The smartest State Fair days do not start at the gate. They start a few minutes away, across I-30 in the Mount Auburn neighborhood, with lunch at Kalachandji’s.
There is a logic to it. The next six hours are going to be fried, battered, dipped, sugared and served on a stick. A plate of dal, rice and fresh vegetables first is less about virtue than about pacing. It also happens to be one of the most peaceful rooms in the city.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Dallas has never been mistaken for a vegetarian city, but the plant-based options here have gotten genuinely serious over the last year or two, and not just at the places you’d expect. Some of the city’s most carnivorous restaurants have quietly built out real vegetarian and vegan menus, and Dallas has a handful of restaurants that never served meat in the first place and are worth knowing by name. Here’s both halves of that story.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Bombay Chowpatty takes its name from one of Mumbai’s most famous stretches of sand, a public beach along Marine Drive in the Girgaon area lined for generations with vendors selling bhelpuri, panipuri, ragda pattice, and pav bhaji straight off street carts. The Irving restaurant, launched in July 2014 by the team behind Bombay Sizzlers, built its entire concept around recreating that scene indoors, right down to a large poster of the actual beach mounted on the wall.
The dining room carries the idea further with food-hall style seating built around a central open kitchen, walls covered in beach photos and Bollywood posters, the kind of room designed to feel less like a sit-down restaurant and more like wandering a Mumbai street stall by stall.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
The address is on Gurley Avenue in East Dallas, a quiet residential street that gives no indication of what’s at the end of it. You pull into a parking lot, walk through a gate, and find yourself on the grounds of the Radha Kalachandji Temple — Mughal-influenced architecture, a garden courtyard shaded by a large tree, peacocks that have been known to wander through, and the smell of incense and something cooking. The restaurant is through the hall, past the temple entrance. Kalachandji’s has been operating here since 1982, making it the longest-serving vegetarian restaurant in Dallas by a significant margin.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Deepak Chalise has been cooking at Cosmic Cafe since 1997. This past March, he opened the doors again — except this time his name is on the lease. Same room, same menu, same elephant statues at the foot of the stairs. He just finally owns it.
Chalise was born in Nepal and arrived in Dallas at 21. He started working at Cosmic Cafe in 1997 and spent the better part of two decades as the restaurant’s head chef, learning the menu, learning the rhythms of the place, and becoming as much a part of it as the Tibetan prayer flags on the front porch. When Cosmic Cafe closed in October 2021 — quietly, after 25-plus years on Oak Lawn — he kept working. He went back to school and finished his master’s degree. He saved money. He secured a loan. And when the time was right, he bought the restaurant from the owner who had been running it in its final years, and started the work of bringing it back.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Kalachandji’s in East Dallas is part temple, part community hub, where the city’s noise fades the moment you enter. A leafy courtyard and warm, understated décor set the tone for a space that feels calm and welcoming.
The restaurant has served vegetarian meals for decades, drawing on Indian (Vedic) traditions but not limited to them. On a typical evening, the buffet features lentil stews, spiced vegetables, fragrant rice, seasonal breads, and rotating international dishes — from tofu lasagna to hearty casseroles — all full of layered, comforting flavor despite the absence of onions or garlic. Dessert often includes sweet rice pudding or halvah, and drinks like tamarind tea complement the meal.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Kalachandji’s is a one-of-a-kind vegetarian restaurant nestled in the heart of Dallas, Texas. With its serene and spiritual ambiance, this restaurant provides an experience that goes beyond just a meal. Kalachandji’s offers a diverse and tantalizing spread of vegetarian dishes that delight the senses and satisfy the soul.
Continue readingFiled under Crave, Steven Doyle
While many restaurants have begun offering more vegetable-forward dining, when vegetarians and vegans visit large traditional steakhouses, they’re often relegated to a bowl of pasta with steamed or sautéed vegetables.
Noted steakhouse III Forks recognizes that not all of their diners are meat eaters, but all of their diners do deserve an exceptional culinary experience. The steakhouse has launched an expanded vegetarian and vegan menu (attached) which highlights dishes that work for either dietary choice. Items are marked on the menu as to which is vegan and which is lacto-ovo vegetarian. Continue reading
Filed under Crave, Steven Doyle
