Maybe it was the less-than-pristine façade that convinced you to drive on. Maybe it was the funky name you couldn’t pronounce, making you think twice about venturing inside. Or maybe you didn’t even see the place as you whizzed by.
Sometimes, that’s all it takes to keep an obscure but uniquely great restaurant off our radar.
We scouted our neighborhood to bring you the lesser-known, but just-as-deserving, dining options beyond those neon golden arches, with the hope that next time you’re jonesing for a good meal, you’ll consider venturing off the eatin’ path.
The place in the scary-looking strip center
Andrea’s
4816 Gaston, southwest of Fitzhugh
If you don’t look for the red block-lettered sign in the strip center dominated by a Cambiamos Cheques, you’ll probably miss Andrea’s. Even then, if its dubious location next to the metal bar-shielded A’s 99¢ Mart #3 doesn’t deter you, you might think twice after seeing the tired interior that doesn’t quite hit the old-world-charm mark. But the food makes up for first impressions.
The Italian restaurant’s dishes are created by a native, Alfonso Carmona, who spent 13 years at Ristorante Savino (where Hector’s on Henderson now resides) and opened Andrea’s nine years ago after Mr. Savino moved back to . During dinner, Carmona steps away from the kitchen to greet each table in the small dining room and prides himself on calling customers by name, or at least recognizing returnees’ faces. Some photos of the regulars are in a dated album at the host table. When Carmona greets two new customers, they respond with uncertain smiles, then look surprised when a waiter brings them a plate of bruschetta, Andrea’s alternative to run-of-the-mill bread and olive oil. If they were skeptical before, they’re sold now.
What to order: The bruschetta. It’s classic — diced tomatoes, goat cheese, olive oil and basil on toast — and it’s free, so technically, you don’t have to order it. As far as entrées, just pick your favorite dish from the classic Italian choices, and you’ll be fine.
Insider tip: Andrea’s offers complimentary valet parking during the dinner hour.
214.823.3100, andreasitalianrestaurant.com
Wed-Fri 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Tues-Sat 5-10 p.m.
Sun noon-9 p.m.
***
The place with the nondescript sign
Cigarz Bona Pizza
7238 Gaston near Garland
Just after 5 p.m., a man with a colorful scarf draped around his neck walks into Cigarz and receives a compliment from the restaurant’s Lebanese owner, Omar Dibe. While waiting for his pizza, the customer expresses his fondness for Yasser Arafat, not because of the former Palestinian leader’s politics but because of how well he wore his keffiyeh. “That’s typical of our customers. They’re very eccentric,” remarks Dibe’s wife, Sadie, as the man exits carrying his pizza and a tub of hummus. Red letters on the exterior spelling “PIZZA” belie the inside wall’s menu, a mix of gourmet pies and Mediterranean fare. Word of mouth, not shrewd advertising, has built the restaurant’s customer base. By 5:30 p.m., the phone won’t stop ringing. Sadie fields calls between slathering mayo onto kebabs, while Omar tosses dough and slides pizzas in and out of the oven. They take time to patiently explain the take-out-only menu to a new customer, but the Dibes recognize most people who walk through the door and know exactly what to pull out of the fridge — even if it wasn’t ordered. After one phone conversation, Sadie hangs up and tells Omar, “Laura’s on her way — do we have babaghnooj made?” They do. Laura won’t be disappointed.
What to order: The Greek pizza is Cigarz’ signature pie. And the kebabs, both beef and chicken, sell like crazy.
Insider tip: Owners Omar and Sadie Dibe are the restaurant’s only two employees. They named the place after their dog, Cigar, who died in 2006 but whose photos still grace the front countertop.
214.319.0055, cigarzpizza.com
Tues-Wed 5-9 p.m.
Thurs-Sat 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Sun noon-9 p.m.
***
The one still being discovered
Café San Miguel
1907 N. Henderson, between Belmont and Ross
One end of Henderson Avenue is known for its trendy restaurants, but that’s not the end on which Hugo Galvan chose to build. Passersby often confuse his yellow stucco building with the rest of the street’s taquerias. “I was the pioneer of this corner,” Galvan says. “You don’t see anything from the outside, so you don’t know what to expect.” One step inside, however, and the chic and colorful ambience — created by co-owner Ron Guest, who also designed hotspots “Taverna” and “Sangria” — immediately distinguishes the place. (Plus, no taqueria would sell grilled ribeye tacos, much less have anything priced at $13.95, one of the cheaper items on the café’s dinner menu.) The décor is an ode to Galvan’s hometown, the colonial Mexican village of San Miguel de Allende, and the young entrepreneur’s fingerprints are everywhere, even on the coconut bra jutting from the mural of a woman above the bar. The sign identifies her as “La Sirena Gorda” — the fat mermaid. “I used to work in a bar in Puerto Vallarta called the fat mermaid,” Galvan says, “and I liked it so much I decided when I opened my own place, I would name my bar the same.”
What to order: Try any of the corn tortilla-wrapped tacos, like the Negra Modelo-battered red snapper version. The tortillas are made daily from scratch, and they’re thick enough to hold tacos intact.
Insider tip: On Friday and Saturday nights, the café can turn into a raucous fiesta with hundreds of people packed into the cozy dining room. But as a lunch spot, it hasn’t yet taken off. On a recent weekday, no one waited for a table.
214.370.9815, pomerita.com
Tues-Sat 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-10 p.m.
Sun 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
***
The one you’re not sure is still open
Pietro’s
5722 Richmond, off of Greenville
“Where is Pietro tonight?” That’s the most commonly heard question in the dining room. Pietro Eustachio knows that his customers count on him, and he dutifully shows up each night between 6 and 6:30 p.m. After all, his name has carried the restaurant for 46 years. The last time he worked for anyone else was before taking a two-month vacation to marry in his hometown of Palermo, Sicily. “When I came back, the guy cut my pay two months, and I said, ‘I quit,’” Eustachio recalls. He and his parents opened Pietro’s soon afterward, and every year since, the family has continued the tradition of closing down the restaurant during the month of August. It can be a bit confusing for newcomers who drive up to find an empty parking lot and dated signs — one of which no longer stands erect — and wonder if the restaurant is a relic. That it is, but one that still comes to life most evenings. After entering the dining room, Eustachio sits down at a table to chat with one of his regulars for a few minutes before heading to the kitchen and donning an apron to mix a Caesar salad. When another table orders a bottle of wine, he brings it out, uncorks it, and pours the first two glasses. Something Eustachio says in his sometimes-hard-to-decipher Sicilian accent makes the couple laugh. They likely will enjoy their wine, perhaps an Italian montepulciano, but they already received what they came for — face time with Pietro.
What to order: The chicken parmigiana or the veal champagne
Insider tip: The place closes in August, and it also shuts down nightly when the dining room empties. So it’s best to show up at 7 p.m. rather than 9 p.m., especially on a weeknight.
214.824.9403, pietrositalian.com
Tues-Thurs 5-10 p.m.
Fri-Sat 5-11 p.m.
Sun 5-10 p.m.
***
The one with the unfamiliar ethnic name
Kereje
7015 Greenville, just north of Park
“In all parts of Africa, there is no peace, there is no democracy,” says Sebsbie Abegaz in his stilted English. “Kereje, my daughter, was born during the military regime which drove out the Americans from Ethiopia. God helped us, and we came, and now we are living together with our beloved family of the Americans.” His daughter’s name means “peace,” representing Abegaz’s hope for the country he and his family fled for Dallas. All eight of them now run this basement restaurant, serving Ethiopian cuisine to their fellow refugees and, Abegaz hopes, more and more Dallasites. A large-screen TV blares a show from the Ethiopian Television Network before Abegaz remembers that some of his clientele can’t understand the Amharic language and flips to the Discovery channel. He points to the row of tables shrouded by faux thatched-roof huts and exotic-looking doorway beads, and explains that such décor is “for the Americans.” First-timers might be taken aback to see everyone handling the food with only their hands — including the wait staff — but Abegaz reassures his new customers. “We prepare chicken, lamb meat, beef meat, same as American food,” Abegaz says, “but we add a little more spices.” That “little” addition will clear your sinuses after just one bite.
What to order: Try the doro wot, a chicken leg and hard-boiled egg smothered in red pepper and garlic sauce. Kereje kitfo is minced beef, and yebeg tibes is lamb chunks. All meat dishes include a platter of vegetables like red lentil puree, yellow split peas and chopped collards and come with plenty of injera, a spongy flatbread, for scooping and eating the food.
Insider tip: A recent lunch hour was almost dead, with customers eating at only two tables — a good time to pepper the wait staff (Abegaz’s daughters) with questions.
214.234.0779, kerejeethiopia.com
11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily
