Roodie the Foodie’s latest venture, Hecho En Oak Cliff, ignites the Dallas food scene with a vibrant fusion of Mexican and American flavors. This pop-up, born from Roodie’s personal journey of healing and reinvention in Oak Cliff, features innovative dishes like brisket and cactus quesadillas and showcases the power of community and culinary collaboration.
Forget stuffy fine dining, casual pop-ups are in. On a recent chilly Dallas night, the heat was on at Tiny Victories bar in Bishop Arts. Hecho En Oak Cliff, the brainchild of local legend Roodie the Foodie, had officially dropped, and the energy was electric. But this ain’t your abuela’s kitchen – Roodie’s bringing a bold fusion of Mexican and American flavors that’ll make your taste buds do the salsa.
“Long story short,” Roodie told the Dallas Nomad during his opening night, “a few years ago I thought I had caught my big break, but it was short lived. I had to start over and I found myself drifting to Oak Cliff.” He continued, “I was broken when I got to Oak Cliff, and somehow Oak Cliff helped me heal after my fall through. The way I look at it is that this new Roodie was made in Oak Cliff, which translates to ‘Hecho en Oak Cliff’ in Spanish.”
Roodie explained, “When I first started my entrepreneur journey, it was BBQ that I first learned how to make. If I was going to start over, I was going to head back to the very beginning and start with what originally started all of this. So that’s how Hecho En Oak Cliff Mexican American BBQ was born.”
This fusion of his Texan BBQ roots with the vibrant flavors of Mexican cuisine, deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric of Texas, is a key element of the Hecho En Oak Cliff experience.
The menu? Straight fire. Brisket and carnitas tacos, resting atop handmade corn tortillas, dressed with salsas that’ll blow your mind. Crispy quesadillas piled high with brisket and Nopalitos – a taste explosion you won’t soon forget. And don’t even get me started on the barbecue. That brisket melts in your mouth and the carnitas are a game-changer.
“I tell my story through my food,” Roodie says. “As I mentioned, I’m starting over again. The first thing I learned how to make was brisket, and it’s the one item people continue to follow after almost six years of being in this game.”
“I believe in the power of community,” he emphasizes. “Now I’m partnering up with businesses here in Oak Cliff to offer their products as part of the ingredients to my menu.” It was clear that Roodie’s passion for food resonated with the local yoga community as well. On opening night, we saw a noticeable influx of well-known local yogis in attendance, all eager to support their fellow practitioner.
“I suffered from lower back issues due to being on my feet all day,” Roodie confessed. “It’s something that started happening when I began making a career out of the service industry. I began doing yoga and I found it alleviates the tension in my back (and the rest of the body) so I incorporate yoga into my routine now. It’s a goal of mine to fuse yoga with my entrepreneurial endeavors, and find ways to have the service industry embrace yoga more as I feel it can help their bodies out with them being on their feet all day as it’s helped mine out.”
The vibe at Hecho En Oak Cliff is pure Dallas cool. Roodie and his fraternity brother, Issi, run a tight ship. “Issi! He’s has been supporting me since day one and he helps me out whenever I need the help,” Roodie shares. “He’s a great guy I have learned a lot from and will continue to learn from.” On opening night, the service was lovely, the drinks were flowing, and the energy was contagious. And as for the food? You could feel the love for the community in every bite.
“Food is the most universal language that exists on this planet,” Roodie explains. “Food brings people together. You always have your loved ones around you when food is present and that’s my mission with my food establishments. I want to build a community of Foodies that can have a common platform and we empower one another to better ourselves and the communities we are a part of. That’s my mission with the Roodie’s Foodies gang.”
And let’s be real, the Dallas food scene is buzzing right now. With local legends like Roodie paving the way and food influencers like Keith Lee putting the city on the map, things are destined to get even better. The viral food reviewer’s move from Las Vegas to Dallas is already creating noise around the city, as Lee has already visited several local favorites, including Wicked Butcher, where he praised the green curry salmon and steak frites, and Soiree Coffee, a Black-owned coffee shop and bar in West Dallas.
Then, there’s the influx of people from diverse backgrounds moving from all over into the DFW metroplex, one of the fastest-growing areas in the country – a phenomenon that has already undoubtedly introduced a wider range of cuisines and culinary traditions.
“I want to make Oak Cliff be known as the second best city in the United States for breakfast tacos (Austin, TX is #1),” Roodie declares. “There’s so much you can do with bbq and with a Mexican touch to it, I want to be an example of how starting over can be very tasty!”
With his now established Sunday residency at Tiny Victories, diners will have the opportunity to enjoy his innovative creations on the regular. So, if you’re looking for a taste of the real Dallas, ditch the chain restaurants and head to Hecho En Oak Cliff. Trust us, your taste buds will thank you.
