Coffee News

New cafe in Las Colinas will be open dawn to dusk for neighborhood needs

They'll be serving coffee.

Photo courtesy of Int'l Coffee Assoc.

A new cafe serving coffee, sandwiches, panini, tacos, salads, and soups is coming to Irving. Called Dawn to Dusk Cafe, it'll open in mid-April at 6561 Riverside Dr., near Royal Lane, in Las Colinas.

The cafe is from Vijay Babu, a former IT professional and entrepreneur who owns the shopping center where the café is located. He's created an entire village there. In 2014, he opened the iGrow Montessori School, then the iSwim Academy, and lastly, a Cold Stone Creamery.

Now he's adding a cafe in response to customer demand.

"The neighbors were asking for something like this," Babu says. "I could have brought in a chain or a concept from outside, but I wanted to make sure the strip remained family-friendly, and decided to open it myself."

Actually, it's a family affair: He created the concept with the help of his daughters Suvetha and Shruthi, one a master’s degree student and the other one a 10th grader.

They not only helped create the concept, they also helped with the design and menu.

True to the name, it'll be open 8 am-6 pm every day, with a menu that spans from coffee and breakfast to lunch and dinner.

Their menu will have five components:

Beverages: Coffee (including Indian Kumbakonam coffee), smoothies, and fresh juices
All-day breakfast: Omelets, avocado toasts, breakfast burritos
Sandwiches and panini: This will be the star of the menu, as the area does not have a strong sandwich offering
Soups and Salads: A vegetarian, and a non-vegetarian soup of the day, and five specialty salads
Main course: Pastas, salmon dish, pouri (Indian deep-fried bread) and potatoes, parotta (layered flat bread)

The menu reflects the neighborhood's widely diverse demographics with a variety of cuisines, from Italian to Mexican to Asian.

It will also have a significant vegetarian presence. Babu is a vegetarian and is focused in providing good vegetarian options.

The space will include a wine bar, as well, once the license is approved.

Decor is clean, luminous, "premium," with a wooden backdrop, comfortable chairs, and a digital menu. They're also adding an outdoor seating area.

"My goal is to provide a feel-good space, a nice hangout spot with a diverse menu, so customers can always find something they like, regardless of their demographic," Babu says.

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Oak Cliff favorite Encina debuts sister restaurant in Duncanville

Photo courtesy of Isabella restaurant

Isabella, by the owners of Encina, is in downtown Duncanville.

For six years, chef Matt Balke and Corey McCombs have built a following at their Oak Cliff restaurant Encina. Now, the married couple and business partners are bringing their New American cooking to Duncanville with Isbella, which opened in mid-October at 200 N. Main St.

When the couple first told CultureMap about plans for Isbella, McCombs said opening a second restaurant "seemed like the logical next step." Many Encina customers come from Duncanville and surrounding cities, she said, so they were excited the restaurant would be closer to home.

Isbella occupies a repurposed midcentury building that once served as a volunteer fire station. Like Encina, it serves New American cuisine with Southern influences, an emphasis on seasonal ingredients, and what McCombs describes as "approachable, comforting food" that's also "elevated."

Isbella's menu includes starters such as Wagyu beef cheek pastrami with sharp cheddar pimento cheese, warm crab dip with sea salt potato chips, ad Granny Isbella's Skillet Cornbread with whipped honey brown cutter and pepper jelly — all priced $12-$18.

Sharables for the table, at $12 a platter, include bacon and tomato braised collard greens, crispy shoestring fries, sweet corn elotes, chile braised black eyed peas, and an avocado and grapefruit salad.

Salads include caprese panzanella and roasted beet. Sandwiches range from chopped steak to a warmed muffuletta with provolone and pepperoni and fried catfish with cabbage.

Entrees include Berkshire pork chop, blackened redfish, roasted jalapeño chicken thighs, and Southern-style barbecue shrimp and grits. Desserts include strawberry goat cheese cheesecake and chocolate pot de crème.

The beverage menu includes wines, local and international ciders and beer, cocktails, and a creative menu of mocktails including one called The Placebo Effect, $10, made with zero-proof Ritual Rum, pineapple, orange, coconut, and cinnamon, and described as "tropical, creamy, and bright."

When Encina opened on Davis Street in Oak Cliff, it took the place of Bolsa — a farm-to-table restaurant where Balke was the chef. When Bolsa closed in 2020, Balke and McCombs took it over and transformed it into Encina.

Isbella is named for Balke's mother and was designed with family ancestry in mind, which shows in small details. The restaurant's handwritten logo, for example, on the signage out front, was inspired by the signature of Balke's grandfather. The owners say they're aiming to foster the same sense of community with Isbella in Duncanville that they've had with Encina.

Isbella is open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday, 5-9 pm, with plans to expand hours and to add Saturday and Sunday brunch soon, they say.

duncanville dining comfort food encina matt balke corey mccombs monte anderson openings