Popolos Cafe: Good
to have you again
Performed to the tune of John Sebastian's "Welcome Back,
Kotter," here is the tale of a homecoming at Popolos
Cafe'.
This casual restaurant in North Dallas enjoyed a lot of success,
from the mid-'90s on. Unfortunately, changes started to
occur toward the end of the decade.
It's a complicated story involving the sale of the restaurant,
resulting in the popular chef flying the coop, the ultimate demise
of the restaurant takeover group and the subsequent closing of
Popolos.
Fast-forward to the present. Popolos original Maury Jaffer
is back with flush investors and top-flight chef Los Akins, after
a brief stint at Chamberlain's, returns to the kitchen where he
made his Preston/Royal neighbors so happy.
The great breads have returned - Los's secret recipes - and that's
always a great way to begin a meal.
The house-baked breads make for awesome sandwiches; the crust for
those wood-fired pizzas is just right, too.
Hot-weather starters include a very respectable chopped salad
($6.95), a delightful mix of greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers,
olives and Caesar dressing.
A couple of sandwiches are standouts: the oven roasted lamb on rye
($7.95) and the grilled chicken-eggplant muffaletta (showing Los'
New Orleans roots).
About those pizzas ... I recommend Brave a la Los (not for the
weak of constitution) featuring andouille sausage, roasted
portabella, goat cheese, cilantro and fresh (hot) jalapenos
($10.95).
A range
of items from the hickory grill includes fresh fish of the day
($12.95), chicken breast ($10.95) or mixed seafood grill
($13.95). You pick a glaze; rosemary garlic, lime chili
pepper, tartar or ginger tamari.
From the specials section I thoroughly enjoyed pan-roasted salmon
smothered with peppers and onions, topped with goat cheese.
It's served with delicious red potatoes. Additional chef
specials are offered daily.
The decor is spiffed up and the service is attentive.
Welcome back!
The
Business Lunch by Jim White 8-4-00
