Snocone News

Dallas' Oak Cliff neighborhood nets truly authentic snocone stand

Summer is snocone time.

Photo courtesy of iStock

Oak Cliff gets an authentic New Orleans-style snowball stand with NOLA Snoballs, opening at 345 W. Jefferson Blvd., in the former, short-lived Carnival Barkers Ice Cream space.

Owner is Maureen Ehrlicher, a New Orleans native who's been doing pop-ups for the last year, as well as a temporary stand at a prominent spot at Texas Discovery Gardens.

"I was lucky to know the director of Texas Discovery Gardens because our daughters went to school together," Ehrlicher says. "We were talking one night and I said that I really wanted to start the stand, and he suggested we do it at the Gardens during the State Fair of Texas."

So she debuted the stand in 2016. "I set up in the lobby, and then on busy days and weekends, we'd go out on the front porch," she says.

It went well, and she's gone back for spring break and holidays; she's also done a couple private events as well as Bishop Arts' Bastille Day celebration.

Her signature is a chocolate snocone that's so creamy, it's like ice cream.

"New Orleans-style snocones are known for being creamy," she says. "With regular snocones, you combine ice with concentrate and simple syrup, but with the New Orleans style, you add evaporated milk into the syrup. We do the big seller from New Orleans, which is chocolate made with Hershey's chocolate syrup. You don't see it often around here."

Opening day is July 1, from 1-9 pm; regular hours will be 2-9 pm Tuesday-Sunday, and closed on Mondays.

Maureen and her husband David are true O.C. locals, having lived in the Winnetka Heights neighborhood for more than 25 years. Maureen is also known for her cakes, and as her neighbors testify, she's an avid collector with "the coolest and most impressive Pez collection in Oak Cliff and possibly the entire state," some of which will be on display at the shop.

Her storefront is actually half a space, which she is sharing with Electric Eye, a tattoo shop.

"Their entrance is in the back and my entrance is on Jefferson Boulevard," she says. "It's changing so much now, I'm glad to be a part of it."

ice-cream desserts

Where to Eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 hot new restaurants for November

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Catch Seafood

This month's installment of Where to Eat is bursting at the seams with newcomers and spinoffs. For November, we've got a vast range of cuisines, from Asian to seafood to the beloved Dallas staple, the Irish pub. To find many cuisines in one spot, there's also a new food-hall near downtown Dallas.

Here's where to eat in Dallas this month:

Boxcar
Train-themed restaurant recently rolled into a former laundromat on Greenville Avenue. The concept from owners Jordan Carson and Patrick Gorman features wall screens that simulate the interior of a train. The menu, crafted by chef Eric Freidline, includes a meat & cheese board, Wagyu pastrami French dip sandwich, cheddar corndog with garlic aiolim and butter croissant beignets for dessert. Cocktails have a train theme, and to really elevate the experience, all the meals are served on fine china.

Catch
Upscale seafood restaurant from Catch Hospitality recently opened in Uptown’s Maple Terrace. This is the eighth location in the U.S. From partners Tillman Fertitta, Mark Birnbaum, and Eugene Remm, the concept is known for its simple seafood menu and Wagyu program. Signature dishes include a lobster and caviar roll, mushroom spaghetti, and Cantonese lobster. They also offer sushi straight from Tokyo, Japan, such as hamachi crudo and truffle sashimi.

Dirty Birds
San Diego sports bar chain made its Texas debut in Plano's Lakeside Market shopping center, serving wings, drafts, and burgers. Wings are the standout item, boasting 37 flavors of bone-in and boneless wings, including apple bourbon chipotle, habanero lime, and teriyaki. They also offer bar snacks, such as crispy fried pickles, chicken tenders, and fried okra. As for beer, they have 16 options on tap, like the Dirty Birds IPA.

Donatos
Ohio pizza chain established in 1963 is now open in Frisco with its famous edge-to-edge pizza toppings. Introducing the brand to Texas are Ohio natives and franchisees Dr. Rico Singleton, Casey Dennis, and Cameron Hopkins. The menu features over a dozen pizzas, including hot honey pepperoni, mariachi beef, four cheese, and hot chicken on a choice of cauliflower or thin crusts. Visitors can start as small as a 7- inch pizza or go up to a 14-inch. Additionally, they offer baked wings, subs, and salads.

Empire Baking Co. - West Village
The former Bisous Bisous Patisserie in Dallas' West Village is now home to the Empire Baking Co., whose owners Robert and Meaders Ozarow took over the lease to expand their presence beyond their Lovers Lane and SMU locations. That means not only Empire's award-winning artisan breads, but grab & go sandwiches, salads, pastries, muffins, and weekly specials, too. They’re also ramping up their coffee menu at this location.

Feng Shui
Uptown Pan-Asian concept from hospitality veterans Fawn Zhao and Alan Ho is the realization of Fawn's vision to offer traditional dishes from three distinct cultures — Chinese, Japanese, and Thai — in a warm setting. The menu includes hamachi, a potato stir fry served cold, Thai-style beef jerky in sriracha sauce, and sushi rolls. A full bar includes sake, champagne, Japanese whisky, and specialty cocktails, and there's an especially robust selection of desserts, from green tea cheesecake to mini doughnuts.

Le PasSage and Rose Cafe
The Terminal at Katy Trail just welcomed two sibling restaurants: Le PasSage is an Asian-inspired concept with Cambodian, Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese dishes, such as green prawns with cashew, Peking duck, and winter squash. Rose Cafe is a French-Asian restaurant with quick bites, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including overnight oats, lemongrass shrimp summer rolls, cucumber-dill cream tea sandwiches, and pork shoulder bao buns.

Old Monk
After 25 years on Henderson Avenue, this revered Irish pub just opened a second location on Davis Street in Oak Cliff, in a brick building that was once F45 fitness. It has the same menu as the original location: fish & chips, mini whiskey cheddar bacon burgers, Guinness beef stew, smoked salmon sandwich, cheese boards, and lots of European and craft beers.

Scarlet Lounge & Kitchen
Deep Ellum concept just opened in the former Truth & Alibi speakeasy space where it's serving Spanish and American fare, such as Spanish risotto, flank steak with chimichurri sauce, and portobello steak until 10 pm, then segueing into a nightclub vibe. Though it's a switch from the speakeasy concept, owner Victor Garcia — a former Truth & Alibi bartender who knows the space inside-out — kept some of the original fittings including the glamorous chandeliers.

Victory Social
New food hall in Dallas' Victory Park from Hospitality Alliance recently opened with six eateries. Some of the featured concepts will ring a bell for anyone who visited AT&T's Discovery District which Hospitality Alliance previously managed, includeing Birdie, Rise & Thyme, Park Bistro, Itza Cocina, D'oro Italiano, and Victory Grill. The food ranges from tacos to in-house pasta to steak frites.

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