Opening News
Sweet abuela does authentic home-cooked Mexican food in ex-Whataburger
A family-run Mexican spot that was previously tucked inside a Dallas flea market has graduated to the big time with its own standalone location.
Called Abby Restaurant, it's a highly personal, slightly homey eatery serving authentic Mexican food at 2955 Walnut Hill Ln., just east of Harry Hines Boulevard, in what was most recently a Williams Chicken but was originally a Whataburger.
Owner Abby Fraire has been doing Mexican food in one form or another in this section of northwest Dallas for more than 25 years, starting out with a street corn stand in front of the Fiesta on Webb Chapel Road before opening the original Abby inside the Harry Hines Bazaar nearly 16 years ago.
There, she developed a following for her handheld Mexican items, especially her gorditas, which she offers in a dazzling assortment including gorditas with potatoes & chorizo, beans & cheese, rajas, asado verde, carnitas, picadillo, chicharron, and nopalitos.
"All our food is delicious and made from scratch, and it's a completely family-run operation," Fraire says. "Now we've branched out to a bigger, more comfortable place to serve our delicious food."
The new location has given her the opportunity to stretch her wings a bit and she's introduced a newly expanded menu that includes suiza and mole enchiladas, plus chicken flautas, asado de puerco, beef fajitas, and grilled chicken. They do $10 lunch specials, a different one every day, ending in shrimp cocktail and chile rellenos on Fridays.
Tortas come in four options including beef with beans, ham & pork with mustard, and barbacoa. A taco plate features three tacos filled with fajitas or carnitas, plus rice & beans, for the bargain price of $8.
One unexpected dish that has climbed to bestseller status has been the enchiladas. They come with choice of cheese or chicken, and choice of red or green chile sauce.
"We always had enchiladas, but having the restaurant gives customers a chance to sit down and enjoy it as a meal," she says.
She still has her corn roaster and does special elotes days with freshly roasted corn on the cob, or cut and served in a cup with butter, mayo, and cheese.
"We're doing authentic Mexican food — no Tex-Mex here," she says.
