Where to eat in Dallas

Restaurants, cafés and street food in Dallas, United States that locals actually go to — plus the local names for the chains you already know.

• Pecan Lodge — BBQ, Deep Ellum (2). Order the Brisket + Hot Mess sweet potato. The brisket line that made Deep Ellum a barbecue destination.
• El Fenix — Tex-Mex, Downtown (1). Order the Cheese enchiladas. The 1918 originator of enchilada-night tradition in Dallas.
• Campisi's Egyptian Lounge — Italian / pizza, Mockingbird (2). Order the Original Egyptian pizza. Dim-room Dallas lore; thin-crust "Egyptian" pizza since 1946.
• Keller's Drive-In — Burgers, Northwest Hwy (1). Order the #5 burger. Carhop drive-in time capsule — a #5 delivered to your window tray.
• Angry Dog — Bar food, Deep Ellum (1). Order the The Angry Dog. Deep Ellum dive with a legendary chili-cheese dog.
• Lockhart Smokehouse — BBQ, Bishop Arts District (2). Order the Shoulder clod + jalapeño cheese sausage. Kreuz-family lineage bringing Lockhart's no-sauce gospel to Oak Cliff.
• Javier's Gourmet Mexicano — Mexico City-style, Knox / Cole Ave (4). Order the Filete Cantinflas. Clubby, cigar-room interior-Mexico dining since 1977.
• Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse — BBQ, Inwood (original) (1). Order the Sliced brisket sandwich + onion rings. Smoking since 1910; eat at the school desks at the original location.
• Norma's Cafe — Diner, Oak Cliff (1). Order the Chicken fried steak + Mile-High pie. Mile-high cream pies and chicken-fried everything since 1956.
• Mia's Tex-Mex — Tex-Mex, Lemmon Ave (2). Order the Brisket tacos. Family-run since 1981; the brisket tacos come with Cowboys-era legend attached.
• Bubba's Cooks Country — Fried chicken, Snider Plaza / SMU (1). Order the Fried chicken + rolls. Fried chicken and yeast rolls that built a following since 1981.

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