Kebab News

Bubala Cafe in North Dallas does a homey comforting spin on Russian food

There are skewers and kebabs and so much more.

Photo courtesy o Bubala Cafe

A new restaurant in North Dallas is serving a cuisine that's relatively rare in these parts: Russian. Called Bubala Cafe and Grill, it just opened at 17479 Preston Rd., in the space that was formerly Pera Turkish Kitchen.

Bubula Cafe is a family endeavor from the Margulis family, who emigrated to Dallas decades ago but wanted to share specialties from their native land.

Some of the dishes such as dumplings are familiar. But whether familiar or not, all have a comforting, homey quality, like what momochka (Mom, in Russian) makes, except better.

"This is a family project — my dad has always wanted to open a restaurant, so we decided to take the plunge," says Sima Bell, who runs the restaurant with her parents, her sister Marina Denisov, and her husband Bernard Bell.

"We're longtime residents of Dallas, we moved here 30 years ago, but we still have the recipes," she says.

Bubala features traditional Russian dishes but also pulls from other neighboring cuisines from republics such as Georgia and Uzbekistan.

"We do shish kebabs, salads, seafood, and everything is made from scratch," she says.

One item is called hachipuri; it's a Georgian dish, she says.

"You might have seen it on Facebook or the Cooking Channel, it's a striking dish," she says. "It's like a sweet dough made into a boat, filled with cheese and an egg."

They have a hearty entree with Uzbek roots called lagman that's a little like beef stew, if beef stew came with noodles. Chunks of beef are cooked with onion, carrots, potatoes, peppers, tomato, and spices as a soup, then served over pasta.

"It does look like beef stew, but it's so flavorful," she says. "It has beef and vegetables, but it also has noodles, which a typical beef stew would not have — and they're hand pulled noodles."

Plov is like a pilaf, a one-pot dish featuring rice, beef or lamb, and spices, with a heavy dose of garlic; they serve theirs with a half head of garlic, simmered with the rice until mellow, and cut so that the individual lobes can easily be squeezed out.

They also serve manti, the famous plump Russian dumplings that they make by hand, filled with beef and onions and steamed for 45 minutes until soft.

They do a cool authentic bread called lepyoshka that's a little like naan, with a cool ornate pattern stamped on top.

"It's a classic handmade bread, Uzbek-style, almost airy inside," Sima says. "You eat it with shish kebabs. And we do samsa, like small triangular meat pies, filled with beef and onions, and baked, not fried."

The restaurant interior boasts nice touches such as chandeliers which add just a touch of elegance without getting gaudy — great for the parties and family celebrations they've already begun to host. They don't serve alcohol but you can BYOB.

For now, they're open for dinner only — "but in the new year, we'll add lunch," Sima says.

openings

Revolving Doors

12 restaurants in Dallas that have either just opened or just closed

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Harumama Noodles & Buns

In the inevitable ebb and flow of Dallas restaurants, openings and closings are part of the deal — often coming at the end of the year, when restaurateurs, like the rest of us, take stock of the future.

When there is more than one opening and closure, it becomes difficult to keep track. For this reason, there are lists.

Here's a roundup of Dallas restaurant openings and closures, with the bad news first.

CLOSURES

Terra Mediterranean
Mediterranean favorite in Plano closed on December 8, almost four years to the day they opened. When restaurateur brothers Jalal Chanaa and Adam Shanaa opened it at the The Shops at Willow Bend, it was the third location of Terra, following the original in Fort Worth and another in Irving. Both of those locations have since closed, although they're planning to reopen Fort Worth soon. Meanwhile, the brothers are advising Dallas fans to head to Ali Baba, their other restaurant in Richardson, which they say has the same menu.

Yummies
Despite the confusingly quirky name, this Allen restaurant was a fast food halal restaurant featuring halal beef patties prepared fresh in-store every day, plus pita sandwiches, shawarma, and fajitas. They'd been open for seven years including enduring the pandemic, and locals liked their burgers. But they closed at the end of November.

Whistle Britches
Fried chicken & biscuits concept from chef Omar Flores quietly closed its location at 6110 Frankford Rd. in November. Queries about the what and why are going unanswered, but a recording on the location's phone says both that #1 the closure is temporary and also #2 a new concept will go in its place. This was the location featured in Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, so closing it seems like a shoot-yourself-in-the-foot kind of move, but there are still two remaining locations open, in Plano and Southlake.

Mixtitos Kitchen
Mexican-fusion restaurant in East Dallas finally closed after two years of chef-owner Jose Luis Rodriguez bemoaning a lack of interest in his unusual menu of American, Mexican, and French dishes. He earned oodles of idiotic media attention, but the menu was a tough sell in a space that was previously home to La Acapulqueña, which served cheap Mexican food and margaritas in that space for 33 years. Changing the menu or paying his rent apparently never crossed his mind.

Barley & Board
Denton brewpub is closing after nearly 10 years. According to a post from the owners, the lease was up and they opted not to renew. B&B brought a level of cosmopolitan cool to Denton, combined with an easygoing vibe that made it a fresh addition when it was opened by a hospitality supergroup in 2015. Alas, they got pummeled by the pandemic; one chef said that "things were never the same after COVID." In 2021, they pared down the menu, although they remained a big magnet and brought lots of patrons and revenue into the Square. Their second location which they opened at Grandscape in 2018 closed in November. Denton will close on January 6.

Taco Cabana in Murphy
The Taco Cabana location at 104 FM 544 in Murphy has permanently closed. A Taco Cabana representative said that the location was not doing enough business. People of Murphy, it's on you. Fortunately, the chain has 18 other Dallas-area locations. Support your neighborhood Taco Cabana!

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OPENINGS

Rodeo Cold
Yee-haw dive bar in old east Dallas at 3826 Ross Ave., in the former Eastbound & Down space, is now open. Rodeo Cold is a sibling of Green Light Social, the Austin-born nightlife venue which opened off Good Latimer Freeway in 2021 from owners Robert Dummond and Ian Fletcher, who've partnered with Ian’s brother Eric Fletcher. Their vision is a bar with a late '70s/early '80s vibe plus a little Texas Western color thrown in. They have a basic menu designed by Green Light Social Chef Luis Ayala, with American classics such as steak fingers with gravy, Texas chili, burgers, hot dogs, and Frito pies, plus nothing-too-fancy ready-to-drink cocktails.

MiYa Chinese
New Chinese restaurant is now open in Casa Linda Plaza, in the former Pei Wei space where it's doing an elevated take on Chinese cuisine, blending traditional flavors with a modern, yet cozy atmosphere. MiYa is the brainchild of David Romano, an industry veteran with 30-plus years of food and beverage experience; and brand creator and menu visionary Jia Huang, who grew up in China immersed in her family’s restaurant and has 10-plus years of experience in restaurant operations in America. They're doing classic Chinese take-out items like beef with broccoli and orange chicken, plus hand-pulled noodle dishes such as Sichuan Dan Dan with cucumber, carrot, and sesame Dan Dan sauce ranging in price from $14 to $18.

Be Home Soon
Casa Linda is on fire right now with yet another new opening, this one a place with rock-star cred that just opened in mid-November. The restaurant is from Madison King, a onetime Dallas musician-turned-chef who envisions a warm, comfortable restaurant with a full bar and menu she describes as "home cooking, no matter where you're from." They're open for lunch and dinner with a menu that includes fun appetizers, soups, salads, and sandwiches for lunch, then roll out blue plate specials for dinner.

Kafi BBQ
This one jumps the gun a little because it isn't quite open yet but it's days away. This unusual BBQ restaurant specializing in halal Wagyu beef, will open at 8140 N. MacArthur Blvd. #100 in Valley Ranch on December 14. It's from Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi, a Missouri-born tech engineer and amateur chef who started bringing his BBQ to events at his mosque, where he would sell out very quickly. The menu will include $15 Wagyu brisket sandwiches, brisket on a stick, Iraqi kebab-inspired sausage, and combo plates.

Harumama Noodles + Buns
Small San Diego-based chain with five locations in California is known for "cute" steamed buns decorated to look chicks, pigs, cows, pandas, etc. They've opened a location in Carrollton — their first in Texas — at 1060 W. Frankford Rd. Beyond its twee appeal and Instagram value, the restaurant has a big menu featuring ramen, poke, bao buns, crab wontons, fried rice, potstickers, eggrolls, and salads.

Russo's New York Pizzeria - Frisco
Longtime pizza chain based in Houston which serves New York-style pizza has opened a new location in Frisco at 3420 Main St. #200, in a small new center near Teal Parkway. In addition to full pies, they offer pizza by the slice.

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