Tasty Skewers

Addison restaurant and hookah lounge fuses Eastern and Indian cuisines

How about some hookah.

Photo courtesy of Taverna Yamas

Hookah is in the house at The Bungalow, a new restaurant and lounge opening in Addison next door to Rio Bravo Mexican at 14905 Midway Rd.

This location was once home to Skewers Kabob House, and The Bungalow will definitely have some skewers on its menu. But there's more to it than kebabs, says owner Zohair Kabani.

"What we're trying to do that Addison hasn't seen is combine Middle Eastern and Indian fusion cuisines," he says. "We're going to to do traditional Middle Eastern, mixed with Indian and Pakistani food, combining numerous flavors in the same dishes. We're also going to strive to be healthy. You don't see that."

Kabani is a young entrepreneur who juggles a corporate banking career with a freelance photography business. He moved here with family from California seven years ago.

"I helped my father move to Texas for business, and decided to move here," he says. "This has always been a dream of mine to open a place like this."

They're aiming for a late September/early October opening and meanwhile are in the fun part of finalizing the menu.

He knows they'll have shawarma plates, a Middle Eastern specialty, often with meat, rice, and a sauce. But even those will have a fusion twist.

"Well make the rice with Middle Easter spices, and make the kebabs with Pakistani flavors," he says. "Mixing the cuisines together on the same plate."

He describes one Pakistani chicken dish they'll do as being full of spices, with ingredients marinated overnight and cooked the next day. "It's like something between traditional Indian butter chicken and the Thai dish called panang curry," he says.

At 5,200 square feet, they'll have room for a hookah lounge, plus two patios, and seating for groups as well as solo diners. They'll have cocktails and a unique wine list, but also an espresso machine.

"Even though we are doing hookah, you can bring your kids and have fun," he says. "Or say you just want to get out and sit in a place and have a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine. We just want to bring people together."

Escargot News

New all-day French bistro in downtown Rockwall is all from scratch

Belle Vie Bistro

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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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