Something fishy going on

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 hot restaurants for March

Not everyone observes Easter. But for those who do, abstinence is part of the deal. For Catholics, that means no meat or animal products; in fact, it's church law that Catholics cannot eat meat on Fridays during Lent. It's the law, baby!

Dallas-Fort Worth is more Baptist than Catholic, but we'll take this opportunity to highlight 10 places to get your Lent on.

Cafe Pacific
Open since 1980, this Highland Park Village staple was the original place to get good seafood in Dallas. The signature crab cakes look good, formed into cylinders with sharp edges and browned until crisp. If you're feeling sassy, try the lobster salad rolls, an Asian-inspired appetizer with lobster wrapped in rice paper, served with a peanut chili dipping sauce.

Daddy Jack's
If you want to eat fish like the Catholics in New England do, this is the place. The trademark is the fish of the day topped with Ritz-cracker stuffing, comforting and rich; entrees come with a nothing-fancy baked potato and chunky vegetable medley. In keeping with the times, Daddy Jack's does a lobster roll, and it's about as authentic as you can get.

Dallas Fish Market
This high-end downtown Dallas eatery has pristine seafood in a pristine room. Ahi tuna with a rare, red center is served with Israeli couscous, zucchini, squash and carrots in a basil-tomato vinaigrette. Redfish goes fiery-hot with Thai chili, pad Thai noodles, stir-fried vegetables and roasted peanuts.

Dodie's Reef
Dodie's Cafe on Greenville Avenue at Belmont has been the go-to spot since 1989 for New Orleans-style po' boys, crawfish and frosty beer. Half a mile north is its newer sibling, Dodie's Reef, which features New Orleans-style po' boys, crawfish — and a full bar. Hurricane time.

Driftwood
This Oak Cliff restaurant from a former Dallas Fish Market manager is a chip off the old block, with a like-minded elegance and froufrou fish on the plate: soft-shell crab, charred octopus and seared trout. Among chef Omar Flores' selection of crudo are oysters accompanied by a jalapeño sorbet.

Hook Line & Sinker
HL&S now has a second branch at 17602 Preston Rd., but whether you're at the Uptown or North Dallas location, you'll find near-greaseless fried catfish and combination plates with fried shrimp, fried oysters and crunchy-moist hush puppies.

S&D
The New Orleans-style seafood spot is fixated on shrimp: boiled shrimp, shrimp cocktail, shrimp salad, spicy shrimp dip, BBQ shrimp, fried shrimp sandwich and — last but not least — that pinnacle of shrimpness, the fried shrimp platter. Medium-size shrimp are battered and fried until crunchy and served with slaw, fries or Creole rice, and hush puppies.

Spoon
Dallas' own version of Le Bernardin, the New York seafood temple, is presided over by mercurial Top Chef contestant and keeper of the pickles John Tesar. The menu has signatures such as the spicy Singapore toast, but it evolves with whatever fish haul comes in; The Brad has the full set.

TJ's Seafood Market and Grill
TJ’s Seafood Market in Preston Forest added a second location in the Shops at Highland Park, near La Duni, with seating for 24. They grill fish from the case to order and top it with sauces such as Creole or wasabi vinaigrette; there are also daily specials such as steamed mussels and clams. TJ's also has one of the most popular lobster rolls in town.

20 Feet Seafood Joint
This new fish shack in East Dallas is the latest concept to follow trailblazing Good 2 Go Taco into this former run-down strip in far East Dallas. Located next to Goodfriend Beer Garden and Burger House, it has a slight New England vibe in its chef-driven clam chowder, lobster rolls, and fish and chips.

Bonus entry: Sea Breeze Fish Market
Plano spot featuring longtime seafood expert Rick Oruch has become famous for its lobster rolls, but it's been doing nicely grilled fish at an affordable price for five years.

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Spoon serves its scallops on a scallop-shaped plate.

Live scallop and truffles at Spoon restaurant in Dallas

Photo by Kevin Marple

Spoon serves its scallops on a scallop-shaped plate.

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Coffee News

East Dallas coffee shop Killer Joe crackles with sharp New York style

Killer Joe

Killer Joe Coffee

A hip new coffee shop is energizing a busy corner in East Dallas: Called Killer Joe, it's a new shop at 108 N. Fitzhugh Ave. right on the northeast corner of Columbia Avenue, next to (and in the same building as) Pupusas To Go.

Killer Joe is from Christine Sweet and Christian Napolitano, who moved from New York to Dallas in 2022 in search of entrepreneurial opportunity.

"We had been wanting to open up a business in New York for a long time," Christine says. “After the pandemic, it was really hard doing business there. We were looking for a good place to move that offered an opportunity to open our business."

Christine previously worked in travel/destination marketing, living in different places around the world. Christian was in hospitality, having worked in high-end restaurants in Manhattan, most recently at Bond Street Sushi in Soho.

Their goal: to bring a little New York culture to Dallas.

“We are more than a coffee shop — we're a place for foodies and musicophiles, we are really into music and rock & roll. Our shop is not a sleepy, quiet coffee shop," Christine says.

They serve notice of their intentions on the exterior with a quirky, personal mural by Anthony Z. Padilla, rendered in taxicab yellow, with elegant line drawings of the Statue of Liberty and highway-style signs that say "Now leaving New York" and "Welcome to Texas."

The interior is casual-chic, with pale wood furniture and an original cement floor that still sports intentional patches of old paint. The walls have a mix of B&W vintage photos and the occasional cowboy hat. The space was for many years a closed-in bar called Los Dos Reales; but now, the building boasts expansive windows that look out on Fitzhugh and create a bright and sunny space.

For their coffee program, they use organic espresso beans and make their drinks in an Italian Sanremo machine. They serve all the classics plus signature drinks such as French Toast Latte, Sea Salt Caramel de Leche, and Caliente Mocha with a hint of cayenne pepper.

Seasonal drinks include a pistachio caramel matcha latte — featuring toasted pistachios like a baklava, but balanced by the earthiness of the matcha. Other specialty drinks include rose water matcha, orange blossom matcha spritz, and cucumber lemonade.

Panini at Killer JoeKiller Joe

They also serve food, including breakfast all day: steak & eggs, avocado toast, and bagels with plain, scallion or vegan cream cheese. The "Spaghetti Western" is a twist on the traditional ham & cheese sandwich with spicy capicola, roasted tomato, Calabrian pepper sauce, and chimichurri on toasted ciabatta.

Bread is from Empire Baking Company and the bagels are from Shug's.

At lunch, they serve an umami tuna melt; a "K-Pop Cuban" with ham and cheese, plus kimchi pickles and wasabi mayo; and The Texican, with soyrizo spicy sausage, cheddar roasted poblano peppers, tomato, and avocado.

Reeves Family Farm in Princeton provides fruits and vegetables, and 4DWN brings their microgreens. Pastries are baked in house and sauces such as black olive pesto and Killer chipotle sauce are made from scratch.

“We are trying to blend our edgy New York style with a Southern Texas flair," Christine says.

They're open daily from 7am-3 pm, with a late-hour program every second Saturday featuring live DJs; people gather inside and outside the shop for music, food, and drinks.

"This community is just so great, very eclectic, and has really embraced our style," Christine says. In fact, a few customers had a tattoo made at neighbor Franklins Tattoo and Supply with the coffee shop's skull logo.

"I had to follow and get one done too," she says.

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