Gloria’s By Jim White From the land and the sea of El Salvador’s tropical paradise comes the inspiration for the food and the style of Gloria’s. The popular restaurant made a name for itself in Oak Cliff, then expanded to Oak Lawn and Lower Greenville Avenue. Good news for Gloria’s fans up north who’ve had to drive a ways to get this tasty mix of Salvadoran, Mexican and Tex-Mex Cuisine: there’s a new location in Addison and yet another set to open in November in Frisco at 121 and Preston. The new location in Village on the Parkway at Beltline-facing the Tollway-is the best thing to happen to “Restaurant Row North” in a long time. It’s a big place with bold colors and contemporary lighting fixtures. “Much prettier than the Greenville Avenue location”, noted one in our party. The menu Gloria’s fans have come to know and love from the sister locations is exactly the same. There’s better Tex-Mex and Mexican around, but Gloria’s is the only Salvadoran “game” in town. Make sure you try some of the Central American delicacies like pupusas-hand made corn tortillas stuffed with cheese or pork; deep fried yucca, plantains or one of the Bistec creations-marinated beef cooked in a tomato base sauce with lots of onions. Like the other locations, Gloria’s in Addison serves some very good lunch specials. For something different, try charbroiled quail ($7.95). Two large portions are served with black beans, Spanish rice and fried ripe plantain. We enjoyed Carne Flameada-a charbroiled chicken breast (or flank steak), smothered in melted queso (cheese), sautéed mushrooms and onions ($7.95)-and spinach, chicken quesadillas ($7), also available in a spinach only version. The “Salvadoran sampler” plate features the aforementioned pupusas and tamal-a different style tamale than you might be accustomed to filled with chicken, chunks of potato, sweet pepper and tomato steamed in a banana leaf ($6). For dessert, the flan is one of the best around ($3.25). Gloria’s 5100 Beltline Rd., Suite 852 (972) 387-8442 ` ` ` Send me an Email: jwdineline@aol.com