Taco News

New restaurant concept on Dallas' Greenville Avenue slings tacos and wings

The ingredients are made from scratch.

Photo courtesy of Saint Taco

The good news is, there's a fresh new taqueria open on Dallas' Greenville Avenue. Called Saint Taco, it's located at 5323 Greenville Ave., where it's serving breakfast tacos, street tacos, Tex-Mex staples, and wings.

The not-so-good news: It replaces BBBop Seoul Kitchen, which has been serving upscale quick-serve Korean comfort food at that location for more than a decade.

But things change, especially since COVID-19. And really, this just follows the lead set at the original BBBop in Carrollton, which was transformed into a taqueria in 2013 (under the name Tacoria Tacos, but they've now rebranded to Saint Taco).

And BBBop hasn't disappeared. If you're craving one of their bibimbop rice bowls, you can order their menu on a takeout basis from a ghost kitchen at that location, or else visit the BBB Bop location in Oak Cliff.

"We first started doing tacos in Carrollton, and it did really well," says co-owner Steve Shin. "When it came time to renew our lease on Greenville, we decided to take the opportunity to start anew. With everything that's going on with COVID right now, a taqueria seemed to make much better sense. Tacos are so much more deliverable. We had this concept in our back pocket and decided, why not do it here and now when it's doing well in this climate?"

The menu at Saint Taco includes breakfast tacos and breakfast burritos, combining egg with choice of bacon, sausage, chorizo, potato, chicke, carnitas, or barbacoa.

There are street tacos which you can order solo or on a plate with rice and beans. Other Mex menu items include enchiladas, nachos, quesadillas, and tortas.

And keeping in line with what is doing well these days, there are also wings in varying levels of heat and flavors including ranch and garlic parmesan.

Sides include fries, queso fries, and loaded fries.

Shin says that he and his partners have a passion for tacos and have always enjoyed seeking out the best — "even though we're two Asian guys doing tacos," he says. "If I walked into a taqueria and saw Asian guys behind the counter, I might think twice."

But they overcome that by making just about everything from scratch.

"Our veggies and guacamole are prepared fresh daily, our meats are trimmed by hand, salsa is house-made, and our refried beans are made straight from the pinto," he says.

The main thing they outsource is tortillas, from a Texas vendor they love, which they use not only for their tacos but also to make chips.

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Escargot News

New all-day French bistro in downtown Rockwall is all from scratch

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Belle View Bistro Rockwall

An all-day French bistro has made its debut in Rockwall: Called Belle Vie Bistro, it’s a new mom-and-pop in the charming historic downtown district, at 112 E. Rusk St., the former home of The Fatted Calf restaurant, where it opened its doors on November 12.

Belle Vie is from Luis and Iliana Marquez, a hard-working couple who also own Los Marquez, a popular taco--themed food-truck-turned-restaurant in Rockwall they first debuted in 2019. In May, the couple took over the former Fat Chicken space to open a brick and mortar location of Los Marquez, where they serve well-made Mexican food like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, but also burgers & fries. They open for breakfast with breakfast tacos, and run a daily lunch special, often creative, always popular, such as birria ramen with choice of beef or lamb for $11.

But the couple had a bigger vision of creating a place where chef Luis could stretch and showcase his skills.

"Luis has a lot of culinary experience, and it’s something that he’s been putting aside,” Iliana says. “We were just waiting on the perfect time to bring this to life.”

"This is something exciting and new for us, it’s something that we always wanted to make,” Luis says.

Like Los Marquez, Belle Vie is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving classics like French onion soup, moules frites, escargot, and duck confit. There are also comforting and American dishes like spinach-artichoke dip, crab cakes, and fish & chips.

Lunch features Cobb salad, a French dip, and chicken & Brie panini, while an extended breakfast -- which runs from 7 am to 4 pm — includes pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict, beignets French toast, and crepes, plus pastries and breads made from scratch.

Mural on the wall at Belle Vie Bistro RockwallFacebook

The bakery counter is a delight, with eclairs, croissants, scones, fruit tarts, and cake slices in flavors like carrot cake and white chocolate raspberry. There's also a serious coffee program with espresso drinks such as lattes.

"We pride ourselves on making everything from scratch," the duo says. "Our bread—whether for sandwiches, paninis, hamburgers or anything listed on our menu is made fresh just for us by our incredibly talented pastry chef and baker. The same care goes into our pastries and desserts ensuring every bite is special and crafted with love."

The dining room is warm and cozy with dark wood chairs and plush booths and a full-wall mural depicting a street in Paris. They also have a full bar, with cocktails and beer on tap. Prices are reasonable, ranging from $9 for a Belgian waffle during breakfast to $45 for prime ribeye at dinner.

For now, they're not taking reservations — it's first come, first serve.

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