Mexican Closure

Dallas loses its only location of ZuZu Handmade Mexican restaurant

Zuzu's signature item is grilled chicken.

Photo courtesy of ZuZu

The longtime Dallas branch of Zuzu Handmade Mexican Food has closed, after more than 20 years at the centrally located corner of Mockingbird Lane and Abrams Road. The closure itself was sudden, with the final day of service on July 23; but the restaurant's departure had been forecast for a few months, when owner Basilio Andrade made it clear in the spring that he was not planning to renew the lease, which expired on October 1.

Andrade was unavailable for comment, but he first told customers back in May that ZuZu would stay open through the end of September. By June, he told customers that he had changed his target closure date to the end of July or August.

He also told customers that the rent had been increased dramatically, quoting a figure as high as $8,000 a month. However, according to a source connected with the property, that figure was not accurate.

Customers were also told that Andrade was moving the restaurant to a new location in the Medallion Center, and the restaurant's Yelp listing is marked as "temporarily closed." A spokesperson for Medallion Center said there are no plans as of yet for a ZuZu to open there.

The first ZuZu Handmade Mexican Food opened in 1989 in Snider Plaza, with a healthy focus and fast-casual format that was ahead of its time. Its menu includes enchiladas, quesadillas, and fajitas, with housemade salsas in novel versions such as green tomatillo and roasted poblano red. Its signature item is grilled chicken. Original founders were Espartaco Borga and Horatio Lonsdale-Hands. Borga has since founded the La Duni chain, while Lonsdale-Hands' current project is Buda Juice.

Since 1993, ZuZu reverted to a family-owned and operated model, with each branch independently owned. The Snider Plaza original has long been closed, but there are locations in Austin, Addison, and Frisco, which opened in 2016.

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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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