Back Talk Lakewood/East Dallas

Babalu busted (along with a bunch of other Latino night clubs)

Saturday night a task force led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided about 24 area night-club-type businesses and arrested 49 allegedly illegal security guards — some packing pistols, according to the Morning News article, which includes a complete list of the raids. Charges include document tampering/falsification. "Those arrested also face charges of being in the country illegally." (really?!) Said list includes Far West Night Club at 7331 Gaston Ave. Apparently Far West is a former name, or just another alias of the OK Sports Bar and Club Babalu, which has been the topic of a couple discussions here at Back Talk.

Also raided in the East Dallas area: Az De Oro Night Club, 3320 Samuel Blvd., Ojeda's Restaurant, 4617 Maple (Noooooo!), El Penasco, 4601 Maple, Izalco Bar, 4605 Maple, Palacio, 4430 Maple

A burger at Keller's

One of the things that always surprises me about Keller's, the topic of my column in this month's magazine, is that the food has remained consistently good. I have not noticed much difference between what it tastes like today and what it tasted like when I first ate there in the mid-1980s.

The fries will be a little soggy sometimes, but the burgers taste the way they have always tasted. This is an amazing achievement, for consistency is the hobgoblin of the restaurant business. Employees change, bosses change, recipes change, vendors change -- all of which work against making the food taste the same every time. In fact, McDonald's great success in its early days was achieving this sort of consistency, which was almost unheard of for a restaurant that didn't cost a lot of money.

The other thing I love about Keller's? When new people find it. Wamre and I had a big smile when this ran in the Observer, because the writer nailed Keller's exactly. "... my food arrived. And it was glorious."

And there is always this YouTube, if you still have doubts.

Get ready for all kinds of White Rock Lake improvements

All kinds of construction is happening around White Rock Lake these days, including new/reconstructed bridges and parking lots, seating and work on the East Dallas Veloway. The Morning News has a good story on the improvements, along with a couple of graphics to help picture what is happening where. As the city's Willis Winters and For the Love of the Lake's Steve Tompkins (both neighborhood residents) commented in the story, there's more going on at the lake now than at any time anyone can remember. And that's a good thing.

A warning from the city for the Abrams/Richmond lot

We've been waiting a long time to see what's going in at Abrams and Richmond, where Mustang Auto used to be. The property owners haven't been eager to return our calls.

And now there is another problem -- this citation from the city for not maintaining the lot. There has been some talk that the owners are sitting on the land, waiting to see what the real estate market will do. If it goes up, they can sell it without have to build and turn a tidy profit.

And the gas contest winner is?

Matt Wood of East Dallas, who gets $50 in restaurant gift certificates for finding the most expensive gas in our Back Talk contest.

Matt found the winning entry, $3.299, at the Texaco station at Skillman and Live Oak. If we had only waited a week, though, we would have had really great prices. Over the weekend, I saw many $3.30s and even some close to $3.40.

Ever wanted to take a look inside Belle Nora?

The closest most of us will ever come to seeing Belle Nora, the huge mansion on Garland Road facing White Road Lake, is whizzing by on the way to the Arboretum. But the DMN has an interesting piece, with a few photos, about the house, and it makes for an interesting story. $900,0000 in renovations? Originally a $4.4 million pricetag? Probably a teardown when it finally sells? It's all there and more in the story.

Need a sign to show support for DISD's "Vote YES!" campaign?

If you support the $1.35 billion May 10 DISD bond vote and want to make sure your neighbors know which way you're leaning, you can stop by the corner of Field Street and Woodall Rogers Freeway Sunday, March 30, from 1-3 a.m. to pick up yard signs, campaign materials, stickers and other promotional items. No need for a reservation, according to Taylor Mayad: Just stop by and load up.

Restaurant review: Aló coffee and dessert

We featured the Mexican and Peruvian restaurant's tapas in our April edition, but didn't have space to mention another menu item we really loved: the coffee. Our art director declared it was the best cup she has ever had.

It was nothing more fancy than Aló's drip coffee, a "European blend of Latin coffee beans", according to the menu. But presentation is important, and the sugar globe that you can see in the photo made sweetening our coffee more fun. I also wondered whether the weather made a difference — it was a cold and rainy day when we visited the restaurant.

This day isn't as cold or rainy, but it's good coffee-drinking weather. Aló's merienda hour (coffee and dessert) is 3-5 p.m. If you want to get fancier, you can always drink espresso with whipped cream or hot milk blended with melted chocolate ganache, but the regular drip coffee pairs just as well with their desserts — I'm especially tempted by the four berry tres leches.

This weekend: "The Monster Among Us" at AFI Dallas

OK, so it's more like next week, but I wanted to give you a heads up because this should be good.

I first learned about this documentary film last year when I interviewed Cynthia Salzman Mondell and her husband, Allen Mondell of Media Projects, Inc., who live and work right here in our neighborhood. That interview focused on their award-winning documentary "A Fair to Remember" about the Texas State Fair, but I asked them about future projects, and "The Monster Among Us" was one they mentioned. The film chronicles the rise of antisemitism in Europe, and the idea for it emerged from letters that Cynthia's brother-in-law, whom I believe lives in New York, had received from Jewish family members living in France. Visit the home page to watch the trailer; it paints a better picture than I possibly could.

The 71-minute film is playing at NorthPark Center on Monday, May 31 at 7:15 p.m., and at the Angelika on Wednesday, April 2 at 4:30 p.m. Tickets cost $8.50 for each show, and you can purchase them on the AFI Dallas website.

The impromptu Hunt and Natinsky cage match leads to an interesting zoning discussion

Buried on Page 6 of today's DMN is an interesting story that says more about the future growth and vitality of the city than most of the other stuff in today's newspaper. The News story describes a "sharp Dallas City Council debate over how much power an individual member should have when it comes to development in her district."

At the center of the excitement, as often seems to be the case these days, is that renegade councilman Angela Hunt, who this time appears to be trying to broker some type of compromise between neighborhood residents and a developer proposing a retail/residential development at Lovers Lane and Matilda Road (better known as a bunch of older apartments just east of Central Market). Note: The project is in her council district, and more often than not, council members defer to the zoning judgment of the representative who should know the area best. Now, whether this is a good idea or not is certainly debatable, but as a general rule, that's the way things are done here in Dallas.