Mexican Food

Oak Lawn stands by for Dallas’ newest chef-driven Mexican restaurant

A new restaurant opening in the fall promises Mexican food that's uniquely authentic.

Photo courtesy of Jalisco Norte

Just a few months after the closure of his Cedar Springs eatery Cedar Grove (formerly Dish), restaurateur Tim McEneny is back with a new concept that will feature an acclaimed chef from Mexico City. The new restaurant is called Jalisco Norte, and it will open in October at 3858 Oak Lawn Ave., in the newly renovated center at the corner of Blackburn Street.

The supervising chef is Jose Meza Arroyave, a young rising star who was most recently at the famed Restaurant Carolina, at the St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, northwest of Puerto Vallarta on the west coast of Mexico.

Arroyave is no stranger to Dallas. In 2016, he did a stint as guest chef at Fearing's Restaurant on May 5, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, where he showcased his contemporary rendition of Mexico's traditional culinary origins. His menu included a quesadilla made of crunchy blue maize filled with Oaxaca cheese; ceviche de pozole verde; carne asada; and arroz con leche, aka rice pudding.

A native of Mexico City, Arroyave earned a degree in gastronomy and worked with such Michelin-starred chefs as Martin Berasategui, Bart de Pooyer, and Rene Redzepi at Noma in Denmark. Prior to Carolina, he worked at Moxi, a highly regarded restaurant in San Miguel de Allende.

Carolina Restaurant has had a AAA Five Diamond rating since its opening in 2008 and continues to be only gourmet Mexican restaurant holding this prestigious award.

Jalisco is known for its tequila, but Jalisco-style Mexican food has also become a bit of a buzzword in Dallas, with restaurants such as the recently opened Jose in the Park Cities claiming it as a theme. The most frequently cited Jalisco specialties include seafood, pozole stew, and birria, stewed meat — it can be goat, pork, lamb, or beef — served in a thick broth.

McEneny says that the menu is still being finalized, but promises that the restaurant will bring an authentic rendition of Mexico City-style food that Dallas has yet to see.

"Jose Meza is on the same level as Dean Fearing, Stephan Pyles, and Kent Rathbun," McEneny says. "We have restaurants that dabble in authentic Mexican food, but most are more Tex-Mex. With this restaurant, Mexico City is going to fall into our laps."

openings chefs

Closure News

Sylvan Avenue Tavern in West Dallas closes but a new bar's on the way

They're known for their pizza and chill vibe.

Courtesy of BST

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A West Dallas tavern is closing, but that's not the end of the story: Sylvan Avenue Tavern, located at Sylvan Thirty at at 1888 Sylvan Ave. #F250, closed for good on November 3, after three years at the address.

The restaurant-bar opened in the complex in 2021, a spinoff of Bryan Street Tavern, a longtime bar in East Dallas, serving pizza, beer on tap, and a laid-back atmosphere with pool tables and outdoor space.

The bar had been closed for much of August, which owner Joe Hinkson attributed to issues with the landlord. It reopened in at the end of August, only to close these two months later.

"We reopened for football season, but we didn't get the boost like we hoped," Hinkson says. "It was becoming the definition of insanity.."

"It's official this time," he said. "The shopping center is dying. Coppers gone, Craft & Co. gone, Shana's gone and there's been nothing new since we moved in."

In a Facebook post, he stated that "the complex is dying and we've lost four other businesses prior to us making our decision to close. And now we’ve become the fifth one to leave. We've enjoyed our time there, but without support from the property owners we had call it a day."

Some of the bar's neighbors said that the bar "trashed" the suite, leaving broken glass as well as one of the gas burners open, requiring the fire department to come out because of complaints about the smell gas.

But Hinkson said that wasn't true. "We removed equipment," he said. "Not sure what the spray paint was. It was just residual trash. No vandalism. We left most of the furniture and the beautiful bartop."

Hinkson's attention is on a new sibling, called Fate Village Tavern, opening in the city of Fate at 4970 East I-30, #130 — a center so new, it barely shows up on the map.

Fate Village is set to open in November, with a similar menu, spirit and beer selection, TV's galore, and a large outdoor patio with a pet friendly area.

"This has been in the works for about a year — we started construction back in June," he says. "We're excited about it. It's going to be a truly polished version of BST, and we will be the only bar in Fate city limits."

They're finishing up construction with includes touches like a pressed tin ceiling and shiplap on the walls, to give the new build space some lived-in character.

"Adam Navan, my partner in Sylvan Avenue, moved to Fate a few years ago, and that gave us an awareness of the town's growth," Hinkson says. "We watched them build out the retail center, called Fate Village, which was an instant success. We approached the developer and one year later, they reached out to us a year later and we signed up."

It's bigger than Bryan Street and they've given it a huge patio.

"We are soooo close — we're just waiting on last bit of furniture and final inspections," he says.

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