Main dining room (left); screen porch (right) [photos by Micah Nunley)

It’s no secret that I avoid fried chicken like a bad disease. Something about fried chicken makes me want to look, sniff, and throw it back inside the KFC container it came in. Yet Sissy’s fried chicken is something else entirely. Paired with a fresh housemade Sriracha sauce, this Lisa Garza special has that hard-to-find balance you seek in any good ‘ole piece of Southern fried chicken: crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.

At the media lunch I attended last week, I split a family-style meal with three other persons, and it took no small amount of self control to remember my table manners and share the amazing plates provided by Sissy’s Southern Kitchen and Bar.

Jump for some more Sissy’s love.

Owner Lisa Garza (photo by Micah Nunley)

Owner Lisa Garza explains, “Growing up, Sunday afternoon was the day we’d have fried chicken. And being from the south, this was one of those things I grew up loving. My favorite birthday dinner – when I first started dating my husband – I told him, ‘I want to stay home with you, and I want a bucket of chicken and a bottle of champagne.’ There’s just something about it that takes me back to being a kid and my grandma and Sunday supper after and the whole comfort of fried chicken.”

The lovely lady behind this homey Southern kitchen and bar decided on the name “Sissy’s” because that was the term of endearment her younger brother used to call her. Back when she still owned Suze and her little brother (“Bubba”) attended school in Mississippi, there was this one day when he and his roommate had no food left in their room. Bubba told his roommate not to worry. “My Sissy will feed us,” he said. He drove all the way from Mississippi to Lisa’s restaurant with only a gas card, and left Texas that day with a whole car packed to the brim with food. Sissy made sure her Bubba wouldn’t go hungry for awhile.

Deviled eggs with crème fraiche and tobiko caviar (Photo by Micah Nunley)

Customers can rest assured that Garza and her dear friend, Chef Jeffery Hobbs, will also take care of them. The bar features plenty of old-school Southern libations like the Moonshine Punch (Original Moonshine whiskey, lemon, orange, grenadine, blackberries) and Sissy’s Tequila Sipper (El Jimador, kaffir lime, lemongrass, ginger), while the food consists of staples you can’t afford to miss. Sweet jalapeno jelly accompanies golden-brown squash puppies, the spread trio with pimento cheese and pickle chow chow goes nicely down with angel biscuits, and Grandma’s layered salad is a holy trinity of egg, cheddar, and sweet peas.

Squash puppies with whipped Texas honey guild butter and jalapeno jelly (photo by Micah Nunley)

Smart folks will bring their whole family to share the ten-piece fried chicken bucket for $20 instead of paying $11 for two pieces. Get ‘em house spiced, buttermilk soaked, pressure fried with the choice of sloppy slaw or whipped potatoes; dark, white, or mixed. It’s best to eat them out in the climate-controlled screen porch on a warm spring day, picking them up with two hands instead of using the mismatched silverware that reminds you fondly of your Grandma’s own collection.

“It’s an homage to my family and to my southern roots,” says Garza, “I was like the second mama. By third grade, I was making Sunday supper for my whole family after church. I want people to feel the same love that I shared with my siblings.”

Sissy’s officially opened on Monday, February 27. Brunch service, offered six days a week, starts in about a month.

Brisket taco with cheese, pico, salsa, cilantro, sour cream

The Palindrome (pronounced oh-ka-taco) by Maple and Motor’s Jack Perkins officially opened last Thursday for lunch. Even though the menu is short, it’s good for people like me who can’t really decide what to order. Three meat options – tender brisket, pulled pork, and chicken – are plenty enough, thank you. And, of course, I’ll take mine with a side order of chips and salsa.

Jump for more ocaTacocaTacocaTaco.

Store front

My lunch buddy and I were rather pleased with the array of toppings we could add to our tacos. Everything we could ever want and ever need (pico, guac, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, pickled jalapenos, onions) was just a fingerpoint away. Both of us ordered two tacos because we didn’t want the three-taco combo ($7.75, comes with a 32 oz. drink) and opted to pay $2.35 per taco instead.

One black cherry Dublin soda (32 oz.) and four greasy tacos later, we sat contentedly eating our chips and salsa ($1 extra, booyah). Chunks of onion floated in our peppery, warm salsa, which was the real winner of the entire meal. The creamy chipotle sauce came in a close second.

If you’re not exactly sure how to find ocaTaco, let me direct you to taco heaven. If you’re going north on Harry Hines, turn right on North Exchange Park St. at the Chase building before you hit Mockingbird. There’s a visitor parking lot to your left and ocaTaco’s inside a food court behind a door labeled “6333.” It’s not too hard to locate once you get there. Once you see a bunch of firefighters, policemen, Chase people, and Southwestern workers piled into one place, you know you’ve made it to Jack’s kitchen.

Current taco hours: Mon – Fri, 10:30 AM – 2 PM. Hours will expand as time goes on.

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.

Wagyu Beef Burger on the Plated Lunch Menu at Capital Grille

Capital Grille rolled out a new lunch option earlier this month – serve customers a high quality, multi-course, customizable meal in 45 minutes flat, allowing those of us who watch a lunch hour clock the ability to have a delicious meal and still meet time constraints.  A friend and I were invited guests of The Capital Grille in Uptown earlier this week to try out the Plated Lunch menu and test if we really could get in and out in 45 minutes.

Capital Grille's Roasted Red Pepper Soup (front) and Clam Chowder (back)

The concept is easy, enjoy a soup or salad to start, then dig into one of their unique sandwich combinations paired with a seasonal side dish.  Options include a delicious and fresh Roasted Red Pepper Soup with a Sweet Potato and Pepper Hash; classic, creamy Clam Chowder or a Seasonal Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette, followed by a selection of sandwiches including a decadent Wagyu Beef Burger complete with Havarti cheese and a Fried Egg on a Brioche bun, to Filet Sliders with Boursin and Mushrooms, to a traditional Lobster Roll with tons of fresh lobster.  Sides range from Parmesan Truffle fries to Roasted Root Veggies to an interesting spin on green beans, sauteed with ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes.  Indulgent, scrumptious and filling.

The best flavors had to come from the red pepper soup and the Wagyu burger….add a fried egg to anything and it is good….though I am slightly surprised it didn’t have bacon on it as well, that would have clearly taken it over the top though.  And as promised, we had everything in and out in a timely manner ensuring I would have time to run by Starbuck’s on the way back to the office for my afternoon caffeine fix, if needed.

Though all was delicious, they do call this menu “lighter fare” and there really isn’t anything light about it, other than somewhat smaller portion sizes to some of their normal meals.
However, without question, the food is savory, hearty and well executed and the gracious staff makes a quick lunch seem like you have enjoyed leisurely afternoon get away.

I admit I was extremely uncomfortable. Not because he was religious and blessed his every meal and minute on earth, but, and I don’t know how to put this gently, because I felt he was imposing his beliefs on me. Now don’t go all crazy on me, I am being honest. Looking back at it, I realize it wasn’t that big of a deal. However, I would like to hear what you think about this situation. Should he have asked me if I would have liked to join in prayer or was it “fair” that he grabbed my hand and assumed it was okay?

Surf n’ Turf Sushi Roll, Spicy Tuna, Torched Beef, Ponzu and Truffle

Private Social, where former Top Chef cheftestant Tiffany Derry hangs her toque, has just started lunch service. To publicize the new menu, they held a media event and I was among the invited guests.

There is a tony ambiance to this place located on McKinney, one of the busiest blocks in Uptown (valet parking recommended). The decor is done in tones of earthy grey and burnished metal. The name of the restaurant reflects the division of the interior space into two rooms. ‘Social’ is the bar and an open area for casual drinking and dining at café-style tables. ‘Private’ is a the cozier room on the side that creates a environment for more serious dining. We were seated on the private side.

The lunch menu offers more choices than one usually sees and spans a broad swathe of accessible New American dishes with pockets of Asian influence and token Mexican, Jamaican, and even Australian representation. There is a soup of the day, four different salads, and  five sandwiches. In total, eighteen items plus desserts. That is quite a handful for a kitchen to manage within the tight time constraints of the, mainly business, crowd that lunches here. On our Monday visit the place was about half full and the courses came out with slick timing and adept execution.

We started with Surf n’ Turf Sushi Roll, Spicy Tuna, Torched Beef, Ponzu and Truffle ($14). As our waiter presented the oblong plate bedecked with a banana leaf and the rolls arranged on top, the unmistakable aroma of truffle oil drifted across our table. The tuna stuffed into each roll was soft and seemed to emulsify in the mouth. The beef, prepared carpaccio-style had an earthy charred taste I liked on its own. My question is whether the components of this dish coexist? I admit to not being a surf n’ turf fan in its conventional (steakhouse) incarnation, but the truffles, tuna, and beef seemed to be three pleasant, strong flavors getting in each others way. This dish was doubtless an attempt at something original built from familiar foundations. But why not, for example, take slow-roasted beef, shred it, and stuff it into sushi rolls? That would showcase one defined taste against the textural backdrop of sushi rice.

Ramen Noodle Bowl, Poached Egg, Nori, Pork Belly, Green Onions, Herbs

Next we tried Ramen Noodle Bowl, Poached Egg, Nori, Pork Belly, Green Onions, Herbs ($12). This Japanese-inspired dish could teach the previous one about harmony. The ingredients had synergy in spades and came together with a force that seemed perfectly attuned to the winter weather that had just arrived that day. The backbone was the broth that enveloped the other ingredients. The pork belly and egg were redolent of breakfast. The noodles had a melt-in-the-mouth softness. But one caveat: Don’t order this if you are a job applicant being taken to lunch by a prospective employer. Soups tend to splash anyway, but add  noodles and deny chop sticks and the soup takes considerable skill and time to avoid finishing the meal looking like a Jackson Pollack test mule.

I think therefore I...Lamb Burger, Red Leaf Lettuce, Tomato, Pickled Onion, Brioche Bun, Fries

Then was Lamb Burger, Red Leaf Lettuce, Tomato, Pickled Onion, Brioche Bun, Fries ($14) from the sandwiches section of the menu. SideDish readers will have noticed that there is gourmet burger battle royal going on this town. Congratulations to Tiffany Derry for having the guts to put a lamb burger on the menu. They may be ubiquitous in Australia, but it sets Private Social apart in the Dallas burger wars. This one is good due to its flavorful meat, generous size, and the sweet brioche bun.

We also ate the Jerk Chicken, Squash Purée, Pepper Sauce, Brussels Sprouts ($14) in which the chicken retained its succulence and the mellowness of the squash purée was a good foil for the seared meat.

Jerk Chicken, Squash Purée, Pepper Sauce, Brussels Sprouts

Dessert has an item you may want to make a daytime snack: house made salted caramel gelato. It was the high point in an excellent flight of three ices (the others were eggnog gelato and lemon buttermilk sorbet).

If you are on a budget, try the prix fixe: a three course lunch for $15. And on warm days there is patio dining available.

My take: Private Social offers a high-quality lunch with some familiar, and some little bit different dishes, at reasonable prices in a comfortable environment with good service.

“We are so grateful for Desperados Mexican Restaurants’ commitment to help us end hunger. Their donation of food and funds could not come at a better time, since September is Hunger Action Month,” said Jan Pruitt, president and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank. “Through the Desperados Mexican Restaurants’ campaign, we expect to provide access to 35,000 nutritious meals to children, families and senior citizens in our community.”

“Our restaurant is more than just a business. My sons and I have built long-lasting relationships with our employees and diners. They are like family to us. The Say Adios to Hunger and Stuff the Catering Van campaign with the NTFB will allow us to give back to our community in a meaningful way. We can join one of the nation’s largest charities in its effort to wipe out hunger and celebrate with our community at the same time,” said Levy.

Items she’s excited about: “Tortas! We have a puerco pibil, guajillo chicken, and braised short rib tortas. Each comes with its own dipping sauce and is served with yucca chips. We’re also offering aguas frescas. Today’s flavors are pineapple, cilantro, and watermelon mint.”

Race you there!