Monthly Archives: February 2012

Lockhart Smokehouse’s Brisket Breakfast Taco

This week has seen the piling on of brisket taco love. And rightly so. Before all that hoopla, however, I ambled into Lockhart Smokehouse early last Saturday morning, tired from a move that took my family across the Trinity River to Oak Cliff, ready for grub. Specifically, brisket breakfast tacos, from pitmaster Will Fleischman, whose Monday brisket tacos I reviewed here.

Announced a day before the Mardi Gras weekend celebrations, the breakfast tacos were as much a product of my incessant fiddlingwith Lockhart leftovers and the posting of the resultant photos, my tweets encouraging the introduction of other tacos at the Bishop Arts District barbecue joint and the tinkering of the pitmasters and co-owners Jeff and Jill Bergus and Tim McLaughlin. The breakfast taco I was praying for and teased with the day before—one with Kreuz sausage—didn’t make it onto the menu that day. (“One day. We want to do it right, though.” Jeff Bergus teased again!) What did make it to the tables was an excellent example of the greatest thing to come out of Texas. Continue reading

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Tin Star Taco Taxi

I never liked Tin Star Taco Bar. From the get-go, the concept seemed like an M Crowd restaurant’s annoying, “pat-on-the-head” clever stepbrother. Besides, at this point, the chain’s signature noisome cheeseburger taco is hackneyed. Mark Brezinski, owner of Velvet Taco, had a hand in Tin Star, and now his unfortunately named Henderson Avenue gringo taco house offers a cheeseburger taco. It’s terrible. Continue reading

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Tepa Mar y Tierra

When my family and I began to look for a place to set down roots in Dallas, Oak Cliff was a no-brainer. We had lived in Northeast Dallas for a year and a half, and it was a step down from our digs in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where we had all the familiarities of our Puerto Rican and Mexican heritages. A house in Oak Cliff would be a move in the right direction for us. It has been.

We have a 1920 craftsman bungalow that’s large enough for our small family, with a backyard for our dog and a pecan tree for our son to fall out of. The homestead is even on a fantastic, tight-knit block, with an outrageously kind Welcome Wagon. It’s so freaking bourgie, it’s sickening. I love it. Continue reading

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La Nueva Fresh & Hot Tortilleria

We had come this way before but at the time—approximately one year ago—the wife and I had decided La Nueva Fresh & Hot Tortilleria wasn’t right. The boy was with us and we were unsure of his ability to tolerate the bear-huggingheat and the dearth of seating in the Bachman Lake-area tortilla factory.

Without D, we were free to enjoy the stuff that tacos are made of and recommended by Scott of DallasFood.org. However, we didn’t merely enjoy, we loved the guisados (stews), La Nueva Fresh & Hot Tortilleria’s specialty. They are redolent, substantial preparations best paired with a freshly made tortilla, one that can push back against the mighty guisado. And that’s what done at La Nueva. From the counter can be seen the large kitchen, tremendous pots bubbling away, vessels from which come edible sunrises.  Continue reading

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Filed under Bachman Lake, Northwest Highway