Elaine's Kitchen (New Location). 2717 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Operations ceased at the prior location about a month ago. The new shop (in a newly constructed building) opened yesterday. Abundant parking in front is a huge improvement over the old location. (There was plenty of space behind the old strip, though technically it was restricted to patrons of the theater.)
The service format from the old space has carried over. Place your order at the counter, take a seat, wait for your food to be brought out, then pay before you leave. The cases below the counters contain the same lineup of products as before. Prices may have crept up a bit, but are still very reasonable for the generous portion sizes. No more waiting for tables (for now, at least), since the new space seats 2-3 times as many people as the old one. (Conditioned by years of visits to the old space, most customers were still getting their orders to go.)
Medium combo plate with jerk chicken, oxtails, rice & peas, and cabbage (with a bottle of Ting). All as remembered.
Same thing, different angle. (Couldn't decide which photo made it look as good as it tasted.)
The menu is similar to that of the old location, though it appears they might be getting more serious about some of the special order items and daily specials. (Not all items listed on the prior menu were consistently available.) A larger kitchen certainly helps.
I'm always nervous when a restaurant as successful as Elaine's moves from a small location into a larger one. (Anyone else remember the unfortunate fate of DC's Cafe?) So, if you've been to and liked Elaine's, get the word out about the new, larger location. (If the DMN wishes to be the city's paper--and not just white Dallas's paper--a full review of Elaine's is in order. Take a poll in Southern Dallas and I guarantee more people will recognize "Elaine's" than "Fearing's.")
Scott
