Ice Cream News

Dallas dish of the week: Cado avocado non-dairy ice cream

Cado ice cream is made with avocado.

Photo courtesy of Cado

Editor's note: Every week, we'll spotlight a culinary treat found around Dallas-Fort Worth — whether it's a new opening, a dish at a restaurant, or a grocery find.

Dish: Cado avocado ice cream
Location: Grocery stores

Dairy-free ice cream is a hugely growing category, with cool new innovations advancing the experience practically every day. This is good news not only for those who observe a vegan eating plan but also for the increasing number of people who eschew dairy.

Soy ice cream was the first, and for a long time the only nondairy ice cream (and for a long time, chalky and awful).

But in the past few years, companies have introduced all kinds of alternative ice cream options, each better than the last: from coconut milk whose creamy richness approximates Haagen Dazs-premium butterfat levels, to the amazing almond-milk line introduced by Ben & Jerry's in 2017.

Cado Avocado Ice Cream is next-level. It's an ice cream that uses pureed avocado as a base, but manages not to taste like avocado.

Cado's avocado base is made from pureed avocado; flavorings; and gums, which enhance the texture. It's currently available in three flavors: chocolate, mint chocolate chip, and lemon sorbet. Within the next few months, they'll be adding four more flavors: cherry amaretto, java chip, vanilla, and salted caramel.

Chefs have been using avocados as a base for vegan desserts such as puddings and brownies for years, so it's clever to take it to ice cream.

Founded in Iowa by Meghan Dowd, her brother Jack, and her mother Deb, Cado has been around since 2015. But in the past few months, the line has achieved wider distribution. In Texas, you can find it at Natural Grocers stores in DFW, Austin, and San Antonio, and at $6.09 a pint, it ain't cheap.

According to Dowd, the avocado-base:

offers more nutrition and a superior fat
doesn't compete with the flavor
has a really creamy quality, just like ice cream.

It really is all the things she says. The chocolate was profoundly chocolatey and buttery creamy. The lemon was creamy and refreshing, very lemon chiffon.

As a decadent dessert ice cream, it's amazingly "healthy," not that such a thing matters when you want ice cream.

The ingredients for the lemon flavor are as follows: avocado puree, avocado oil, cane sugar, tapioca starch, lemon juice concentrate, sea salt, guar gum, gum acacia, and lemon oil. Everything is organic.

A serving is 170 calories which is on the low side. It has 12 grams of fat.

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Back in Business

Garland restaurant from Bobby Flay winner to reopen in downtown Dallas

Photo courtesy of Pangea

Chef Kevin Ashade has found a new home for Pangea.

Pangea, the popular Garland restaurant which closed in January 2025, has found a new home. A new iteration of the restaurant will open in downtown Dallas, at 1910 Pacific Ave., Ste. 1400, in a location that was once vegan restaurant Belse.

According to restaurant personnel, it will open at 4 pm Friday, February 13.

Pangea is from chef and restaurateur Kevin Ashade, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who won Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay in 2016 with his signature coq au vin, which will be served at the new restaurant.

Ashade has a strong culinary background in Dallas, which includes Craft at the W Hotel, Nana at the Hilton Anatole, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, and his GourmEats catering business, before opening Pangea in January 2020.

In this new chapter of Pangea, which is defined by Ashade as “elevated and globally inspired," the menu will expand past the original restaurant's upscale Southern eats to include new flavors and fusions from Italian, Nigerian, Japanese, French, and Caribbean cuisine.

“The focus will be on a true definition of what Pangea is, with new dishes and a true cultural approach to food,” Ashade says.

The menu will feature about half of the dishes from the original location, including the popular jerk roasted lamb shank, stuffed salmon, and crab cakes. It will expand to include more fish options, like a branzino plate, and more cuts of steak, in addition to the New York strip, filet, and ribeye that were served in the Garland location. Entrees will range from $35 to $50, with more casual options such as burgers and sandwiches available as well.

The new restaurant will also feature a full raw and sushi bar, including an omakase option starting at $85. They will also be serving brunch on weekends, with options such as chicken and waffles, eggs Benedict, omelets, steak frites, pastry baskets, and a full coffee menu.

Pangea downtown Dallas The menu is globally inspired. Photo courtesy of Pangea

The 240-seat space is upscale with a lounge vibe, with warm lighting creating a sophisticated but welcoming look. It features a full bar, a private dining room, and an ample climate-controlled patio. It is centrally located, across the street from Pacific Plaza Park and on the same block as the Majestic Theatre.

“This relocation means a better spot for us, an opportunity to be part of the business district. We want to create a vacation feel, a place that makes you feel like you are traveling in Mykonos, Tulum, or Ibiza,” Ashade says.

Pangea will be open for dinner seven days a week, as well as offering lunch on Fridays and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The restaurant will stay open late — until 2 am — on weekends.

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