1. Olenjack’S Grille
City: Arlington, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (817) 226-2600
Address: 770 Rd. to Six Flags East, Suite 100
Description: Chef Brian Olenjack meets the need in Six Flags-land for good, non-chain food in a handsome setting. Terrific specialties include fried antelope ribs, shrimp and grits, pulled chicken ravioli, and roasted duck risotto. Sunday brunch is popular, as are quick dinners before Dallas Cowboys football or Texas Rangers baseball games at nearby stadiums.
2. Cacharel Restaurant & Grand Ballroom
City: Arlington, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (817) 640-9981
Address: 2221 East Lamar Blvd.
Description: A sophisticated dining room atop an office building in North Arlington never disappoints because there’s such a consistent treatment in gems such as escargots with mushrooms, grapes and pecans in a cream sauce, and sautéed lamb noisettes in a shallot-tarragon sauce with a wild mushroom risotto. The prix-fixe menu changes daily but there is always a large selection of steaks, fresh fish, and fowl. The dessert and wine lists deserve praise, too.
3. Taste Of Europe
City: Arlington, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (817) 275-5530
Address: 1901 West Pioneer Parkway
Description: Just one spoonful into the cup of lush borscht, a purplish-red beet soup filled with bits of crunchy cabbage, alongside a loaf of hot, homemade bread, and you’ll be sold on this dining room from Belarus. The nondescript exterior belies the warmth found within, from the friendly staff to the gorgeous gifts—particularly the nesting dolls, scarves, and teapots—from Eastern Europe. Salads include those made from roasted eggplant and red bell peppers, and worthwhile entrees range from hot meat dumplings to lamb pilaf, and warm, fruit-filled strudels make a fine dessert.
4. Gloria’S
City: Arlington, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (817) 701-2981
Address: 3901 Arlington Highlands Blvd.
Description: Only if you’ve been hiding under a rock would you not know about this popular “Salva-Mex” operation, a local mini-chain grown from a homey spot in Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood. Sunny and casual-chic, Gloria’s is the place to find a small traditional Salvadoran menu within an expansive, modern Mexican spread. It’s a lively spot where families and grown-ups find common ground. Go at brunch for an omelet filled with fajita beef or chicken with black beans and pico de gallo on the side, or for eggs scrambled with Argentinian sausage and three eggs any style with flank steak. Locations also in Colleyville, Fort Worth, Frisco, Dallas, Garland, and Rockwall.
5. Pierre’S Mardi Gras
City: Arlington, TX
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (817) 557-9990
Address: 2816 South Cooper St.
Description: A post-Katrina story with a happy ending, this Cajun eatery brings you the best of the Crescent City without the long drive or Bourbon Street hangover. Your options are numerous, from a po’boy piled with fried shrimp, oysters, barbecued shrimp, sausage, or roast beef to red beans and rice with sausage or seafood gumbo. Leave room for bread pudding.