Articles about oak cliff

Restaurant Review: Mesa in Oak Cliff

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 27th, 2011 10:00am | filed under C.J. Wilson is on notice, Go Rangers!, Mexican Revolution, oak cliff, Regional Mexican Cuisine, Restaurant News, Reviews | 8 Comments »

The Reyeses; their creamy flan de naranja. (photography by Kevin Marple)

Raul Reyes opened his first restaurant in 2008, a tiny place in Oak Cliff serving the colorful cuisine of his birthplace, the Veracruz region of Mexico. La Palapa Veracruzana was run by his family, wife Olga working as his co-chef, daughter Jaretzy taking managerial duties, and son Raul Jr. waiting tables. The seafood-centric menu snagged the palates of serious food lovers and critics in Dallas, but the kudos posted on food blogs and the glowing reviews couldn’t keep it alive. It closed after only a year.

“We never pulled an alcohol license,” Reyes says by way of explanation. “I couldn’t. My daughter was manager and she was only 17.”

Dejected, Reyes figured he would have to shed his chef whites forever and return to the construction business to support his family. Before La Palapa Veracruzana closed, Reyes had augmented his income by taking on handyman jobs. Chris Zielke, co-owner of Bolsa and Smoke, had hired Reyes to rebuild the bar at Bolsa, the popular farm-to-table restaurant in the Bishop Arts District. So Reyes showed up at Bolsa one day and told Zielke he’d closed his restaurant. Zielke encouraged Reyes to try again.

Stay with me.

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Bar 828–A Fleeting Speakeasy in Oak Cliff

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 26th, 2011 9:55am | filed under Celebrity Diners, Charity events, Go Rangers!, Hippie revolutions, Hot Links!, make mine a double, Michael Martensen for President, Mixology is fancy for bartender, oak cliff, pop-up restaurant, Silly Reasons to Celebrate, Wine & Spirits | 11 Comments »

Changing the mural at Bar 828.

Arti Sharma, D Magazine intern and a grant writer for Promise House  the nonprofit that receives a portion of the proceeds from Bar 828, visited the popular pop-up bar last weekend and files this report.

Feel free to play some theme music.

Driving along the 800 block on the west side Davis Street, you may notice something particularly peculiar about the venue that sits on lot 828.  At first glance, you will see a tattered building that shells what may have been a forgotten afterthought, abandoned in the midst of what perhaps was meant to be an idea. You may not further heed its quaintness, and will write it off as an empty nest.  But you see, inside an oyster, sometimes there is a pearl.  And inside 828, is something just as precious and rare: Bar 828.

Pretty pictures of pretty pop-up bar below.

Continue reading "Bar 828–A Fleeting Speakeasy in Oak Cliff"

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Driftwood to Open at 642 W. Davis in Oak Cliff

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 21st, 2011 9:30am | filed under oak cliff, Openings/Closings, Restaurant News | 17 Comments »

A few weeks ago, I was digging around the city building permits and pulled up an application for 642 Davis. I contacted some high profile restaurant folks in The OC and they refused to tell me who was behind the venture. Well, I found out anyway.

Veteran restaurant GM Jonn (Salve, Dallas Fish Market, Nicola) Baudoin is the man behind the concept going into the former Confusion space on West Davis. 642, right next door to Bolsa’s new market Mercado to be exact. Driftwood is the name and seafood-centric will be their game. “New American with an East Coast and a West Coast influence,” Baudoin says. The vibe? The Hamptons meet Oak Cliff. The price? Small and large plates from $7 to mid-$20s. Total seating, inside and out, is 90. “I will take a limited number of reservations for tables inside,” Baudoin says. “I want to appeal to people who have to drive to Oak Cliff.”

Baudoin is more concerned about a well-priced and interesting wine list than cocktails. “We will have 6 to 8 specialty cocktails. But for the seafood, I want to have a unique list of wine.” The approachable, refined menu will be cooked by a chef. However, Baudoin, now an official member of the OC Restaurant Owners Secret Keepers, will not tell me HIS name. “He’s currently in Dallas at one of the top 100 restaurants list in the Dallas Morning News,” Baudoin says. “He’s put in his notice and it will be announced within 4 weeks.”

We’ll see about that.

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Bolsa Owners to Open Two New Concepts in Former Jack’s Backyard Space

posted by Nancy Nichols | October 14th, 2011 12:35pm | filed under Bring it!, C.J. Wilson is on notice, Cult Cuisine, Go Rangers!, Hippie revolutions, oak cliff | 17 Comments »

Christopher Jeffers and Chris Zielke (Team Chris) have taken over the former space known at Jack’s Backyard on Fort Worth Avenue and plan to open two restaurant concepts. One will be a family-friendly; the other will be a bar. (And it won’t pop up.) “Don’t have any names,” Zielke said. No other details from this reporter. Hey, let’s have a naming contest!!! St. Christophers? Christophers Crossing? Come on…

UPPITY DATE: Tim Byres is also one of the partners. Readjust naming program.


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