Locura Small Bites, Chef Laura
Best Local Chef
Best New Restaurant
Best Lunch Spot
Locura Small Bites, Chef Laura Cararizales
North Texas’ LGBTQ community already knows couple Laura Carrizales and Mel Arizpe as the award-winning musical duo Mi Diva Loca; over the last year we’ve gotten to know them as the owners of and, in Carrizales’ case, chef at Locura Small Bites restaurant. “Locura” translates into English as “craziness,” which the women said is a nod not just to the name of the musical collaboration but also to the concept and menu at their restaurant: Mexican-inspired bites with new, unique and worldly combinations. “Imagine looking at elotes through an Italian, Thai or Middle Easten lens,” Carrizales said. “The basic elements of elotes, like chile, crema and lime, are all still there, but the perspective has changed. The Strawberry Thai Chili, for example, hits all the same notes as a traditional Mexican elote but with its own sound. … That approach is taken with all 10 flavors of elote on the menu, and come summer, we’ll elote in a cup with fresh watermelon, pickled watermelon rind, lime crema and tajin, called the Summertime Jam.”
Carrizales said she and Arizpe have always enjoyed being adventurous as possible when dining out, and going with a “small bites” approach at their own restaurant allows foodies to “come and try several items without having to commit to a full entree with the usual two sides.” Their top sellers include a truffled elote with parmesan, melt-in-your-mouth chimichurri, loaded fries with pork stewed in Mexican spices called the Pozole Frito Pie and a fried corn rib called La Bamba, “because it looks kind of like a rattlesnake tail, and the movie La Bamba has a rattlesnake theme.”
Carrizales earned her stripes as a chef by working in restaurants since she was 16 — everything from fast food to fine dining — doing everything from waiting tables to managing entire restaurants, before going to culinary school at El Centro and finishing up with a bachelors degree in culinary and food service management at TWU. She said that she and Arizpe knew it would be hard to open a restaurant in any case, but doing so in a pandemic “has been brutal. We opened three weeks before the shutdown, and We’ve been hanging on by a thread almost since the beginning. … The only reason we’ve been able to hang on is because of our friends and family and even perfect strangers’ willingness to champion our efforts. Friends, family and those supporting Latina, women-owned, LGBTQ-owned small businesses have kept us afloat. We especially thank my sisters, Adelina Carrizales and Magdalena Carrizales, who have fought consistently alongside Mel and I for the last year. We are forever grateful.”
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BEST PATIO: Mario’s Dallas
Best Local Chef
Laura Carrizales
Locura Small Bites
11 a.m.-8 p.m., Tue.-Sat.;
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.
839 Singleton Blvd., #150
214-238-0551
LocuraDallas.com
Best Brunch
Cedar Springs Tap House
11 a.m.-midnight, Fri.&Sat.; 11a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.; 21+ Tue-Fri @ 6 p.m., all day Sat.-Sun.
4123 Cedar Springs Road, #100
214-377-7446
CedarSpringsTapHouse.com
Best Burger
Hunky’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers
Sun.-Thur., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat 11 a.m.-midnight
3930 Cedar Springs Road
214-522-1212
Sun.-Thur., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.;
Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
321 North Bishop Ave.
214-941-3322
Hunkys.com
Best Steak
Knife-Dallas
Dining Room: 6:30-10:30 a.m.,
11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., 5-11 p.m. daily
Bar: 10:30 a.m.-midnight daily
5300 E. Mockingbird Lane
214-443-9339
KnifeDallas.com
Best BBQ Restaurant
Terry Black’s Barbecue
11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun.-Thu.;
11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat.
3025 Main St.
469-399-0081
TerryBlacksBBQ.com/Dallas
Best Asian/Sushi Restaurant
ZEN | Modern Japanese Cuisine
5–9 p.m., Sun.; 5:30-10 p.m.,
Mon.-Thur.; 5:30-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
380 W. 7th St.
214-946-9699
ZenSushiDallas.com
Best Italian/Best Pizza
Cremona Italian Bistro
Lunch: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sun.-Fri.
Dinner: 5-10 p.m. Sun.-Thu.;
5 p.m.-2 a.m., Fri.-Sat.
2704 Worthington St.
214-871-1115
CremonaBistro.com
Best Tex-Mex Restaurant
Ojeda’s Restaurant
10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun.-Thu.;
10 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat.
4617 Maple Ave. in Dallas
(other locations in DeSoto and Plano)
214-528-8383
OjedasRestaurant.com
Best Taqueria
Taqueria La Ventana
11 a.m-10 p.m., Sun.-Thu.:
11 .m.-11 p.m., Fri.-Sat.
3847 Cedar Springs Road
(other locations in Downtown Dallas,
Dallas Farmers Market and Addison)
972-432-5945
TaqueriaLaVentana.com
Best Vegetarian Restaurant
Spiral Diner & Bakery
10 a.m.-10 p.m., Mon.-Sun.
1101 N. Beckley Ave., Dallas
214-948-4747
1314 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth
817-332-8834
SpiralDiner.com
Best Diner
Mama’s Daughters Diner
6 a.m.-2 p.m., Mon.-Fri.: 7 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Sat.; 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun.
2014 Irving Blvd., Dallas (Other locations in West Plano, Irving, Forney, Lewisville)
214-742-8646
MamasDaughtersDiner.com
Best New Restaurant/Best Lunch Spot
Locura Small Bites
11 a.m.-8 p.m., Tue.-Sat.;
11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun.
839 Singleton Blvd., #150
214-238-0551
LocuraDallas.com
Best Dining Experience
Parigi
11:30 a.m.-10ish p.m., Mon.-Fri.;
10:30 a.m.-10ish p.m., Sat.;
10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sun.
3311 Oak Lawn Ave.
214-521-0295
ParigiDallas.com
Best Vodka
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
TitosVodka.com
Best Cocktail Menu
Mr. Misster
8 p.m.-2 a.m., Tue.-Fri.;
2 p.m.-2 a.m., Sat.-Sun.
3900 Cedar Springs Road
972-850-9936
MrMissterDTx.com
Best LGBTQ Bar/Friendliest Bar Staff
Round-Up Saloon
noon-2 a.m., Tue.-Sat.:
3 p.m.-2 a.m., Mon.
3912 Cedar Springs Road
214-522-9611
RoundUpSaloon.com
Best Straight Bar for LGBTQ’s
Grapevine Bar
4 p.m.-midnight, Sun-Wed.:
4 p.m.-2 a.m., Thu.-Sat.
3902 Maple Ave.
214-522-8466
GrapevineBar.com
Hottest Hookup App
Scruff
Scruff.com
Cedar Springs Tap House
Best Cocktail Menu
Mr. Misster
8 p.m.-2 a.m., Tue.-Fri.;
2 p.m.-2 a.m., Sat.-Sun.
3900 Cedar Springs Road
972-850-9936
MrMissterDTx.com
Best LGBTQ Bar/Friendliest Bar Staff
Round-Up Saloon
noon-2 a.m., Tue.-Sat.: 3 p.m.-2 a.m., Mon.
3912 Cedar Springs Road
214-522-9611
RoundUpSaloon.com
