Kosher Food and Drink

One of the more exciting things about being an amateur restaurant reviewer is that rare opportunity to review a truly new restaurant. This week, while I was in Dallas on business, I was given the chance to review a restaurant which had only opened up a couple days earlier.

Meat & Rolls (13251 Montfort Dr, Dallas, TX 75240; (469) 779-7000; meatnrolls.com; under Dallas Kosher supervision) is something of a rarity in the kosher world: a genuine taco joint. There’s a few other things on the menu, but the main thrust is clear: tacos and tortillas!

The restaurant is not hard to find, with easily visible signage that you can see from the major road nearby. There’s also plenty of parking (and a Target nearby, if you have some additional shopping to do). As you enter, passing by some covered outdoor seating, you’re greeted by a surprisingly coherent theme and an open food prep area. There are a lot of kosher restaurants that don’t seem to have enough seating; Meat & Rolls is not amongst them.

It took me a few moments to realize that you had to order in the area marked “pay here” in the corner of the restaurant. I’d suggest perhaps switching it to “order here” to make it a little clearer, but at least they had a sign.

I ordered the brisket taco, the spicy fried chicken taco, and the fried cauliflower. The food came quickly, and had really good presentation, at least in terms of the tacos.

The tacos were super yummy. The brisket taco was of the pulled brisket variety, and it was delicious. The fried chicken taco was indeed pretty spicy and tasty. As you can see in the pictures, there’s a lot going on with the tacos, and I thought they were well executed. If I were going to nit-pick, the fried chicken could have been crispier, which I think would have given a little more texture to the taco.

The fried cauliflower side was underwhelming, and reminded me of the store-bought cauliflower tempura I’d get at the local kosher supermarket. Skip it. I’d try the nachos or fries in the future.

Despite the tacos being rather tasty, I have to admit I’m a little concerned over the pricing structure. $9-10 per taco when you’re going to need at least two for a real meal is going to make it on the pricy side for a family night out. I don’t think it’s prohibitive per se, but I’m not used to thinking of tacos with pricing like that.

If you can get over the pricing, I really enjoyed my meal at Meat & Rolls, and could see going back if I’m in Dallas again. The workers were super friendly, and it was an enjoyable place to eat at, almost a franchise feel in what’s clearly a bespoke restaurant. If they put together a combo deal and further improve a couple of the menu items, I think they’ll have a winner on their hands.