Dining news
14 Dallas-Fort Worth eateries get spotlight in Black Restaurant Week
Smokey John's BBQ
A dining event from Houston has returned to Dallas-Fort Worth: Black Restaurant Week, which highlights Black-owned restaurants and encourages diners to support them, will take place at more than a dozen restaurants around DFW from March 15-24.
Founded in 2016 by Warren Luckett, Falayn Ferrell, and Derek Robinson, Black Restaurant Week showcases African American, African, and Caribbean cuisine, according to a release. It began in Houston before expanding to DFW in 2021.
The idea is that the week provides marketing and PR services for Black-owned restaurants that can’t afford to pay for such services. It helps balance out disproportionate barriers, such as access to business loans, that many Black entrepreneurs face.
It’s also meant to help combat the challenges restaurant owners are facing due to rising food and labor costs — 53 percent of restaurant owners have experienced lower profits since 2022, according to James Beard Foundation’s 2023 industry report.
“COVID-19 changed the landscape since 2020,” Luckett says in the release. “Now, the price of food is soaring. From being overlooked for revitalization funds to inflation, most Black-owned culinary businesses cannot afford advertisements/PR/marketing to build awareness and attract consumers. That’s why we proudly do this for free – it’s peer-to-peer support for 10 days within each market and for the past nine years.”
Diners interested in participating in Black Restaurant Week have a simple mission: Grab a meal at Black-owned restaurants. DFW participants so far are as follows:
Belzoni’s Catfish Cafe. Tiny restaurant on the far west side of Fort Worth in White Settlement with a primary focus on catfish. Owner Dwight Cooley is a native of Belzoni, Mississippi, the town unofficially known as the farm-raised catfish capital of the world. In addition to standard catfish filets, they offer “catfish rounds,” bite-sized circles of catfish stuffed with jalapeños and onions and served with spicy tartar sauce. Sides include turnip greens, hushpuppies, mac and cheese, and green beans.
Blends Daiquiri Express. Drive-thru daiquiri spot founded in The Colony in 2017 features a menu of nine specialty daiquiris, plus several popular beers. Food options include po-boys, burgers, wings and tenders, and fried shrimp or catfish, with sides of fries, red beans and rice, and blended greens. They also offer several hookah flavors, which can be smoked on the restaurant’s outdoor patio.
Casa del Vegano. Vegan taqueria in Oak Cliff that opened in 2021 offers a plant-based menu of Tex Mex favorites like burritos, flautas, chimichangas, tortas, tacos, and quesadillas. They also do a vegan spin on birria tacos, the crispy cheesy twist on a taco, but filled with Impossible beef.
Chef Point Restaurant & Bar. Gourmet restaurant in Colleyville became a local sensation in 2011 when Food Network's Guy Fieri featured it on Diners, Driveins and Dives. Chef Franson Nwaeze's menu includes dishes like roasted duck in orange sauce and oxtails in African red sauce, as well as their signature bread pudding smothered in cognac sauce.
Cookie Society. cookie shop that catapulted to fame after a nod from Oprah Winfrey now has locations in Addison, Frisco, and Southlake. Their cookies are larger than usual and are made with butter, giving them a crisp exterior with a tender middle and chewy texture. They do a rotating menu, offering 10 varieties every month, ranging from classics like chocolate chip to seasonal flavors like king cake, frosted oatmeal, banana pudding, strawberries & cream, and a plant-based chocolate chip.
Granny Jas. Pickup-only catering service based in Dallas is known for its soul food pie - cornbread “pies” filled with Southern comfort food. Specialties include oxtail soul food pie, filled with mac & cheese, greens, and yams and topped with oxtail; spaghetti pie, filled with spaghetti and topped with catfish; and red bean and rice pie, filled with red beans and rice and topped with catfish.
Kessler Baking Studio. Founded by Clyde Greenhouse in 2014, the Oak Cliff bakery makes all its goods from scratch. Signature items include the giant oatmeal cream pie cookie, but the lineup also includes cookies, biscotti, blondies, and brownies, plus breakfast items on Saturdays only including cinnamon rolls, biscuits, muffins, scones, and banana bread.
Reggae Wings & Tings. Jamaican restaurant in Mesquite offers jerk chicken and pork, curry goat and chicken, ackee and saltfish, mac and cheese, fried plantains, and more. Owners Roy and Marci LaBeach are both natives of Jamaica who have been living in Dallas since 1987.
Restaurant Beatrice. Cajun restaurant in Oak Cliff from Michelle Carpenter, owner of the award-winning sushi restaurant Zen Sushi in Bishop Arts. The menu from Carpenter and executive chef Terance Jenkins includes duck and housemade andouille gumbo made with smoked aromatics, fried chicken with pepper jelly, and a vegan gumbo made with an assortment of leafy greens in an earthy base.
Shells and Tails 2 Geaux. Mobile food truck and catering company in DeSoto offers authentic Cajun cuisine. Menu includes crawfish, crab, and shrimp boils, with rum cakes for dessert. It’s from Chef Jermaine J Paddio, who grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Smoke’N Ash BBQ. Ethiopian-influenced barbecue spot in Arlington has earned rankings on Texas Monthly’s “Top 25 New and Improved BBQ Joints in Texas” and the New York Times’ :”20 Best Texas Barbecue Restaurants From the New Generation.” Menu includes pulled lamb, pumpkin stew, loaded BBQ fries, pulled pork, rib tips, and other Ethiopian-barbecue fusions.
Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que. Dallas barbecue restaurant is known for its traditional hickory-smoked BBQ, with Southern-inspired sides and catfish baskets. In 2022, they were the third place winner in H‑E‑B’s Quest for Texas Best competition, snagging a $10,000 prize and the opportunity to have their barbecue rub sold in H-E-B stores.
The Daiquiri Shoppe. Cajun restaurant serving New Orleans-style daiquiris in Grand Prairie. The menu features a variety of Louisiana dishes like etouffee, jerk braised oxtail, baked potatoes, po-boys, and fried fish baskets.
Vegan Vibrationz. Plant-based concept in Plano’s Legacy Hall is famous for its vegan version of the fast-food favorite the crunchwrap. Founded by chef Jovan Cole, a native of Florida who first launched as a food stand at the Dallas Farmers Market in 2018, the spot offers vegan quesadillas, chicken-fried oyster mushrooms, and "lobster" mac & cheese.
