Karla Orta started selling native plants out of the back of her RAV4. Then her parents’ driveway. Then she opened a nursery on White Settlement Road in Fort Worth, and when people kept showing up and lingering, she put a café next to it. Nativo Café y Bodega opened May 16, and the two businesses now sit side by side at 1701 White Settlement Road — native plants on one side, espresso and focaccia on the other.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Sergio Quijano grew up in Mexico City and worked his first job at a place called Dulcería El Metro — a candy shop near one of the city’s subway stations, which is where the name of his restaurant comes from. Not just the subway iconography covering the walls, though that’s there too, the colorful maps and signage of the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo rendered as decor in a Northwest Dallas strip center on Walnut Hill Lane. It comes from something more personal than that — a first job, a city, a specific kind of memory about where food fits into a life.
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The kitchen at El Chingon on Ross Avenue is a repurposed shipping container sitting on a patio. The tacos coming out of it are made with house-ground corn masa tortillas pressed to order. The margaritas are cold and strong. The music is loud. It opened May 1 at 3404 Ross Avenue in Old East Dallas, in a former wholesale florist shop a few blocks from the Arts District, and if you haven’t been yet, someone you know probably has.
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In Dallas, where a taco may range from chef-driven creations to late-night street bites, Fito’s Tacos de Trompo has carved out a niche that is unmistakably its own. With multiple locations across the metroplex—from Oak Cliff to Arlington—Fito’s has grown into a small chain that emphasizes speed, consistency, and, above all, flavor. While the décor and ambiance remain casual, it’s the food that truly commands attention.
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by Steven Doyle
In that ever vigilant search for the perfect taco, gordita or torta, we stumbled across a gem that will have you excited. Brush up on your Spanish before making an entrance, it could prove vital. Regardless, the employees at Torteria Insurgentes located at 3701 W Northwest Highway near Bachman Lake will have plenty to offer starting with breakfast at 8am, and on into the evening as they close at 10pm. Continue reading
Filed under Steven Doyle
If you’re driving along Davenport Road in far north Dallas and see a Chevron, it might be easy to pass right by. But behind the everyday gas pumps and convenience store sits John’s Backyard Grill, a place that feels like a secret the locals have been happily keeping to themselves. The first thing you notice isn’t fancy décor or a polished dining room—it’s the smell of sizzling burgers, grilled chicken, and spices that hit you the moment you step up to the counter. It’s the kind of spot where the food does all the talking.
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Crush Taco has been quietly transforming the fast-casual taco scene in North Texas, blending bold flavors with smart business moves and a clear vision for growth. What started a decade ago as a single location in Frisco has grown into a brand with two thriving Frisco locations and a recent non-traditional outpost inside a private Fortune 500 company’s food hall in Southlake. The expansion is fueled by a desire to bring high-quality, plated Tex-Mex dishes to new audiences without sacrificing speed or flavor.
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Taco y Vino fits perfectly into the soul of Oak Cliff — warm, familiar, creative, and just a little bit unconventional. Housed in a renovated little bungalow, it feels more like someone’s home than a restaurant. You walk in expecting a quick taco and end up settling in, sipping wine on the patio, talking with strangers who suddenly feel like neighbors. It’s casual, it’s lived-in, and it’s exactly the kind of spot that shows why Oak Cliff’s dining scene has so much personality.
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