A big thank you to SD1K for merging all the various Dallas dining threads.

I realized in rereading five years of dining posts that I have somehow NEVER mentioned my regular Dallas hangout for the last couple of years - Hector's on Henderson. I guess I've been selfishly keeping it to myself, but its not really a secret - Rachael Ray has featured it, Gourmet magazine has written it up, and its known as being firmly "anti-Dallas" as far as the fickle snobbish Dallas restaurant scene goes.

Hector Garcia (the owner and your host on most evenings) works the dining room stopping to chat with diners or jump on the small stage to sing with the jazz quartet on the weekends. Assistant manager/barkeep Chris Chapman is quick with an usual wine pairing (and Hector's wine list is ALL about the unusual - both the selections and the lower than average mark-up on the bottles) or a mixed drink suggestion. And redheaded hot-mama Blythe Beck whips up some wickedly fun (or "naughty" as she calls it) home cooking. Mashed potatoes get truffle oil for bang. The corn fritters are the best I've ever had. The "Buck Nekkid Bacon" (really a braised pork belly with apple chutney) is my favorite dish at the moment - and I'm anxiously awaiting the return of her fried green tomatoes w/ shrimp remoulade (a summer staple) when the summer menu comes out the first week in June.

Oh yeah, and if you see the girl with the auburn hair and jeans perched on the barstool drinking wine and talking to all the staff, say hi to me. (I'm there two to three nights a week.)