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Each month, Community Impact Newspaper features a different locally owned restaurant.
Here’s a roundup of the restaurants featured during 2019. Articles are listed in the order they were written.
Mah-Jong Chinese Kitchen
An assortment of multicolored playing tiles are inlayed in the countertops and walls of Mah-Jong Chinese Kitchen in Plano. As its name suggests, the playing tiles are from the world-famous Chinese game mahjong.
For customers new to Mah-Jong, Michael Liu said he recommends the pan-seared duck breast from Maple Leaf Farms. [read more]
El Noa Noa Tex-Mex Restaurant
Pedro Marcial said he and his family made the conscious decision to ensure the atmosphere remained family friendly, as opposed to other local bars, or cantinas, as he calls them.
“That’s how we want to keep it,” Marcial said. “We wanted to have families that could come here and enjoy good food, good drinks and good music.” [read more]
Napoli’s Italian Restaurant
To this day, the menu reflects the influence of the New York-style Italian tradition.
Popular dishes feature meats ranging from chicken to seafood and even veal. The menu also includes a variety of Italian favorites, such as pizza and lasagna. [read more]
Villa Mediterranean*
Among Villa Mediterranean Grill’s dinner specialties are the kebabs, which come with a side of rice. Some of the meats Masoud Abbas uses in his kebabs include beef, lamb, chicken and seafood.
“Our famous one is the ground beef kebab, which is basically hamburger meat,” Abbas said. [read more]
*this restaurant closed in late 2019
Eddie’s Diner
Lydia Maftari chose to keep Eddie’s Diner open only during breakfast and lunch hours. The time in the evenings has freed her to attend more of her son’s sporting events during his senior year of high school.
“I really wanted to spend some time with him,” Lydia said. “He played football all through high school. I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss anything, and I did not miss anything.” [read more]
Yoshi Shabu Shabu
At Yoshi Shabu Shabu, guests select their choice of meats, which is then served with a plate of vegetables, sauces and a pot of broth on a stove in the middle of each table. Because customers build the meals as they eat, Josh Strickland said it is important to provide consistency.
“You dictate your dining experience as long as we give you a very consistent product,” he said. [read more]
Rice and Roti
Nanjappa said the goat dishes are some of her bestselling menu items, as goat meat can be more difficult to source than other meats. Goat is commonly used in Indian dishes, she said.
“People say [at] some other restaurants that it’s not cooked properly,” Nanjappa said. “Here, it’s tender ... [and] it’s easy to take off the bone.” [read more]
Taqueria Los Angeles
The taqueria continues to evolve these days. One of its constantly changing menu items is horchata, and the kinds of it that are served. New strawberry and coconut flavors for the Mexican drink are in the works, Angel Monron said
“We go crazy with horchata because everyone loves it,” Monron said. [read more]
Lebanese Grill
Their path brought them in 2010 to the United States, where Sean Homa made his way into the restaurant industry while saving to buy a restaurant of his own.
Since taking over the Lebanese Grill last year, Zhila Rasouli and her husband, Sean Homa, have updated the menu. What was once a collection of Lebanese offerings has been expanded to include Greek and Persian options as well. These options include gyros, shawarma and falafel, among other dishes. [read more]
Savorite Southern Cuisine
Savorite has a traditional soul food menu with a few special menu items, and it has been that way since its creation in April 2018. Some current ideas for the next special menu are oxtails and blackened catfish, David Thomas said.
“Sometimes, [customers] don’t necessarily want the fried [food], and our menu was very heavy on the fried,” Thomas said. “We’ve always been looking to incorporate different things that are not fried.” [read more]
Mexican Bar Co.
Mexican Bar Co. mixes Patricio Sandoval’s expertise as a high-end food chef with his love for and knowledge of traditional Mexican fare. Sandoval’s training in French and Mediterranean culinary traditions allows him to provide each dish with a unique blend of subtle flavors, he said.
“Traditional flavors with a flair—different structures, flavor combinations—is definitely a winner,” Sandoval said. [read more]
