I don’t mean the haircut(s), of course, but our neighborhood’s Jimmy’s Food Store seems to be moving from cult to celebrity status, particularly with the big spread the Dallas Observer puts on it this week. The long story talks about almost everything you ever wanted to know about the specialty grocer, including family trivia and all sorts of food info.
Jimmy’s appears to be a food touchstone for some of Dallas’ most successful restaurants and shops, with the place prominently featured on the menus of Fireside Pies, Cane Rosso and Bryan Street Tavern (which is highlighted in our May issue for having some seriously great pizza), as well as helping to inspire Bolsa in Oak Cliff and lots of other places.
One thing I didn’t see in the story is still apparently something of a secret, kind of along the lines of our “Secret Dishes” story in the June Advocate magazine. The magazine begins distribution today and features all kinds of great dishes that are available at neighborhood restaurants but not on the menu — you have to know about them to ask for them. Throw the magazine in your car (or download our mobile app) and bring it into these places to remind you about what to order, and you’ll be eating “secretly” for weeks to come.
Anyway, back to Jimmy’s: A few years ago, when a friend of our oldest son’s was working at Jimmy’s and we were there waiting for our sandwich order, he asked if we were going to sit in the back room. I had no idea there was a back room, so he guided us past the meat counter in the back of the store (it felt like we were breaking the rules somehow) and to a nicely appointed, hidden room in the back with seating for maybe 15 or 20 people. Anyone can sit there, if you know where to find it.
And here’s our take in the June magazine on the off-the-menu specialty at Jimmy’s.
