Indian Food News

Indian restaurant with novel twist on a wrap to make Texas debut in Dallas

The Kati Roll Company

images.getbento.com

A restaurant dedicated to a unique Indian street food is coming to Dallas. Called The Kati Roll Company, it specializes in kati rolls, a wrap-type item filled with skewered meats and topped with chutney.

The restaurant will open in downtown Dallas at 1322 Elm St., on the ground floor of a parking building across the street from The National.

According to a spokesperson, the restaurant will open on April 4.

Kati rolls are from Kolkata, a city on the eastern-most side of India, like a wrap made with buttery Indian paratha flatbread, filled with skewered meats, and topped with chutneys and spices.

The concept was founded by Payal Saha, a native of Kolkata who moved to New York and missed the signature dish of her hometown. Partnered with her husband Anil Bathwal, executive chef and former advertising executive, she opened the first location in 2002 Greenwich Village.

They've since opened four more locations in Manhattan - World Trade, Midtown East, Midtown West - plus one in London. Dallas will be in heady company.

The concept keeps it simple, focusing on the signature kati rolls, plus lassis - the Indian yogurt–based beverage with a smoothie-like consistency - and chips made daily by hand.

The rolls can be ordered with choice of flatbreads: the traditional Paratha, layered and lightly fried on a cast iron griddle; or Roti, made from whole durum wheat, rolled and roasted on a grill or griddle. The Roti is also vegan.

Filling options include:

Aloo Masala roll - Mashed potato patty with tomatoes, green peppers, and spices
Chana Masala Roll - Chick peas with tomatoes, fenugreek, and blackening spices
Shami Kabab Roll - Minced lamb & lentil croquette, with aromatic herbs & spices

The rolls come with lime–cilantro chutney (which they make daily, chopping the cilantro by hand) and a medley of onions - fresh, sauteed, and pickled.

They use halal meats which they marinate daily in-house and their lassis are made from housemade organic yogurt.

They also offer momos, the Indo-Tibetan dumplings, steamed or pan-fried. with a choice of chicken or vegan cabbage filling, served with a trio of sauces (spicy red chili, tomato sesame, and soy vinegar).

The choice of Dallas location in the thick of the Central Business District aligns with the company model: All of the other locations are situated in downtown worker neighborhoods, reinforced by the mostly daytime hours they keep, closing between 6 and 8 pm.

Cinnamon Roll News

Breakfast-lunch cafe in Celina bakes its own cinnamon rolls and breads

The Wick

Decadent French toast at The Wick

There's a mom-and-pop breakfast and lunch cafe in Celina serving some drive-worthy cinnamon rolls: Called The Wick, it's in a historic home at 107 S. Colorado St., in a space that was previously Swirls Bakery.

The Wick is owned by Cleve and Kim Wickliffe — hence the name — who also owned Swirls. The two have a sweet story: They dated in high school, then reunited 27 later, and decided to pursue their culinary and business dreams together.

Cleve is a former optician but spent most of his life in the kitchen baking and trying out new recipes. He oversees the kitchen. Kim, a former manager and marketer for stores like Walmart and Dollar General, handles the front of the house.

The spark that lit the business was a bad cinnamon roll from Cinnabon. Cleve vowed he could make a better one. They opened Swirls Bakery in 2020, then expanded and rebranded in 2024.

"We had always wanted to do a restaurant," Kim says. "We thought we'd get our feet wet with the bakery, and were doing menu development all along until it was time to go beyond what we were doing at Swirls."

They're open for breakfast and lunch with a menu of soups, salads, plump breakfast tacos, and sandwiches. Everything is made fresh daily, even including the breads for the sandwiches, some in gluten-free varieties.

The Wick breakfast taco Breakfast tacos at The Wick are nice and plump.The Wick

Standouts include:

avocado toast
roast beef sandwich on pretzel bread
tomato soup, which can be ordered solo for $10 or with a half sandwich for $14
chili starring Wagyu beef with a 3-bean combo, served with a cornbread muffin, also made in-house
focaccia pizza with roasted vegetables and bacon on focaccia bread, also made in-house

Prices range from $10 to $16.

One pleasant surprise about The Wick is that they serve cocktails: margarita, paloma, blackberry basil smash with choice of whiskey or vodka, and martinis in variations such as the popular espresso martini, the peppermint espresso martini, or the chocolate-covered strawberry martini that Kim says is like dessert in a cup.

There is also coffee; they get their beans from Fourteen Eighteen Coffee Roasters in McKinney, who make them a custom-made blend with notes of vanilla, chocolate, and citrus.

And of course the cinnamon rolls that are Cleve's signature — fluffy and moist, sometimes topped with pecans or else cookies & cream.

"Lots of bakery items start as the base to our sandwiches or entrees," Kim says. "We make French toast from our cinnamon rolls, too. The restaurant menu was built on that."

desserts breakfast