Coronavirus News

Dallas institution Highland Park Cafeteria closes due to coronavirus

Part of the fun of HPC was walking down the line.

Photo courtesy of HPC

The coronavirus has felled a Dallas institution: Highland Park Cafeteria, located at the Casa Linda Plaza in East Dallas, will not be re-opening.

Owner Jeff Snoyer confirmed that, after nearly a century of serving chicken fried steak, chicken and dumplings, and fried chicken, the restaurant is closing for good.

"With this virus, we feel like it's taking so long to recover that it's going to be too hard to hang in there," he says. "And then, even if we were to reopen, with all of the restrictions required, it will be difficult for us to survive."

Those restrictions include being open at only 25 percent, as well as restrictions on the cafeteria-style model that the restaurant observes.

Snoyer originally hoped the closure would be temporary.

"We wanted to keep going and we even bought all new equipment," Snoyer says. "We were trying to think positive, but the only way we do well with our prices so low is to have a high volume of customers. We would usually serve 25,000 meals a month."

HPC dates back to 1925, and swelled to eight locations including its longtime Knox Street flagship before closing in 2006. Snoyer rescued the Casa Linda Plaza location and reopened it in 2007. It was one of the few non-chain cafeteria-style restaurants and had a loyal following dating back decades, with old-timey dishes such as liver and onions, Waldorf salad, pies, and Jell-O.

In 2019, it also earned a spot on a treasured Food & Wine list of best cafeterias.

Snoyer says it's "heartbreaking" for his staff of 65 employees.

"Some have worked for HPC for more than 30 years," he says. "I have so much appreciation for someone who comes in at 7:30 every morning, happy to peel potatoes and do their job."

They'll be hosting an auction of all their fixtures, the proceeds of which will go to employees.

"If anyone wants a keepsake,we'll be doing an online auction, beginning Friday May 15," he says. "All contents of the cafeteria, including memorabilia, non-perishable food supplies, furniture and equipment will be sold through ATXauctions.com."

All perishable and frozen food is being donated to local organizations.

Snoyer says that they'll be keeping the recipes on the chance that they're able to reopen at some point down the road. "Zucchini muffins may one day make a comeback," he says.

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Dumpling News

Momo2Go restaurant from Canada debuts in-demand dumplings in Frisco

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A fast-casual restaurant starring momos has debuted in Frisco: Called Momo2Go, it's part of a well-regarded chain from Canada.

The restaurant recently opened at 5500 Preston Rd. #102, in the Preston Lebanon Crossing shopping center, taking over a space previously occupied by Lalo's Cocina Mexicana, which closed in July.

Momo2Go specializes in momos — the dumpling that's a foundation of Himalayan cuisine — and is a spinoff of a family-owned restaurant called Himalayan Kitchen, which debuted in Toronto in 2012. Their momos were so popular that they launched Momo2Go in 2016. They now have 10 including one in Irving, which franchisees Karma Gurung and Tashi Chetan opened in 2023. Frisco is their second location.

The menu features traditional steamed momos, filled with choice of beef, chicken, or veggie; plus fun fusion momos, inspired by momo stands chef Tenzin Dharpo saw while on trips to India and Nepal.

All of their momos can be served "dry," IE pan-fried, without sauce, although the more popular option is to get them with sauce, for a highly comforting bowl.

Signature dishes include:

Butter Chicken Momo, dumplings that summon the traditional Indian dish, with a creamy butter chicken sauce
Delhi Masala Momo, fried dumplings sauteed in a Himalayan sauce topped with mint chutney
Momo65, deep-fried dumplings with a sweet, spicy, and buttery taste, topped with spicy mayonnaise and curry

They offer many vegetarian and vegan non-momo dishes, such as spicy Schezwan Tofu Gravy, with fried cubes of tofu, crunchy and tender, in a spicy hot sauce and gobi Manchurian, which consists of battered cauliflower florets stir-fried with ginger garlic paste. There's an entire section dedicated to "chaap," a chicken-nugget-like alternative made with soybeans.

The menu also has some intriguing fried rice and noodle dishes such as stir-fried noodles with scrambled eggs, as well as a Himalayan-spiced take on chow mein, the classic Chinese stir-fry dish.

And because no restaurant these days can not-have French fries, Momo2Go has them in three options: plain fries; chili fries featuring spiced French fries sauteed with garlic, onions, and special sauce; and honey chili fries, featuring spiced French fries sauteed with garlic, onions, and honey garlic sauce topped with sesame seeds.

The Frisco location has plenty of seating, although they use disposable containers. (To their credit, much of it is paper-based rather than plastic.) A mural of blue sky and puffy clouds with the slogan "I followed my heart and it led me to momo" takes up an entire wall, adding some energy to the space.

According to a spokesperson, the owners chose Frisco for their second location because of its booming Asian population as well as its increasing demand for halal food preparation, meaning that the animals are raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines — a growing trend in Dallas-Fort Worth.

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