your super secret dinner in Deep Ellum. Have you done the math? Do you think you can get that many people under the ground in Deep Ellum? It must be so freakin’ dark, dude. Six courses for $66? That dinner is like so effin’ New Testament! And payable in “unmarked, untraceable cash only”? Brilliant.

Keep it up and maybe you’ll get your own restaurant one day. Oh, wait. My spirit is shaking. I’m getting an incoming subliminal message from, wait…oh…I can’t quite make out the voice, I can only hear pigs squealing. Oh, now  it’s clear. It’s  Steven Doyle LIVE from the State Fair. He says you have a “concept portfolio”  for a future restaurant called Twenty-Seven. Far out, it sounds so Satanic! Will you take American Express? Awesome. Keep us posted.

Good luck,

Nancy Nichols

Hunky Town, Twin Pricks, Tooter’s, Pecker’s Hot Italian Sausage, Tube Steak Junction, Cake Balls to the Walls, Nuts and Butts, Quickies, Long Dong Silver, Tally Whacker’s, Love Mussels, Wee Willie’s, Twig and Berries.

Ladies, the floor is open.

Simply put: Mind-blowing ceviche for...wait for it...$2.75.

There’s about to be an angry mob with torches and pitchforks outside my cubicle, ready to string me up for disclosing their favorite hole-in-the-wall: Seafood Shack. Blame D’s director of online media, Julie Blacklidge Kinzie, for grabbing me at our Monday morning meeting to rave about the ceviche and margaritas.
jump for more..

Rita Mondays at Seafood Shack (left); gooey shrimp enchiladas (right)

Of course, I had to check it out immediately. My pal and I pulled into the parking lot off Webb Chapel at around 5:30; Seafood Shack was already packed with friendly crowd lined up to place orders and hunkered down over the 15-20 plain tables. The overhead menu centered on ceviche, shrimp enchiladas, tacos and tostadas, and some fried items. No beef, no chicken—just straight-up seafood. Huzzah.

As luck would have it, we had come on a Monday, when margaritas are $2 all day and plates of ceviche and shrimp tostadas are $2.25 and $2.75 respectively. We ordered all of the above, plus an order of fish tacos, a plate of shrimp enchiladas, and a side of hush puppies.

Fish tacos are flaky and savory.

Without resorting to hyperbole, let me say that the ceviche was the most addictive I have tasted since 2000 when I spent a spring weekend in Miami. So citric and bright were the flavors that we felt moved to share the love. We sent out some texts and called in reinforcements. Within 15 minutes, our group grew from two to six, everyone of us, adults and kids, tucked in and so relaxed we almost forgot that it wasn’t the weekend.

Same goes for the shrimp enchiladas (creamy and rib-sticking), fish tacos (so flaky and moist), and shrimp tostadas (not mind-blowing, but still pretty darn tasty). Thumbs-up, all around.