Farmers Market Eats

Dallas Farmers Market sweetens the pot with international bakeries

Palmiere Cafe and Proper Baking Company bring two kinds of international flavor to the Dallas Farmers Market.

Proper Baking Co.

The Dallas Farmers Market is set for not one but two places for baked goods, and both bring international flavors.

Proper Baking Company is a once-a-week stand from Tina Miller, pastry chef at Blind Butcher. A native of England where her family had a pub, Miller does English-style baked goods, with items both savory and sweet.

At her stand, she's selling her traditional British pork pies, similar to the ones she makes for Blind Butcher, with a thick crust enclosing a filling of ground pork, as well as sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, and mince meat pies, which she's making special for the holidays.

Her sweet options include sandwich cookies and Victoria sponge cake layered with strawberries and cream. She also does a Bakewell tart, the English tea staple with almond frangipane and strawberry jam.

The Proper Baking Company is open every Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, with a menu of items posted the Wednesday before.

Palmieri Cafe is set to open in December from Corrado Palmieri, who wanted to re-create the kind of bakery and coffee spot he knew from his native Italy.

"There's no place in Dallas that does an authentically Italian bakery and coffee shop," Palmieri says. He'll source ingredients from Italy, including special coffee beans for his coffee and flour for his bread. "Flour is everything for us," he says.

He'll do panini, coffee, and gelato, plus some unique pastries that are good with coffee or consumed solo. There's the rustico, an Italian snack made from puff pastry with different fillings inside, and a calzone — but not the kind of we're used to in the United States. "It's more like an empanada, puffy and fried, with a filling inside," he says.

"It will be a special place," Palmieri says. "For me, when you go to the cafe, it's a place where you want to enjoy your indulgence."

desserts coffee

Mex-Mex News

New Dallas restaurant Mr Habanero brings haute touch to Mexican food

Mr. Habanero

There's a new Mexican restaurant doing haute-style things in northwest Dallas: Called Mr. Habanero, it's now open at 3312 Forest Ln. in a former Golden Corral at Webb Chapel Village.

Mr. Habanero is a spinoff of a restaurant called Habaneros, which owner Javier López opened in Grand Prairie 10 years ago. Like the original, it offers quesadillas, flautas, and other staples people expect at a Mexican restaurant — but it does a whole lot more.

That includes upscale entrees like rib eye steak in a mushroom cream sauce; or tropical salmon salad, with mixed greens, mango, strawberries, jicama, pineapple, and tomatoes in a honey balsamic vinagrette. Prices are reasonable: The $25 rib eye is the most expensive dish.

A native of Michoacán, Mexico, Javier describes himself and his family as foodies who love to dine out and discover new dishes. That curiosity and passion informs what he does.

“Cooking is an art for me, and we have to prepare the dishes as if they were for ourselves — this is what I tell my staff," he says. “We frequently rotate in new items — we are always looking for creative ideas."

The menu is extensive and ambitious, with breakfast served daily until the forgiving hour of 1 pm, including chilaquiles, pancakes, and omelets in options such as veggie or fajita. They also offer lunch specials Monday-Thursday from 11 am-2 pm with $12 plates.

Mr. Habanero cocktailsMr. Habanero

There are also craft cocktails with a menu designed by Javier’s daughter Diana, who helps with restaurant operations.

“I wanted to make our drinks original, with memorable names," Diana says. Those include a watermelon twist on a Moscow mule and the Puerto Escondido, which has both mezcal and tequila, with passion fruit, piña, lime, and agave.

The space seats 250 and is upscale yet comfortable and welcoming. There's a large bar area and a stage for live events, with a DJ in the evenings. They offer personal touches like free desserts and singing waiters for birthdays. Service is a top priority, Javier says.

“Our staff is upbeat, most have been there for so long, they genuinely care," he says.

The neighborhood has no shortage of Mexican restaurants including El Fenix, La Carreta, and El Tizoncito, but Javier says this was actually what attracted him about the neighborhood.

"We want to help attract more people to the area and give them dining options," he says. "We know that if we do well, people will come back."

tex-mex openings