• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    The Anti Best Restaurant List

    Where to eat right now: 10 most underrated restaurants in Dallas

    Teresa Gubbins
    Apr 8, 2014 | 12:48 pm

    You're a champion of the underdog, a defender of the downtrodden. You see some restaurants getting all the attention, even if they don't deserve it. You know that popularity does not always guarantee greatness, and that a review is just someone's opinion.

    You don't jump on trends. You don't oooh over charcuterie or aaah over food piled like rubble on your plate. You don't heart bacon.

    You don't need a line out the door to tell you if a restaurant is good. Just because a restaurant hasn't made some best-of list doesn't mean it's not worthy. To that end, here is our list of Dallas' most underrated restaurants.

    California Pizza Kitchen
    It's a chain, and professing love for a chain is not cool. On top of that, the pizza revolution that's hit Dallas in the past few years has given us more options and better pies than ever. But CPK remains a reliable, upscale, good-value-for-the-money option. It always has interesting salads, such as the quinoa with arugula, and the restaurant constantly rotates in new items such as the bianco flatbread with gorgonzola cheese and fresh sage leaves.

    FM Smoke House
    From the wall of craft beers on tap to the stick-to-your-ribs menu with smoked corn chowder, bacon-mashed potatoes and chicken-fried steak, FM has it going on with food and drink. Like its Plano sibling Holy Grail Pub, FM hosts beer events with glass giveaways and other perks. But it's in Irving, and Dallas critics snub anything outside of Dallas. Their loss is your gain.

    Local
    Chef Tracy Miller opened Local back when Deep Ellum was cool, and she was an early proponent of the "local" thing. (Duh, look at the name.) She survived during the neighborhood's downtime and now is poised for its renaissance. Her food is simple yet extremely creative; she practically invented tempura-fried green beans. She makes mac and cheese richer with a spoonful of mascarpone, and she shows whimsy with dishes such as panko-crusted tater tots with house-made ketchup.

    Malai Kitchen
    Upscale Thai-Vietnamese restaurant in West Village continues its pursuit of excellence, offering great food, service and value. Signatures include green curry, pho and sticky rice, but husband-and-wife owners Braden and Yasmin Wages are creative and innovative, constantly trying new things such as their recent introduction of two craft beers they're brewing in-house.

    Original Market Diner
    Big menu, responsive service, a big-city atmosphere and friendly prices make OMD a favorite for worker-bee lunches and working-man dinners (Thursdays-Saturdays) in its hospital/Harry Hines/Market Center neighborhood. There's breakfast, blue-plate specials such as pot roast, and ah-mayzing pies. It's just good food with no shtick. You can see how that would be a liability.

    Paesano's Ristorante
    Paesano's looks like any other suburban red-sauce Italian, and it kind of is, with chicken piccata, chicken marsala and the like. But Paesano's has a secret: its dough. It's used to make pizzas — sprawling pies with the usual toppings — and complimentary house bread. Crusty, with a moist, dense crumb, it's good enough to make a meal of, with a side of marinara for dipping. They also sell it by the loaf! For $4.50.

    Peak & Elm
    Jesse Moreno conceived P&E as a place to spotlight the homespun recipes and culinary knowledge of his father Jesse Senior. The menu is simple, the service sweet and the margaritas complimentary. There are enchiladas, fajitas, mole sauce and vegan fajitas. There is no Mambo Taxi, but the prices are crazy-affordable: You can feast for $15, and that's with a generous tip (which you better leave).

    Perry's Steakhouse
    Like Pappas Bros., Perry's has Houston roots; is that why it doesn't get mentioned as often as Bob's, Al Biernat's, Nick & Sam's, etc.? Which is silly because, in the steakhouse world, everyone does the exact same thing: Prime beef, shrimp cocktail, big Cab. Where a steakhouse makes its mark is the sides and desserts. At Perry's, that means Sriracha Brussels sprouts (for a limited time) and a decadent butterscotch bread pudding topped with a house-made marshmallow.

    R&D Kitchen
    R&D is a sibling of Houston's/Hillstone, a chain; insert eye-roll here. But with its all-American polish and cheerful efficiency, it could almost be mistaken for a Neighborhood Services, minus the sweaters on the waiters and the snappy menu writeups. The atmosphere is Cali-sleek, and the food is well-executed with just enough originality to keep it interesting, as in spaghetti with chicken meatballs and broccoli.

    Whole Foods Market Salad Bar
    Ignore the unromantic lighting. Heed not the shopping cart. Focus instead on the fact that you can get almost anything here, and it'll be mostly healthy and organic. The salad bar is about as big as a football field, and it's adjoined by numerous hot stations serving up pizza, sushi, hot dogs, barbecue, jambalaya, raw salads, sandwiches, vegan quesadillas, tacos and soups. The capper: There's an in-house bar with wine and craft beer on tap.

    ---

    Want more stories like these? Click the Where To Eat banner at the top to see the rest of the series.

    Fajitas from Peak & Elm.

    Peak & Elm fajitas
      
    Courtesy of Peak & Elm
    Fajitas from Peak & Elm.
    unspecifiedseries554590061
    news/restaurants-bars
    series/where-to-eat

    Stir Fry News

    Mom-and-pop Asian chain from Austin makes Dallas debut in McKinney

    Raven Jordan
    May 12, 2025 | 6:40 pm
    Fire Bowl
    Fire Bowl
    Fire Bowl

    A small Asian chain from Austin has entered the Dallas market: Called Fire Bowl Cafe, it's a small chain that has opened its first DFW location in McKinney, at 4060 W. University Dr. #300, in a new shopping center west of US-75.

    Fire Bowl Cafe was founded by husband-and-wife Gigi Lee and Daniel Pao in 1996 with a focus on customizable bowls prepared in sizzling woks. They have four locations in Austin and one in Colorado.

    Bringing the concept to McKinney is Dallas-based hospitality group DLC Restaurant Holdings (Firo Pizza, Craft Pies Pizza, Desperados), according to a release.

    “We are thrilled to bring Fire Bowl Café to McKinney and introduce our unique dining experience to the wonderful community here,” says CEO Mike Daniel in a statement. “Our mission is to ensure that every customer leaves satisfied and happy, and we can’t wait to share our passion for fresh, customizable Asian cuisine with our new neighbors in North Texas."

    To give it local flavor, they've partnered with Julian Rodarte, who co-founded Beto & Son, the Mexican restaurant at Trinity Groves in west Dallas, and also served as Trinity Groves' CEO. He was briefly executive chef at COSM at Grandscape and is currently culinary director for Dee Lincoln Concepts.

    The menu has a Pei-Wei vibe, featuring a mashup of Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisines, with favorites like edamame, spring rolls, crab rangoon, pad Thai, pot stickers, and lettuce wraps.

    There are noodle and rice bowls, topped with vegetables and choice of protein; and a make-it-your-way stir-fry where you choose from proteins like chicken, beef, shrimp, or tofu, tossed in a wok with vegetables, then combine it with your choice of "carb" — noodles, brown or white rice — and a wide selection of sauces, from teriyaki to spicy peanut to classic Chinese.

    Prices are $12-$14. They do not currently serve alcohol, but have plans for it at a future date.

    openings
    news/restaurants-bars
    series/where-to-eat
    Loading...