{"id":51920,"date":"2025-07-09T17:15:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T17:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/51920\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T17:15:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T17:15:18","slug":"eat-barbecue-and-tacos-in-dallas-with-a-chef-from-a-michelin-starred-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/51920\/","title":{"rendered":"Eat Barbecue and Tacos in Dallas With a Chef From a Michelin-Starred Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

French- and Italian-influenced Mamani is one of Dallas\u2019s most anticipated restaurant openings of the year<\/a>, in large part because chef Christophe De Lellis left his role as executive chef at Jo\u00ebl Robuchon in Las Vegas<\/a> to open it and take a partner role in the Feels Like Home hospitality group, started by Brandon and Henry Cohanim (Namo, Bar Colette). De Lellis moved to Dallas about a year ago, and for a time took over the kitchen at Bar Colette<\/a>. With his family, he moved into a house in the Lakewood area and has been eating his way through Dallas, learning to love two of the major food groups: barbecue (he says Terry Black\u2019s<\/a> is his favorite so far) and tacos (he goes for Resident Taqueria<\/a>).<\/p>\n

De Lellis joined Eater to visit a few favorite local haunts he hadn\u2019t tried yet and talk about the culture clash of going from Europe to Vegas to Texas, his thoughts on consomme (and consom\u00e9), and hot tips for shaking a good espresso martini.<\/p>\n

Our first stop is the newest location of Hurdato Barbecue<\/a> in the Dallas Farmers Market<\/a> in Uptown, where we order the El Jefe, which has one third of a pound each of brisket, pulled pork, spare ribs, turkey, burnt ends, and sausage. We add on sides of Mexican street corn, and De Lellis insists on a vegetable with actual fiber in it, so we also get the creamy red slaw. <\/p>\n

It was a bit of a negotiation to find a barbecue spot to visit with De Lellis because he\u2019d already visited several that I initially suggested. He has truly been busy learning about Texas barbecue. The barbecue destinations have become the first places he takes visiting friends and family out to eat. \u201cI was surprised that in Las Vegas on the Strip there isn\u2019t barbecue. There are tourists from all over the world, and for most of them that equals American food. I never had barbecue until I moved to Texas,\u201d he says, adding that all the Europeans he\u2019s taken to eat barbecue have loved it.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

This chef knows barbecue.<\/p>\n

From the appearance of the plate, De Lellis\u2019s expectations were high for the smoked turkey, but the pulled pork ended up being his favorite bite. \u201cI love all braised meats, shredded meats. In restaurants or for myself I like to cook beef cheeks and oxtail, and it reminds me of that,\u201d he says. The pork rub and sauce are so flavorful that they overpower the rest of the tray. He suggests it would be good on a Cubano sandwich, and doesn\u2019t immediately shut down the idea of a Hurtado collaboration with Mamani, so we\u2019ll be looking out for it. <\/p>\n

The one thing that stumps him on the platter is the chile-dusted Mexican corn, Hurtado\u2019s take on traditional elote<\/a>. This was the moment that the former chef from a three-Michelin-starred kitchen had the concept of taco seasoning, a blend of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder, explained to him by a Texan. Unlike the rest of us, he probably won\u2019t be picking up a jar in the grocery store. De Lellis will make his own. \u201cI get the cumin a lot, which is good because it brings a freshness to all the cheese and fat, almost cutting it,\u201d he says. De Lellis notes that Hurtado and Terry Blacks do good sides, a small detail he feels is significant. \u201cFor me, it is the small details,\u201d he says. \u201cI judge the sides, because you can see the attention to detail. At most of the places you go, people don\u2019t know how to cook green beans and serve them undercooked, which I think is disgusting. Small details show how much care is taken every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Lellis says he has smoked meats before but not to make barbecue. \u201cI would love to learn and understand the craft from a pitmaster around here,\u201d he tells me, noting that even in a French fine dining menu there may be some element of barbecue technique that he could incorporate. <\/p>\n

The next stop is for birria tacos at Chilangos Tacos<\/a> on Ross Avenue. De Lellis has already tried tacos, but has had no exposure to birria, so it\u2019s on. The initiated know this Old East Dallas location looks like your average strip mall spot from the parking lot, but inside is a party marked by a trompo, bright colors, and people queuing up for dripping, red-stained quesabirria tacos. We have to fight to get a little table after ordering a quesabirria platter. \u201cIt does remind me of the taco joint I used to go to in Vegas, Tacos El Gordo<\/a>,\u201d he says, noting those were likely the first tacos he ever had, not long after he arrived in 2010.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Chilangos never disappoints. Courtney E. Smith<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do traditional tacos and it makes you feel like you\u2019re in Mexico.\u201d He misses the Latin cooks he worked alongside in the kitchen in Vegas, who made their food for family meals, which he says was always the best. \u201cMr. Robuchon loved Mexican food, and he would always ask the cooks to make it for him,\u201d De Lellis says. \u201cI love the way Mexicans approach food, how they season it, even the beautiful ingredients they use.\u201d <\/p>\n

When the birria hits the table (well, really when De Lellis politely picks it up after our order is called), he eyeballs the consom\u00e9 and asks how we eat the spread. I tell him to sprinkle the onion and cilantro mix onto the quesabirria tacos and then dip them into the fatty broth made with meat drippings. After the first bite, he grabs the cup of consom\u00e9 to try it. \u201cI love consomme,\u201d he says, adding that it\u2019s the \u201cheart and soul\u201d of his cooking, like a quintessential French chef would. \u201cWhen I did tasting menus back in Vegas, and before dessert I served a shot of consomme to the guests, something fresh like lemongrass with lime with chicken. It feels good after a heavy meal and cleans your palate.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Christophe De Lellis sits down for his first experience with birria. Courtney E. Smith<\/p>\n

This consom\u00e9, obviously, is not the same, he notes, but it does require the same building blocks. \u201cWhatever stock or broth you make, it is the most important thing,\u201d he says. \u201cI prefer using three to five ingredients. That\u2019s why I love Mexican food. Robuchon told me this quote and I say it all the time and live by it: \u2018It is easy to make it complicated, but complicated to make it simple.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Before we dive into the tacos, De Lellis tells me he is 50\/50 on preferring flour tortillas over corn, but after we tear through the birria, he expresses a deeper appreciation for Chilango\u2019s crispy, savory corn tortillas. In fact, he\u2019s ready to not only sing its praises but to call Chilango\u2019s quesabirria one of his favorite tacos he has had in the country.<\/p>\n

What would a trip around Dallas be without a stop at one of Gabe Sanchez and Ryan Payne\u2019s bars<\/a>? Those two are among the best mixologists in the city, and, as it turns out, De Lellis hasn\u2019t visited any of their spots, in part because he\u2019s spent a lot of time imbibing the also top-notch cocktails at Bar Colette. But since he lives on the east side of town, I think he should know about them. We pick Saint Valentine<\/a> so we can also scarf down some of the fried olives stuffed with sausage from Jimmy\u2019s Food Store<\/a> (now sadly not on the menu but for a damn good reason \u2014 chef Misti Norris\u2019s Rainbow Cat has taken over the kitchen permanently<\/a>). Though De Lellis shares that he\u2019s got a little list of bars he wants to try going to, including Michelin Award winner Rye<\/a> and Ayahuasca Cantina<\/a> in Oak Cliff, having a young kid stops him from making it out much. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Finishing strong with a cocktail at Saint Valentine. Courtney E. Smith<\/p>\n

De Lellis orders the Sazerac and proclaims the fried olives a \u201cgood snack.\u201d I tell him that the Italian grocery store, which is kitty-corner from the bar, is one of the beloved spaces in town for dry goods, imported oils and vinegars, and a killer sandwich shop. Many Dallasites may not know that De Lellis was making bar bites himself at Colette for several months. When I stopped in roughly a year ago, he served me chicken fingers, caviar-topped potato chips, and sliders with a tomato confit he spent two hours making (yes, they were really good). \u201cI love to have a good cocktail with poutine,\u201d he says, reminiscing about eating Irish nachos in Vegas. We all make weird food decisions when we drink, clearly.<\/p>\n

After a drink, De Lellis is ready to spill some secrets. \u201cI want to tell you something in confidence,\u201d he says with a glint in his eye after we get into a discussion about the irrepressible popularity of the espresso martini. \u201cFor a few months they were short staffed at Colette, and I was in the back, shaking espresso martinis,\u201d he says, laughing. \u201cI had so much fun doing it, but I don\u2019t know those guys do. My arms were so sore. They sell so many, you can never take them off the menu.\u201d We agree that a real espresso martini must be made with actual espresso, not coffee liqueur or cold brew. <\/p>\n

If you see De Lellis out and about, checking out Dallas bars, he says his go-to drink order is a Negroni Sbagliato<\/a>. Send one over and tell him your favorite barbecue or taco spot and what to order there. He\u2019s well on his way to finding his standbys in Dallas, but a little extra help never hurts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"French- and Italian-influenced Mamani is one of Dallas\u2019s most anticipated restaurant openings of the year, in large part…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":51921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,38852,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-51920","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dining-out-in-dallas","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-tx","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114824408851624165","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}