Tastemaker Awards

The 10 top neighborhood restaurants in Dallas keep it close to home

Meat, potatoes, and green beans from Carverpark.

Photo courtesy of Carverpark

CultureMap Dallas brings back the 2022 edition of its annual Tastemaker Awards, our culinary celebration shining a light on the top talent in Dallas-Fort Worth's restaurant and bar communities, as determined by their peers.

As part of that celebration, we are launching a 10-part editorial series in which we'll profile nominees for Restaurant of the Year, Bar of the Year, Chef of the Year, and more. Check out our page with all the nominees, all of which have been voted on by a panel of judges consisting of former CultureMap Tastemaker Award winners and local F&B experts.

It'll culminate in a party on May 12 at Fashion Industry Gallery, emceed by comedian CJ Starr, where attendees get to dine on bites from nominated restaurants and find out who the winners are in all the categories. (Tickets are on sale here.)

We begin that series now with the category of Neighborhood Restaurant. These are the places that are nearby, convenient yet good, and that often reflect the neighborhood in some way.

Here are the 10 nominees for best Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year:

Tiki Loco
Extremely practical restaurant that opened in 2018 has celebrity ties: It's owned by tattoo artists Dean Williams and Olive Peck (star of TV show Ink Master), whose Elm Street Tattoo shop has been in Deep Ellum for 20-plus years. The duo has created a place where you can get healthy food options — both vegan and GF — and local coffee from White Rock Coffee, including tacos, nachos, smoothies, juice, grab-and-go items, and even cocktails, with happy hour deals. Deep Ellum has become deluged with restaurants, many from out of town, and Tiki Loco stands as a bit of a throwback, a sweet reminder of the quirky, funky Deep Ellum vibe that has attracted so many newcomers.

Partenope Ristorante
Partenope has all the traits that every neighborhood wants: authenticity, doting local ownership, a sense of family, and of course, pizza. Everyone loves pizza. Husband-and-wife Dino and Megan Santonicola met when they worked at the Cane Rosso chain, but came with extensive restaurant industry experience they put to good use at this place of their own, which they opened in the gorgeous Titche-Goettinger building in downtown Dallas in 2019. They've won over the downtown residential community with their diligence and reliability, not to mention spot-on Neapolitan-style pizza, pasta, and other specialties from Dino, a native of Italy.

Open Sesame Lebanese Grill
Dallas has plenty of Middle Eastern restaurants, but those that serve Lebanese specifically are in the minority, and this is a wrong that Open Sesame rights. The restaurant opened in 2017 in a busy part of Oak Lawn Avenue, serving the trademark sharp flavors and superb execution for which Lebanese food is known, in their signature kafta, ground beef with onions & parsley, as well as their superior versions of Middle Eastern staples like tabouleh and hummus. Their prices are low — finding truly good quality food at a reasonable price is a rarity in Dallas — they offer wine and beer, and they're open for both lunch and dinner. Maybe it's time to move to Oak Lawn.

Lockwood Distilling Co.
Distillery and craft kitchen in Richardson serves small-batch spirits and a chef-devised menu featuring enticing dishes with creative yummy twists such as "dirty" tater tots with melted pimento cheese and hot sauce; and Southern bean dip with marinated butter beans, arugula, and toast points. They opened in Richardson in 2019, and are really just a small spirits distillery with some indoor dining and outdoor/patio seating, where they host local musicians on weekends. But founders Sally and Evan Batt have a genuine love for the community and have created a laid-back place where you can enjoy crafted food and beverages.

Lochland's
Irish pubs are beloved in Dallas, and this one comes with unimpeachable credentials: Co-owner Peter Kenny is a native of Ireland and pub veteran who also owns the Dubliner on Greenville Avenue. Its menu of Irish comfort food such as fish & chips and shepherd's pie, a great selection of beer, and cocktails, too, would be a hit anywhere, but it's all especially beloved in their Lake Highlands/Lochwood neighborhood of East Dallas, deeply grateful for something cool. Lochland's accommodates with friendly service, a dog-friendly outdoor space, and a popular weekend brunch.

Hillside Tavern
Neighborhood tavern is the Lakewood entry from the owners of Rapscallion, Boulevardier, and Veritas Wine Room, located in suddenly buzzy Hillside Village, where they serve bar eats, stiff cocktails, a 40-bottle wine list, TVs, and a friendly staff. The menu has a Houston's vibe, with bold versions of classics such as a wedge loaded down with blackberry-hoisin glazed bacon, blue cheese, tomato, sesame seed spice, scallion, chili sauce, and roasted peanuts. Smoked meats are a thing here, and chef Nathan Tate is not shy: Consider his smoked bologna sandwich with smoked mortadella, American & provolone cheese on Texas toast. Boo-yah.

Jalisco Norte
Authentic Mexican kitchen and bar at Turtle Creek Village was originally founded by Tim McEneny (Sloane's Corner) and acclaimed chef Jose Meza, whose resume includes the famed NOMA in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2020, it was acquired by restaurateur Mike Karns (Local Favorite Restaurant Group), and in great news, he's kept the formula of flavorful authentic food and craft cocktails mostly intact. Meza is a culinary whiz who knows how to pack a punch, distilling loads of flavor and technique into sauces and ingredients that can seem simple but beneath the surface are gratifyingly complex.

Taco Ocho
Small acclaimed family-owned taqueria chain serves tacos, quesadillas, nachos, and more with locations in Richardson, Frisco, and Flower Mound. Founder Mani Bhushan worked for companies such as PepsiCo and Yum! Brands before founding Taco Ocho in 2011 as a Mexican restaurant inspired by Latin cuisine with classic techniques. Every item is made-to-order using fresh ingredients, with inspiration from Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. The food is good, they're ultra-responsive to customers, the prices are low, and they keep long hours: open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch.

Honor Bar
Restaurant-bar at Highland Park Village is part of the Hillstone Restaurant Group (Houston's, R+D Kitchen) and has three other locations, in Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara, and Miami — and yet it's quintessential Park Cities (although keep in mind that it's a Hillstone-quality version of Park Cities, IE better than what the Park Cities would muster on its own). It has the same polished self-assurance (and a few similar dishes) as R+D, but with a hair more of a casual/bar-food focus — burgers and such — not to mention a bright patio with yellow umbrellas that lets you keep an eye on who's doing what and headed where at HPV.

Carverpark
What a treasure to find this small, careful cafe from a food & beverage team with tons of experience tucked inside a 14-story office building at 7557 Rambler Rd., near 75 and Walnut Hill Lane. Open for breakfast and lunch to occupants of the office building, or anyone else who wants to drop in, it stars James Rowland, the well-regarded veteran chef (Beau Nash, Bistro Nous, Greenville Avenue Bar & Grill); and Fana Yohannes, the former front-of-the-house pro from York Street and Lucia Dallas, who are turning out fresh, homey sandwiches, pastas, soups, and hearty vegetarian dishes.

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Eco Warrior News

Dallas restaurants doing amazing little things for the environment

Southwest Airlines

Cute bamboo cup from Southwest Airlines

One unfortunate legacy left by the pandemic has been a huge increase in the use of plastics — setting back progress that was being made pre-pandemic.

Plastics are bad. They harm everything they touch: the environment, health, food security, and economies. But they're convenient, subsidized, and in some cases necessary.

Before the pandemic, a growing awareness had started to snowball regarding the negative impact of plastics, particularly plastic straws and single-use plastic containers — and it was significant enough to make the plastics industry very nervous.

"In the two years leading up to the pandemic, the public backlash against plastic was a major concern for industry leaders," says a story about plastics and the pandemic in The Guardian. "As a corporate executive remarked during an industry event early in 2019: 'We need to get the image of plastic in oceans out of the public’s mind. Otherwise, we could lose our social license to operate.'"

But then the pandemic came along, igniting mass hysteria about contagion, and suddenly, bans on single-use plastics that had been in the works were reversed in countries around the world: North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“Overnight, plastics went from public enemy No. 1 to consumers asking for everything to have as much packaging as possible and to be single use," said one gleeful analyst for Shell Oil, who are a major plastics player.

The urgency of the plastics situation remains invisible to most people, lined up at the drive-thru for their coffee or Chick-Fil-A, piling up nearly 250 pounds of plastic waste every year. (That's what the average American amasses — more than any other country.)

But there are brave, pro-environment efforts being made by Dallas companies and organizations, big and small.

La Casita Bakeshop cup Revolutionary compostable cup at La Casita Bakeshop.Facebook

Dallas efforts
The Dallas restaurants and organizations listed below have taken steps to fight waste, even though it costs them money.

Plastic Free Lunch Day is November 22
Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services will participate in Plastic Free Lunch Day on November 22, to help reduce the amount of single-use plastic in school cafeterias.

Plastic Free Lunch Day was started by middle school students in Brooklyn. The initiative was such a success that it was adopted by all New York City public schools in 2022. The concept has since spread to public schools across the country — including Dallas ISD, which was the first in Texas to participate, when it joined up in 2022.

It creates an opportunity to educate students and the community on ways to positively impact the environment, including skipping plastic. Dallas school cafeterias will replace the plastic items they regularly use during lunch with biodegradable alternatives. (Plastic cutlery, cups, and straws will be available upon request for the crybabies.)

Southwest Airlines bamboo cup
Southwest Airlines Co., the Dallas-based airline, has introduced a new bamboo cup for inflight cold beverages, and a wood stir stick in place of a plastic stick. The airline expects the new items to reduce its inflight single-use plastics by more than 1.5 million pounds annually.

In July 2024, Southwest transitioned to a paper overwrap for its napkins made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled materials — fully eliminating plastic from this service item. The airline is making an effort to eliminate single-use plastics from inflight service by 2030.

La Casita Bakeshop compostable cups
La Casita Bakeshop, the award-winning bakery and cafe operation, recently debuted fabulous new cups that are 100 percent compostable, soil- and marine-biodegradable, breaking down naturally after 90 days. and are made from natural materials.

"We are always trying to find ways to be more environmentally friendly and this is a big way we can," they said in their post announcing the new cups. "We just want to be proud of our paper trail and being a restaurant it's hard to do that."

Smoothie King biodegrable cups
Smoothie King, the Dallas-based smoothie chain, previously used styrofoam cups, but began testing a biodegradable cup in 2019. They now offer it as the default choice. They're using Vio Foam, specially made cups that biodegrade 92 percent in four years. They'll still accommodate whiny selfish customers who insist on getting a plastic cup instead, but their Vio foam cup not only helps the environment, it also keeps their smoothies cold a little longer.

Kate Weiser Recycle Box Program
Kate Weiser, the Dallas chocolatier, sells its gorgeous eye-catching bon-bons in a variety of boxes, from 4 pieces all the way up to 35 pieces. (OK, they'll sell them individually, too, but who goes to a chocolate shop and buys a single chocolate?) They have a program where you can bring your empty box to the store and get a refill and get 5 percent off. (Weiser amusingly calls it a "secret hack.")

Dude Sweet Chocolate freezer packaging
Dude Sweet Chocolate, the Oak Cliff chocolatier, has a next-level campaign in which they will accept cold-ship packaging you've received in the mail and re-use it. Say, for example, that you ordered an 8-pack of ice cream pints from Double Rainbow in San Francisco, and it arrived in a box with freezer packs and a foil liner. You can drop that packaging off at Dude Sweet's factory location at 1340 Inwood Rd., and they'll re-use it in one way or another when they're doing shipments of their chocolate.

Note: Whether you're putting it in the blue bin or the gray bin, your plastic is not being recycled. The best course when it comes to plastic, especially single-use plastic, is to not use it at all.

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