Bread News

Dallas' best bakery brings bread and sandwiches to east side of town

East side of Dallas, bread and sandwiches to the rescue.

Photo courtesy of Empire

Dallas' best bakery is opening a second location, one that will bring its incomparable breads to Dallas' east side.

Empire Baking Company, the artisan bakery which introduced true sourdough to Dallas, is opening a store at The Hill, the hipster mixed-used development at the northeast corner of US-75 and Walnut Hill Lane.

Empire is part of a wave of newly announced tenants moving into the shopping center, most in early 2019, that include a poke place, a pizzeria, and a handroll restaurant. Hey, how about a bulleted list with bolded names:

Pokeworks, a Hawaiian-style poke place
Sauce Pizza and Wine, the growing pizzeria chain with salads, pastas, pizzas, wine, and beer
Sushi de Handroll, a quick-serve, fast-casual tempura and sushi hand roll restaurant

Those are all exciting additions but nothing beats a new Empire.

The bakery has been focused mostly on wholesale sales to restaurants and stores, although at one point, they did have a quartet of retail stores, before narrowing down to just one outlet at Inwood Village at Inwood and Lovers Lane.

But co-owner Meaders Ozarow says that they've been fielding requests from customers who are east of the North Dallas Tollway for years.

"We're a little nervous because opening another retail center is a big commitment," she says. "But I see a stronger community forming in Lake Highlands. We've participated in farmers markets on the east side, and we can see that people want real food."

The store will be similar to their shop on Lovers Lane, with breads, pastries, jams, and a big selection of sandwiches and foods to-go.

They're also enthusiastic about The Hill.

"We adore Tacodeli and some of the other shops that are there," she says. "It feels like a community-driven center, and that's important to us. Bakeries are not like a clothing store where you go in and buy a shirt. They're tied to the community."

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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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