Chicken fried steak holds a sacred place in the Texas dining canon. It’s a dish that straddles the line between working-class necessity and Sunday supper indulgence—breaded beef, fried like chicken, drowned in gravy, and typically served with enough starch to anchor a boat. In Dallas, two long-loved restaurants take this dish seriously: Norma’s Café, a bastion of down-home tradition, and AllGood Café, a Deep Ellum diner with a little more swagger and a lot more nuance. I ordered both. I ate both. I took a nap. Then I made a decision.
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